According to Pausanias (10.11) the Athenians constructed this treasury following the victory at Marathon. If we believe him, it was constructed after 490 BC, but many scholars suggest the style belong to earlier period, around 500 BC. It is possible that the Athenians dedicated the spoils from Marathon here, but the building itself was built earlier.
This is the only treasury still standing in Delphi. It is because of the restauration executed by the French School, with the financial contrubtion of the city of Athens between 1903 and 1906.
It was built as Doric distyle, 6m x 10m in size, and made of white marble. In the metopes (these incorporated in the building are cast and the original ones are in the museum) are the sculptures representing the feats of Hercules (north and west side), of Theseus (south side), and the Amazonomachy (east side).
On the wall are about 150 inscriptions, many of them commemorating Athenian victories at Pythian games.
Reference
- Robin Barber, Greece (Blue Guide), London- N.Y. 2001 (Revised reprint of the 6th edition of 1995), pp. 396.
- Christopher Mee & Antony Spawforth, Greece (An Oxford Archaeological Guide). Oxford/ OUP, 2001, p. 305.
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