For ancient pilgrims, Delphi’s first stop was the Sanctuary of Athena Pronea, now set just below the road 800m east of the Sanctuary of Apollo. This lovely spot is best known as home to the superbly photogenic Tholos, a graceful circular structure of unknown purpose that dates from the 4th century BC. Three of the 20 columns that stood on its three-stepped podium were re-erected in the 1940s; the white portions are original marble, the darker are new.

　　Fragments of the Tholos are on display in room 10 of the Delphi Archaeological Museum.

　　Immediately west, only the foundations now survive of the Temple of Athena Pronea itself.