The ancient theatre above the sanctuary

The theatre sits directly above the Temple of Apollo, cut into the hillside so that the audience looked down over the sanctuary and out to the mountains beyond. It held several thousand people, and its curved rows of grey limestone are still close to complete — a strong graphic shape whichever way you point the camera.

From the top row you get the frame that sells Delphi: the temple platform and its columns in the middle distance, the treasuries and terrace walls below them, and the olive valley beyond, all stacked in one picture. From the orchestra floor looking up, the seating fans out behind you and gives a backdrop with no sky in it at all.

It is quieter than the temple, because most visitors stop at the columns and turn back down. Being higher on the slope, it also keeps the light a little longer in the afternoon. Morning sun comes across the rows from the side and picks out every edge of the stone.

The climb from the temple is short but steep, on worn steps with no handrail. Whether you can walk on the seating itself changes with conservation work, so check on the day and be ready to shoot from the path above instead.