Delphi
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- This article covers the Caprican city depicted in the re-imagined series. For the Delphian Empire from the original series, click here.
A Colonial city on Caprica featuring a large spaceport and military base. The tallest structure that could be seen for miles was the Telemontus Building - a towering monument that pierced the Delphian city skyline by several stories.
Delphi is believed to be the cultural and spiritual heart of the Twelve Colonies, home of the Forum, Temple, and Opera House which were built to mirror the originals on Kobol. Helo is heard to curse the Cylons for using Delphi as a major hub in Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down.
Following the Cylon Attack, Delphi is used by the Cylons as their primary base of operations. Sharon Valerii and Karl Agathon make their way acorss the planet in the hope of being able to find a vehicle they can use to fly off Caprica (Flesh and Bone, The Hand of God, Colonial Day).
It is also the city that contains the Arrow of Apollo, an artifact that may be the only clue to the whereabouts of Earth (Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I, Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II). When Laura Roslin has visions following the discovery of Kobol, she overrides William Adama's plans and persuades Kara Thrace to take her captured Cylon Raider to Caprica in order to recover the Arrow (Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I).
Successfully jumping to Caprica, Starbuck lands next to the museum in which the Arrow is kept and manages to retrieve it, but she is badly beaten by Six, and encounters Helo and the pregnant Sharon Valerii (Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II).
Starbuck once owned a studio apartment in Delphi. The place was a mess, it overlooked a parking lot, it had a broken toilet and the basic services were constantly being cut off because she didn't pay the bills. The apartment was littered with paintings of her own creation and of course her customary stogies. Starbuck wasn't very enthusiastic about the place, even when she owned it, the only reason she returned "home" was to collect an old jacket, a personal memento, and to get her humvee so she and Helo wouldn't have to walk anymore (Valley of Darkness).
The Cylons eventually resettled Delphi, and Humano-Cylons actually lived there- appropriating apartments, eating at cafes, etc. Galactica-Sharon returned to the apartment she had lived in prior to the Fall after her download. The city was already populated by copies of Numbers Three, Five, Six, and Eight (Leoben Conoy and Simon copies were also seen, but the original actors were not used, and they were not numbered). Samuel Anders and his Resistance carried out a series of attacks on Delphi in the hopes of scaring the Cylons away, including the destriction of a cafe that killed more than 40 Humano-Cylons. Sharon and Three subsequently captured Anders, who was trapped in a garage with Caprica-Six. The Fives were able to rescue Caprica and Sharon (Three was dead and Anders has been released), who likely used Delphi as their base for reshaping Cylon society. (Downloaded; if the Cavils are to be believed, then Delphi has been abandoned along with the rest of the Colonies as the Cylons left. Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II)
Ancient Greece
The location of Delphi is one of many of the series’ influences by ancient Greek mythology and history. In antiquity, the Greek city of Delphi was home to the Delphic Oracle, a Sibyl who made predictions, delivered in song or verse, which may have been inspired or influenced by the breathing of vapors emitted from the ground. The Oracle was originally a Pythian priestess (named for the python, killed by Apollo). Over time, she became known as The Pythia.
Initially, the Oracle was associated with Gaia, who became the foundation of the Olympian Gods. However, with the founding of a temple to the god Apollo, Delphi became more closely associated with him.
This relationship between Delphi and Apollo is reflected in Delphi on Caprica being the home of the Arrow of Apollo.
Cinematic Note
The University of British Columbia's Koerner Library was used as the Delphi base on Caprica in the episode "Colonial Day" (Source: The Official Companion).