Omphalos of Delphi

According to the Ancient Greek myths regarding the founding of the Delphic Oracle, the god Zeus, in his attempt to locate the center of the Earth, launched two eagles from the two ends of the world, and the eagles, starting simultaneously and flying at equal speed, crossed their paths above the area of Delphi, and so was the place where Zeus placed the stone.

The marble-carved stone that constituted the omphalos in the monument with the tripod and the dancers troubled the excavators, because they could not decide if it was the original or a copy from Hellenistic and Roman times.

[clarification needed] In the 2nd century AD, Pausanias traveled to the area of Delphi and has provided us with rare evidence through his work.

It is possible that in ancient times it was covered by a mesh of wool cloth, and it was kept in the adyton (inner sanctum), beside the tripod and the daphne (bay leaves) – the other sacred symbols of the god.

This is the spot where the omphalos is thought to have been placed until today, as a cover of the column, in order to reinforce the meaning and importance of the Athenian votive offering symbolically.