From the 16th century onward, West Europe developed an interest in Delphi.
In the mid-15th century Strabo was first translated in Latin.
The earliest depictions of Delphi were totally imaginary, created by the German N. Gerbel, who published in 1545 a text based on the map of Greece by N. Sofianos.
The ancient sanctuary was depicted as a fortified city.

The first travelers with archaeological interests, apart from the precursor Cyriacus of Ancona, were the British George Wheler and the French Jacob Spon, who visited Greece in a joint expedition in 1675–1676.
They published their impressions separately.
In Wheler's "Journey into Greece", published in 1682, a sketch of the region of Delphi appeared, where the settlement of Kastri and some ruins were depicted.
The illustrations in Spon's publication "Voyage d'Italie, de Dalmatie, de Grèce et du Levant, 1678" are considered original and groundbreaking.

Travelers continued to visit Delphi throughout the 19th century and published their books which contained diaries, sketches, views of the site as well as pictures of coins.
The illustrations often reflected the spirit of romanticism, as evident by the works of Otto Magnus von Stackelberg, where, apart from the landscapes (La Grèce.
Vues pittoresques et topographiques, Paris 1834) are depicted also human types (Costumes et usages des peuples de la Grèce moderne dessinés sur les lieux, Paris 1828).
The philhellene painter W. Williams has comprised the landscape of Delphi in his themes (1829).
Influential personalities such as F.Ch.-H.-L. Pouqueville, W.M. Leake, Chr.
Wordsworth and Lord Byron are amongst the most important visitors of Delphi.

After the foundation of the modern Greek state, the press became also interested in these travelers.
Thus "Ephemeris" writes (17 March 1889):
In the Revues des Deux Mondes Paul Lefaivre published his memoirs from an excursion to Delphi.
The French author relates in a charming style his adventures on the road, praising particularly the ability of an old woman to put back in place the dislocated arm of one of his foreign traveling companions, who had fallen off the horse. "
In Arachova the Greek type is preserved intact.
The men are rather athletes than farmers, built for running and wrestling, particularly elegant and slender under their mountain gear."
Only briefly does he refer to the antiquities of Delphi, but he refers to a pelasgian wall 80 meters long, "on which innumerable inscriptions are carved, decrees, conventions, manumissions."

Gradually the first travelling guides appeared.
The revolutionary "pocket" books invented by Karl Baedeker, accompanied by maps useful for visiting archaeological sites such as Delphi (1894) and the informed plans, the guides became practical and popular.
The photographic lens revolutionized the way of depicting the landscape and the antiquities, particularly from 1893 onwards, when the systematic excavations of the French Archaeological School started.
However, artists such as Vera Willoughby, continued to be inspired by the landscape.

Delphic themes inspired several graphic artists.
Besides the landscape, Pythia/Sibylla become an illustration subject even on Tarot cards.
A famous example constitutes Michelangelo's Delphic Sibyl (1509), the 19th-century German engraving Oracle of Apollo at Delphi, as well as the recent ink on paper drawing "The Oracle of Delphi" (2013) by M. Lind.

Modern artists are inspired also by the Delphic Maxims.
Examples of such works are displayed in the "Sculpture park of the European Cultural Center of Delphi" and in exhibitions taking place at the Archaeological Museum of Delphi.
From the 16th century onward, West Europe developed an interest in Delphi. In the mid-15th century Strabo was first translated in Latin. The earliest depictions of Delphi were totally imaginary, created by the German N. Gerbel, who published in 1545 a text based on the map of Greece by N. Sofianos. The ancient sanctuary was depicted as a fortified city.
The first travelers with archaeological interests, apart from the precursor Cyriacus of Ancona, were the British George Wheler and the French Jacob Spon, who visited Greece in a joint expedition in 1675–1676. They published their impressions separately. In Wheler's "Journey into Greece", published in 1682, a sketch of the region of Delphi appeared, where the settlement of Kastri and some ruins were depicted. The illustrations in Spon's publication "Voyage d'Italie, de Dalmatie, de Grèce et du Levant, 1678" are considered original and groundbreaking.
Travelers continued to visit Delphi throughout the 19th century and published their books which contained diaries, sketches, views of the site as well as pictures of coins. The illustrations often reflected the spirit of romanticism, as evident by the works of Otto Magnus von Stackelberg, where, apart from the landscapes (La Grèce. Vues pittoresques et topographiques, Paris 1834) are depicted also human types (Costumes et usages des peuples de la Grèce moderne dessinés sur les lieux, Paris 1828). The philhellene painter W. Williams has comprised the landscape of Delphi in his themes (1829). Influential personalities such as F.Ch.-H.-L. Pouqueville, W.M. Leake, Chr. Wordsworth and Lord Byron are amongst the most important visitors of Delphi.
After the foundation of the modern Greek state, the press became also interested in these travelers. Thus "Ephemeris" writes (17 March 1889):
In the Revues des Deux Mondes Paul Lefaivre published his memoirs from an excursion to Delphi. The French author relates in a charming style his adventures on the road, praising particularly the ability of an old woman to put back in place the dislocated arm of one of his foreign traveling companions, who had fallen off the horse. "In Arachova the Greek type is preserved intact. The men are rather athletes than farmers, built for running and wrestling, particularly elegant and slender under their mountain gear." Only briefly does he refer to the antiquities of Delphi, but he refers to a pelasgian wall 80 meters long, "on which innumerable inscriptions are carved, decrees, conventions, manumissions."
Gradually the first travelling guides appeared. The revolutionary "pocket" books invented by Karl Baedeker, accompanied by maps useful for visiting archaeological sites such as Delphi (1894) and the informed plans, the guides became practical and popular. The photographic lens revolutionized the way of depicting the landscape and the antiquities, particularly from 1893 onwards, when the systematic excavations of the French Archaeological School started. However, artists such as Vera Willoughby, continued to be inspired by the landscape.
Delphic themes inspired several graphic artists. Besides the landscape, Pythia/Sibylla become an illustration subject even on Tarot cards. A famous example constitutes Michelangelo's Delphic Sibyl (1509), the 19th-century German engraving Oracle of Apollo at Delphi, as well as the recent ink on paper drawing "The Oracle of Delphi" (2013) by M. Lind.
Modern artists are inspired also by the Delphic Maxims. Examples of such works are displayed in the "Sculpture park of the European Cultural Center of Delphi" and in exhibitions taking place at the Archaeological Museum of Delphi.
Delphi