The Basics
| Transportation | Boat from Mykonos |
|---|---|
| Main Attractions | Archeological ruins, museum |
| Food | overpriced–bring your own |
| Accommodations | none |
Delos Characteristics
Delos is one of Greece’s most important archaeological sites, and one of the most important Panhellenic sanctuaries (actually a multiple sanctuary).
No one lives on Delos except French archeologists. There are no hotels and the island is restricted unless with a tour group. Only 3 1/2 nautical miles from Mykonos, in ancient times, Delos was the "spiritual center" of The Cyclades, or circle chain. As many as 5,000 slaves were sold here on a good day. (Tourists are exploited here even today.) As the mythical birth place of Apollo, it was considered a sacred island. The Athenians would come along and kill everyone every once is a while to purify the place. The ancient Greeks considered it a holy island.
Island Features
Alternate spellings include Dhilos and Dilos. The site and museum are open 8:30am-3pm, Tues-Sun; €4.40.
Today Delos is essentially a large archeological site with no inhabitants except members of The French School of Archeology, who have been excavating the island for over 100 years. Overnight stays on the island are forbidden. The ruins take up almost a square mile. You can get the highlights in about three and a half hours. If you like partially restored ancient ruins or are a Greek mythology buff, you'll love Delos.
Mykonos provides the easiest access to Delos and excursion boats leave from the small quay mornings, Tuesday through Saturday, starting at 8:30 a.m. Boats depart every half hour and return between 11 am and 3:30 p.m. You can stay three or fours hours and get a guided tours for about €20. Tickets costs €8. round trip. A free map accompanies each ticket and one can listen in on guided tours.
Caique
or water-taxis are originally a small wide-bodied fishing craft but come in many
variations seating from 10 to 40 people. If you choose and are willing to wait wait, yours will
have a sun awning or even an interior area. One thing they have in common is
their smallness. So, if the sea is choppy and your sea legs firm they can
be exhilarating. Have a plastic bag to put your camera in. Take water, snacks, a hat, and sensible shoes or boots.
Drinking and Dining
There is a flyblown, wind-tossed, overpriced canteen. Avoid it if you can.
As I mentioned above, you'll be better off carrying your own food and water to this open-air museum.
History
According to mythology, Delos was the birth-place of Apollo and Artemis. Leto was said to have given birth to the divine twins, Apollo and Artemis by the Sacred Lake, in the northeast part of the site. (This lake was drained in 1925 to prevent the breeding of malaria-carrying mosquitoes.)
The first signs of habitation on the island date from the 3rd millenium B.C., and important remains of the Mycenaean period have been uncovered in the area of the sanctuary.
A festival in honor of Apollo was established during the 8th century BC and many temples and shrines devoted to him. By the 7th century BC Delos had become the religious and commercial center of the Amphictionic League. In 478 BC it came under Athenian power with the establishment of the Delian League, which decreed that no one could be born or die on this tiny island, thus diminishing the local native population. Later the natives were banished to Achaia in the Peloponnese.
Delos was a major religious center as well as commercial center during Hellenistic times, with traders from Egypt and Syria who built temples to their own deities (though Apollo was the central deity worshipped here). The Romans made it a free port (i.e., an international harbor) during the second century BC. There was a flourishing slave trade with 10,000 humans sold daily.
The declaration of Delos as an "international" harbour by the Romans led to an influx of foreigners who became a significant element of the island's population. By the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D. only a small settlement existed on Delos and, as Christianity gradually replaced the ancient religion, the island finally lost its importance.
Delos was a sacred place with splendid buildings and sanctuaries and as such, it was never forgotten; many references are preserved by travellers who visited the island in the last centuries. Numerous pieces of sculpture were transferred to Museums of Greece and abroad, while marble from the ancient buildings were used as building material by the inhabitants of the nearby islands.
Excavations on Delos started in 1873 by the French School of Archaeology at Athens. Large-scale restoration work has been undertaken by the French School of Archaeology. Several columns have been rebuilt and ancient houses have been roofed in order to protect the mosaic floors. In 1990 Delos was included in the World's Cultural Heritage, protected by the UNESCO.
The ancient town and site are on the west side of the island, and you can get a birds-eye view of it by climbing Mt. Kythnos (113 meters) which is near the harbor, as well as of other islands. Walk through the Theater Quarter to get to it. The houses here were of the wealthy occupants, many with mosaics.
The most important monuments of the site are:
- The Agora of the Competaliasts
- The Temple of the Delians
- The Minoan Fountain
- Terrace of the Lions
- The Stoivadeion
- The Theatre
- Temple of Isis
- The Temple of Hera
- The "House of Dionysos"
You must visit the National Archaeological Museum in Athens to see the important finds from Delos, but the site museum has a good collection as well, including the lions from the Terrace of Lions. The ones on the terrace itself are copies of the originals by Naxian sculptors of the seventh century BC finely-wrought of Naxian marble.
They faced eastward towards the Sacred Lake. Three of the original nine (some say sixteen) disappeared at some point, and one is at the Arsenale in Venice. These lions were the guardians of the Sanctuary.
Archaeological Museum of Delos
This museum was built in 1904 by the Archaeology Society of Athens, was enlarged in 1931 (from five original rooms) and enlarged again in 1972. It now has nine rooms, six of them containing the statues and reliefs found at Delos, and two with prehistoric to late Hellenistic pottery. The last room contains objects depicting everyday life, taken from the private houses on the site.
Notable items include a
Kouros torso found in a sanctuary of Apollo. Most likely made in Paros (noted for its marble as was, and is, Naxos) in mid-sixth century BC. A kouros (plural kouroi/kouri) is a large male statue of the Archaic period, usually a broad-shouldered naked youth with a mysterious smile.
There is also a Kore statue (female version of kouros). (Sixth century BC.) Young woman kore found in the Sanctuary of Apollo and one of the oldest surviving examples of large-scale sculpture. She is standing, dressed in a tight ‘peplos’ decorated with an incised vertical maeander in the front.
The museum has a Voreas/Boreas statue Marble statue of the god of the north wind abducting the Athenian princess Oreithya and adorned the east pediment of a temple dedicated by the Athenians during the fifth century BC.
Look for the Ivory Plaque with figure of Mycenaean warrior in relief, wearing a helmet made of wild boar teeth and carrying a shield an spear.
The Statues of Dioscouridhes and Kleopatra were found in Theater Quarter. The are Second century BC marble statues of this Athenian couple who lived on island of Delos. The statues were found in their house. The inscriptions at the base tell us that Kleopatra erected these statues to honor Diocouridhes who had in turn given two silver tripods to the temple of Apollo.
This Bronze Mask of Dionysos is dated to second century BC. The god with his huge curly beard is wearing a diadem and an ivy wreath. The mast was most likely a votive offering.
You can also see a Corinthian "alabastron". (Seventh century BC.) It's a small, perfumed-oil container, found in the Heraion with other such vases. The protectress of hunting (Potnia Theron, or ‘lady of the beasts’) is respresented on it.
The marble statue of Apollo is leaning on a tree. Perhaps it is a smaller copy of a statue dedicated to Delphi in commemoration of a third century BC victory against the Galls, as in this smaller version, Apollo has his foot on a pile of Gallic shields. Found in a private house during the same century. It is similar to the famous ‘Apollo Lyceios’, which is attributed to Praxiteles.
The museum has a w all-painting from a house in Skardana Quarter (from outer wall), with depiction of Heracles (Iraklis), two boxers, and a man playing a wind instrument. The inscription mentions famous boxer of first century BC.
The base of a kouros statue with ram’s head on one of the three corners, and Gorgon’s heads on the other two has a inscription that indicates Naxian origin. Dates from seventh century BC and was found in Sanctuary of Apollo.
Hints from Harry
Delos is a big scam in my opinion and unless you are an archeologist, over-priced. The fact that there is only one toilet and 700 to a thousand visitors at a time says something doesn't it? Water costs €2 for a small bottle. Someone is making a lot of money off Delos. See more photos of Delos. Delos Photos II
Maps
The major dwellings and temples are labeled among the ruins. There are guidebooks available for the ruins (rather badly translated, but available).
Harry's Other Mykonos Pages:
About Mykonos | Beaches | Useful Tips | Maps | Hotels | Delos