About: Delphica

"Delphica" (French: Delfica) is a poem by the French writer Gérard de Nerval, first published in 1845 and later included in The Chimeras, a sequence of eight poems. Like the other Chimeras, it is a sonnet and was written during a period of mental health problems. The poem is addressed to the naiad Daphne, evokes the ancient cult of Apollo at Delphi and forecasts that the gods of classical mythology will return. It revolves around the view that paganism has been dormant or clandestine during the Christian epoch and will see a resurgence. It was published in the magazine L'Artiste and Nerval's book Petits châteaux de Bohème (1853) before the complete Chimeras were published in The Daughters of Fire (1854).