One of the most charming and best-known works in the museum of Delphi is the column of the Dancers of Delphi (330 - 320 BC), also known as the Acanthus Column. The fragments were found during the Great Excavation in 1894 on the terraces to the east and northeast of the Temple of Apollo.
It consist of a 13m column made of 5 drums, which at regular intervals is encircled with acanthus leaves. The column has a capital decorated with acanthus leaves. On the top of the capital, the statues of three young women have been embossed around a plant-shaped stem.
The sculptures depict three female figures (1.95m high), wearing short tunics (chitoniskoi / χιτωνίσκοι) through which the outlines of the body are clearly visible. Tehy carrying baskets (kalathos / κάλαθος) on their heads containing fruits, a symbol of abundance and fertility. Their bare feet are suspended in the air and their arms are raised. Thus creating the impression give the appearance of being suspended high in the air and dancing, which is how the sculpture gets its name.
Multiples technical details as the fastenings on the top of the capital and the shape of the upper surface of the top drum of the column, suggests that the whole column 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.
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 has recently been supported with good evidence that the omphalos, on display also in the museum, belonged to this complex, crowning the tripod.
The monument was dedicated to the Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi by the Athenians around 330 - 320 BC and probably depict the three daughters of the mythical Athenian king Cecrops.
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The emplacement of the Column of the Naxians inside the Sanctuary of Apollo
The Dancers of Delphi was the inspiration for the name of a musical composition by French composer Claude Debussy. It is the opening piece of the first book of Préludes (24 pieces for solo piano, divided into two books of 12 preludes each), written between late 1909 and early 1910. The piece, in B-flat major, totals 31 bars and takes about three minutes to play.
