The
Treasury of Athens is a building at
Delphi, the holiest of
Ancient Greek sites and
shrine to the
god Apollo. It was built to commemorate the
Athenians' victory at the
Battle of Marathon. It is one of a number of such treasuries, built by the various states—those overseas as well as those on the mainland—to commemorate victories and to thank the
oracle for advice important to those victories. The Athenians had previously been given the advice by the oracle to put their faith in their "wooden walls" – taking this advice to mean their navy, they won a famous battle at
Salamis.
Photo credit: Sam Korn