Datça

“Do not fence off the isthmus, nor dig it through; for Zeus would have made it an island, had he wished.” According to Herodotus, these words were the answer the oracle of Delphi gave the people of Knidos. As the Persians approached, the Knidians wanted to dig through the narrowest part of the peninsula and turn themselves into an island; but when they saw splinters of stone flying into the workers’ eyes and wounding them as they dug, they sensed some ill omen at work and consulted the oracle. On hearing the answer, they laid down their picks… For those used to the ambiguous replies of the Delphic oracle, it must be said this one was remarkably clear.