Table of Contents:
NOT SO ANCIENT
SHOULD SEE DELOS.
DELOS MUSEUM
TO MYKONOS
BACK TO NAXOS
TO PAROS
Delos is different than all the other islands. It has mythology, Greek history, and archaeological sites like many of the other islands.
But it has no showy deluxe hotels. It doesn’t have any hotels.
White sandy beaches with luxe beach clubs? None of those.
What about the best Greek cuisine in the whole country? No, you will not even find a gyro.
So why come to this barren rock between the islands of Mykonos and Rinia?
Because no one ever dies here.
Before you start packing and think you have found eternal life, let me explain.
Pre Purification.
Evidence for settlement on Delos goes back to the Early Bronze Age (3200 B.C.) A few hundred years later, King Minos of Crete has to run off Carian pirates who have a stronghold on the island. The Minoans then settle, but no one knows precisely how long.
We know the Mycenaean civilization crumbles around 1200 B.C., but do not know when they leave Delos.
Delos is a holy sanctuary for Theos Patroos, possibly beginning circa 1700 B.C. He is the patron god of the Ionians, who they believe is born on Delos. They hold a festival every four years.
As Greece slides into the Greek Dark Ages, it is not clear if anyone is on the island.
By 650 B.C. Delos is a major cult center for the twins Apollo and Artemis, with nearby Naxos administering the island.
The twins are born on Delos (wink wink)
Leto was their mother, and surprise, Zeus was the father, although not married to Leto.
Leto chose Delos as the birthplace as she was hiding from Hera, Zeus’s wife, who was not happy at the news.
Some believe the temple here was to Artemis as the temple in Delfi is to Apollo. But his name sticks.
Artemis, with her bow and arrow, is the patron and protector of young girls, mothers giving birth, and women’s diseases.
She has a crush on Orion but remains pure.
Purification
543 B.C., Athens takes control of the island and its lucrative cult center. The ruler, Peisistratus, gives the order for the relocating of all existing graves within sight of the island’s temple.
480 B.C., the Persians sack Athens. The Greek states immediately set up the Delian League as an alliance against future Persian threats. Athens puts itself in control.
That does not last 25 years before Athens misappropriates the funds to pay for the restoration of the Acropolis.
By 449 B.C., the Persian War is over, with Greece crippling the Persian army, then the navy.
Circa 426, Athens exhumes the remaining bodies and ships them to nearby Rheneia during the second purification of Delos.
From that day on, it is illegal for anyone to give birth or die on Delos.
Also, as it is a money-making cult center, if you are not born here, you cannot claim ownership (inheritance.)
With the second purification done, they celebrate by renewing the Delian Games.
Athens would send a sacred embassy by sacred trireme. The same boat which Theseus first sent to the festival after his return from Crete. (wink, wink).
Four years later, Athens banishes the remaining Delians from the island per the Oracle at Delphi.
From War to War to…
Sparta, which plays a significant role against the Persians, has a healthy distrust of its partners, the Delian League. More specifically, the growing Athenian Empire.
This suspicion is nothing new; they have been fighting before this for decades.
The hostility leads to war between Athens and the Delian League against Sparta and its allies.
After years of fighting, Sparta offers a peace treaty. Athens accepts, but only for six years. War resumes with Athen’s surrendering in 405 B.C. Athen’s Golden Age seems to end at the same time, coincidence?
Sparta restores independence to the Delians.
But within 30 years, Athens again controls the island and sanctuary.
Circa 378 B.C., Athens forms the 2nd Athenian League consisting of maritime city-states in the Argean. The enemy this time is Persians to the east and Spartans to the west.
Many of the islands, under Spartan control since the end of the war, are happy to jump ship.
This league implodes after Thebes defeats Sparta and pulls itself from the club circa 371 B.C.
With no outward enemy, the islands turn on Athens until, by 355 B.C., everyone is on their own.
Post War
Delos is again independent. It becomes the financial center of an island confederacy. This period will turn out to be the most prosperous in its history.
The Delians elect four Hierophants (priest-administrators) to manage the sanctuary.
The Hellenistic kings finance new buildings and the upkeep of the temple.
Trading increases with other islands and then with foreign merchants.
Bankers from the growing Roman Republic arrive and begin installing sanctuaries for their deities.
Roman Rule
By 166 B.C., the Romans are now in power on Delos. They expel the Delians and allow the Athenians to occupy the island.
They make Delos a free port to compete with Rhodes, who is yet under Roman rule.
When the Romans destroy Corinth, circa 146 B.C., the Corinthian merchants flee to Delos.
Commercial profits soon surpass those from religious sites, and the festivals soon become international trade fairs. On Delos, in a single day, there is the selling of nearly 10,000 slaves.
Off The Map.
Mithradates VI, a ruler in Asia Minor, attacks the island circa 88 B.C. His troops kill or enslave the population before looting the sanctuary and destroying the city.
The Greek general Sulla retakes the island a year later and returns it to Athenian control. They rebuild.
After a sacking circa 69 B.C. by pirates, the Romans once again take possession and build a city wall.
Pirate attacks still take place, so Rome changes its trade routes.
All of a sudden, Delos is not on the map. The sanctuary and the commercial center suffer.
Delos, Not so Ancient.
By Circa 200 A.D., almost everyone is missing.
Athens puts the island up for sale, but there are no buyers.
Part of the reason is that Delos has no natural resources. It has water due to an extensive cistern system, but nothing grows on the island.
In the next 1600 years, the island sits vacant.
Occasional foragers help themselves to free building materials and sculptures.
But over time, earthquakes tumble the taller structures, and the winds bury everything under layers of dirt and sand.
Delos plays no significant part in the Greek War of Independence. Still, in 1830, it, along with the other Cycladic islands, become part of Greece.
With the end of the Greek War, antiquities, and their care, become a primary concern. The site at Delos is one of the more important ones.
Sounds great, but the brand new country has no money for excavations or museums.
The French Archaeological School of Athens has a great interest in the site of Delos, but it takes over 40 years to get the Greeks to agree to a plan.
Finally, in 1873 excavation of the site begins.
Discovering Delos.
The focus on Delos will last approximately 40 years.
During this time, they will build the Archaeological Museum of Delos (1908) to preserve and display items they find.
By 1914, believing they have found the most significant sections, they move on.
Newer sites are calling the archeologists and, more importantly, the funds for digging.
New interest in Delos begins circa 1958.
This period of intensive excavation will go on for seventeen years, slowing down again around 1975.
Delos Today.
UNESCO adds Delos to its 1990 World’s Cultural Heritage Site list.
What is in Delos for me?
See & Hear.
Try to hit Delos when there are not one (or six) mega cruise ships in Mykonos. It is not a major destination for the young party crowd. You can escape the crowds if you are on your own or with a private guide.
To walk through structures 2000 or more years old, with few others around, is an experience. You can almost “see” how it was years ago.
Taste & Smell.
This may be difficult as there is no food available on the island and nothing more than scrub bushes growing. Imagine the spices from far away places while standing in the Agora.
Feel.
Once again, if you can get a little time away from the crowds, it casts a whole new feeling.
While you’re motoring back to your island with a nice breeze off the water, you see the Delos ruins.
You were just walking the same streets that ancient Greeks, Romans, and even pirates once walked.
There may be better ways to end your afternoon in the Cycladic Islands, but this one doesn’t suck.
Should-see Delos.
Ferries depart from Mykonos daily. There are organized tours from Paros and Naxos, but no ferry service.
The roundtrip ticket from Mykonos was €20 during my last visit in 2018. The ferry does not include admission to the archeological site. (€12 as of 2018).
Pre-booking a guide or an excellent guidebook is an excellent idea. Both of these are at an additional cost.
Delos island has almost no shade, so a hat, sun lotion, and water will be your best friend. Swimming is not allowed.
The only restrooms on the island are at the museum. If your ferry has toilets on board, use them before arriving.
Sacred Port
You arrive on the west side of the island. To your left from the ferry pier, facing the island, the small cove was the sacred port where pilgrims would arrive to visit the religious sites.
Ancient Commercial Port
The larger commercial port is a few hundred yards down to your right. There are three square columns near the water’s edge. There is little interest in this area, and organized tours rarely visit here.
Agora of the Competaliasts
Dating from the 2nd century B.C., this is the area you enter from the pier, adjacent to the Sacred Harbor. Directly in front of you are the square and round marble bases to two monuments to Hermes. You can see the remains of other monuments in this area. The merchants, sea captains, and bankers would commission these as a way to show off.
On the square’s north side, you can see pieces of the Portico of Philip and the foundations of a temple to Hermes. On the south and east corner are the remains of shops. They would surround the central square. In front of the shops, look for holes in the stones. These were to stick wooden poles in to hold up cloth coverings from the sun and occasional rain.
Behind the shops (southeast) is what some call the theater district.
The remains of several private homes from the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C. are in this area. Due to their size and luxury, these are homes of the wealthy, including foreign merchants. They follow the characteristic ancient Greek house plan of rooms around a central courtyard. The more affluent households would include a peristyle, a covered walkway between the yard and the rooms.
The House of Dionysos
Many of the houses get their name from the mosaics or other artwork inside. Here, you see the mosaic of Dionysos riding a panther. Under the mosaic would be a cistern for the collection of precious rainwater. A stone stairway leads to the upper story.
House of Dioskourides and Kleopatra
This house was the property of an Athenian, Dioskourides, and his wife, Kleopatra. We know this from the statue replicas in the courtyard in their likeness.
Kleopatra was a common first name in ancient Greece, meaning joy (Cleo) of the father. This residence is not the home of any Egyptian queens.
House of the Trident
This house also has a fine mosaic of a dolphin and trident. The carvings may be of a Syrian deity, indicating that this may be a foreign merchant’s house.
The Theatre
Dating from the 3rd century B.C., it is a replacement for an earlier theater. The current theater could seat around 5,500 spectators. Parts of the stage portion are visible.
House of the Masks
Up the hill from the theater, this house has a slightly different layout. The name is for the theater masks in the mosaic.
House of the Dolphins
The bases of the column make it clear the courtyard had a peristyle running around it. The central mosaic has a unique circular design with dolphins in the four corners. Most of the Delos mosaics are square or rectangular scenes.
To the northeast of the Dolphinhouse is a sanctuary to the familiar triad of Anubis, Serapis, and Isis.
The Temple of Hera
On the south end, right before the sanctuary, are two Doric columns marking the front of this temple from circa 500 B.C. Digging found an earlier temple foundation underneath, possibly 7th century B.C. The museum has several items from this previous temple.
The Temple of Isis
At the north end of the 2nd century B.C. sanctuary is a small Doric temple to Isis. She is the goddess of good health, fortune, and protector of the sailors. There is a map of Delos on display and a good view of the northern part of the site.
There is a staircase behind the sanctuary to your right for those still requiring more steps. They will take you past the foundation of the Temple of Zeus and to the top of Monte Cintos for 360-degree views of the island. There are signs of ruins up here as well, but nothing recognizable.
If you are standing directly in front of the Doric Temple of Isis, turn north (left) and follow the path. You will pass a small Odeon (semi-circular auditorium) before the trail begins downhill with a few steps along the way. There are no handrails, and although there is some cement, this is an uneven dirt path. Wear sensible walking hiking boots as they do not allow you to die on Delos. The trail then turns north, and you are soon at the museum.
Archaeological Museum of Delos.
Since at least 2015, there has been talking about a new museum on Delos. Unless this tiny island gets the bid for the Olympics, I do not see that happening soon.
Until that time, the current museum from 1908 houses objects from the different excavations on the island. There is pottery dating back to the 25th century B.C.
Most of the other pieces, including Funerary statues, jewelry, mosaics, and other small objects, are much newer. They date from the 1st and 2nd century B.C.
Why stop here?
The only restrooms on the island are here.
A great model of the site will help you understand the things you already saw and what you will see next.
The collection, while not huge, is impressive, and these are the real deal.
From the museum, follow the path towards the water (west).
Minoan Fountain
On your left is this public fountain dug directly from the natural rock, with steps leading down. The dedication is to the Cult of the Minoan Nymphs. It dates to the second half of the 6th century B.C.
Stoa of Antigonos
The short row of stones behind the fountain (south) shows the position of the stoa. Antigonus Gonatas was the King of Macedonia (circa 300 B.C.) who builds this stoa (covered walkway) to Apollo. The stoa is on the northern side of the sanctuary of Apollo.
South of the Stoa is the stone floors and foundations of five treasuries.
Agora of the Italians
To the north of the fountain is an agora (market) set up by Roman merchants circa 100 B.C. The shops around it come later. In its day, the colonnade was two stories high.
Terrace of the Lions
Turn right when you reach the west side of the Agora. Here, you will see one of the most photographed areas in Delos, the marble lions. A gift from the Naxians to Apollo at the end of 7th century B.C., they face east towards the Sacred Lake. Archeologists believe there may have been initially sixteen. Today, there are five mainly whole lions and the remains of three others. The body of another now sits in front of the Arsenal in Venice, with a new head. The rest of them are lost.
Sacred Lake
The oval lake is now dry to keep mosquitos away but once held Apollo’s sacred swans and geese. The palm tree in the center represents the one Leto was clutching while giving birth to Apollo and Artemis.
There are several additional homes, some with mosaics, beyond the lake on the right. Beyond the lions on the left, there are some structures too large for residences. They were probably meeting rooms (clubhouses) for groups like the Establishment of the Poseidoniasts from Beirut.
This association of merchants, bankers, shippers, and dockworkers from Syria is a chance to share traditions and worship their gods. There is a central court with small temples in the rooms around it. They can worship their gods such as Poseidon, Hercules, and others here.
When you are ready, double back to the corner by the Agora.
Continue south with the water on your right.
The Temple of the Delians
Some maps may call it the Grand Temple or the Apollon Temple. It is the third and largest temple dedicated to Apollo on this spot. Dating from 478 B.C., it is a Doric temple with six columns across the front and back. The sides both have thirteen. When Athens “borrows” the treasury, work halts until the Delian independence. They never finish the temple for financial reasons or possibly a drop in popularity. Today, you can see the scale of the temple from the foundation. Unfortunately, all the pieces are scattered about, looking like the beginning of an enormous picture puzzle.
From here, it is a short walk back to the ferry pier.