Case file · Apparition / miracle
Delphi defends itself against the Persians
Herodotus (8.36–39) says that when a Persian detachment approached Delphi, sacred weapons moved out of the temple by themselves, lightning struck, and two crags crashed down on the attackers.
480 BCE · 38.48, 22.50 · status: legend
The account
The Delphians told Herodotus that two giant hoplites, the local heroes Phylacus and Autonous, pursued the fleeing Persians, and the fallen rocks were still shown in his day in the precinct of Athena Pronaia.
The sceptical view
Delphi had every reason to tell a story of divine protection, and the oracle had in fact been cautious towards Persia.