The Pythia Statue and Apollo's Traces

The statue in front of you is Pythia by the Swiss sculptor Marcello. "Marcello" was actually a pseudonym: at a time when women sculptors were rare, Adèle d'Affry used it when she submitted her work to exhibitions. The architect Charles Garnier fell in love with the piece at first sight when he saw it in Rome, and brought it back to France.

Pythia was a priestess at the Temple of Apollo, whose job was to hear Apollo's prophecies and pass them on to people. The three-legged seat the woman sits on is a tripod; according to tradition, Pythia sat on one like it to receive the god's words and relay them to kings and philosophers. There is no fountain here now, but one used to stand on this spot, with the statue placed at its center so that it was softly reflected in the water.

There is one more Apollo-related detail. Look behind the large candelabra on either side of the statue and you'll spot a familiar instrument: the lyre, the same one Apollo holds on the roof above Place de l'Opéra. As befits a house of music, music-themed motifs keep turning up throughout the building.