Omphalos of Delphi / The Acanthus Column / Column of te Dancers
Delphi, Greece
3rd Century BCE
+13 m. high
The column, made up of five drums and a capital decorated with acanthus leaves and surmounted by an extension of the stem with three female figures standing 1.95 metres high,wearing chitoniskoi (short tunics) and carrying kalathoi. Their bare feet are suspended in the air and their arms are raised, making them look like dancers, which is how the column gets its name.
The fastenings at the top of the capital and the concave shape of the upper surface of the column drum at the level of the dancers' heads suggests that the whole ensemble supported a colossal tripod (probably made of bronze) with its feet standing on top of the column and framing the heads of each of the dancers. It is supported with good evidence that the omphalos belonged to this complex, crowning the tripod.
Among the Ancient Greeks, it was a widespread belief that Delphi was the center of the world. According to the later patriarchal myths (not the original Goddess myths) regarding the founding of the Delphic Oracle, Zeus, in his attempt to locate the center of the earth, launched two eagles from the two ends of the world, and the eagles, starting simultaneously and flying at equal speed, crossed their paths above the area of Delphi. From this point, Zeus threw a stone from the sky to see where it will fall. The stone fell at Delphi, which since then was considered to be the center of the world, the omphalos - "navel of the earth". Indeed, the same stone thrown by Zeus took the same name and became the symbol of Apollo, the sacred Oracle and more generally of the region of Delphi.
