The Challenge:
In Art History, we were asked to create a piece based off the art that was typical of an earlier era. As with many of my pieces, I was pulled to the Greco-Roman era of ancient history. PArticularly, to the red-figure pottery.
The Solution
Delphi is perhaps best-known for the oracle at the sanctuary of Apollo. In the last quarter of the 8th Century BC we see a steady increase of artifacts found at the settlement site in Delphi. Pottery and bronze work and tripod dedications continue in a steady stream, in comparison to Olympia. Neither the range of objects nor the presence of prestigious dedications proves that Delphi was a focus of attention for worshippers of a wide range, but the strong representation of high value goods are found in no other mainland sanctuary, certainly encourages that view.
The priestess of the oracle at Delphi was known as the Pythia. In myth, Apollo slew the Python, who was a child of Gaia. I believe that part of the reason that the priestess was known as the Pythia was because it was all that remained of the earlier Gaian priesthood.
While the original for this piece (which can be found in the Wikipedia article on Delphi) has a supplicant coming to consult the Pythia, I chose to replace him with a snake, to represent the dead Python, from whom it is said that the priestesses received their inspiration.