Museum of Delphic Festivals

 The Museum of Delphic Festivals, Angelos and Eva Sikelianos, as it is its full title, it was founded to house the vision of the great poet. The purpose of his life, as it evolved, Angelos Sikelianos, was the Delphic Idea, as he had conceived it: a blend of ancient theatrical tradition of Byzantine music and folk art in a festival that will take place at the sacred site of Delphi which would be called “Delphic Festivals”.

Indeed, twice, in 1927 and 1930, Angelos Sikelianos and his wife Eva Palmer managed to organize it. Ancient tragedies were played in the theater of the Oracle of Delphi, Byzantine music concerts took place and exhibitions of folklore held alongside. Crowds and intellectuals of the time attended the events and praised the effort. The economic exhaustion of the pair but the inability of the Greek state to support their vision marked the end.

Today, the old home of Angelos and Eva Sikelianos houses the Museum of Delphic Festivals. It is a large stone building with arched windows, among green trees. It was built during the First Delphic Festivals, under the supervision of Eva Palmer – Sikelianos by local artisans, very close to the archaeological site. In the halls of the Museum of Delphic Festivals, the visitor can admire many photographs of the events but also the preparation, costumes from the performances and other objects. You might even see the loom Eva Palmer – Sikelianos, in which she had woven some of the costumes of the performances.

The Museum of Delphic Festivals hosts even manuscripts and objects of Angelos Sikelianos. It operates under the auspices of the European Cultural Centre of Delphi, the institution that largely continues in modern Greece the vision of the poet.