Omphalos

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Copy of the Omphalos stone in Delphi

The Omphalos ( ancient Greek ὀμφαλός omphaloi , German , Nabel , navel-shaped [increased] Center ' ) was a cult stone Adyton of Apollon TEMPLE in Delphi . It was covered with garlands of wool ( Agrenon ) and marked the " navel of the world ". A Hellenistic or Roman marble copy of the stone is now in the Archaeological Museum of Delphi .

The term is also used as a synonym for the center and navel of the action.

According to legend, the omphalos fell from the sky as a meteor . He was venerated in the sanctuary of Apollo. Originally it was probably a sacrificial stone of the goddess Gaia and marks the place where the eagles sent by Zeus in the extreme west and in the extreme east met in the middle of the world. According to Pausanias , he was the world axis , the mythical connection between heaven, earth and the underworld. The grave of Dionysus is allegedly located under him , and Python is said to have been buried under him.

"Omphalos" was later also used to designate the umbilicus erected on the Roman Forum . This stone was considered the center of the world by the Romans . In Delphi there was also the stone which, according to myth, Rhea gave her husband Kronos to devour instead of the newborn Zeus and which Kronos later spat out. The stone of Kronos was venerated similarly to the Omphalos and other Baityloi and can therefore be confused with this one.

In addition to Apollo, statues of Asclepius with the omphalos are also shown. There may be a transfer of the attribute from Apollo.

Calenic omphalos bowl, around 300 BC BC, British Museum

Omphalos bowls

In ancient ceramics, the omphalos bowl is a type of flat, round bowl with a central boss and used as sacrificial bowls . The central bulge of the bowls is derived from this and is sometimes called omphalos , even from later artistic periods ; they often only had a decorative purpose or served as an abutment for the base ring of the associated pitchers. Omphalos bowls were found in the megalithic grave II of the Oldendorfer Totenstatt ( Lüneburg district )

literature

  • Lexikon der Kunst , Vol. 3, Leipzig 1975, p. 631.
  • Jean Bousquet: Observations on the "omphalos archaïque" de Delphes . In: Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 75/1, 1951, pp. 210-223.
  • Hans-Volkmar Herrmann: Omphalos. Münster, 1959.
  • Bruno Kauhsen: Omphalos. The central idea in architecture and urban planning presented using selected examples. Scaneg, 1990.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Wilhelm Pape , Max Sengebusch (arrangement): Concise dictionary of the Greek language . 3rd edition, 6th impression. Vieweg & Sohn, Braunschweig 1914 ( zeno.org [accessed on July 13, 2020]).
  2. ↑ Manfred Rech: The omphalos bowls from Oldendorf district of Lüneburg, and their significance for determining the age of the megalithic stone graves in Lower Saxony. In: Heinz Schirnig (Ed.): Großsteingräber in Niedersachsen Lax Hildesheim 1979 p. 161

Web links

Commons : Delphi Omphalos  - collection of images, videos and audio files