The island of Delos (; el, Δήλος ;

Attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a ''loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...

: , Doric: ), near Mykonos, near the centre of the

Cyclades The Cyclades (; el, Κυκλάδες, ) are an island group in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The na ...

archipelago, is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

. The excavations in the island are among the most extensive in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...

; ongoing work takes place under the direction of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades, and many of the artifacts found are on display at the Archaeological Museum of Delos and the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. Delos had a position as a holy

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a s ...

for a millennium before Olympian

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of ...

made it the birthplace of

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

and Artemis. From its Sacred Harbour, the horizon shows the three conical mounds that have identified landscapes

sacred Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or godd ...

to a

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...

(it is predicted that the deity's name is Athena) - in other sites: one, retaining its Pre-Greek name Mount Cynthus, is crowned with a sanctuary of

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, ...

. In 1990,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...

inscribed Delos on the World Heritage List, citing its exceptional archaeological site which "conveys the image of a great cosmopolitan Mediterranean port", its influence on the development of Greek architecture, and its sacred importance throughout

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...

History

Ancient Greece

Investigation of ancient stone huts found on the island indicate that it has been inhabited since the third millennium BC.

Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His '' History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of " scient ...

identifies the original inhabitants as

piratical Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

Carians who were eventually expelled by King Minos of

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cypru ...

. By the writing of the ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...

'', the island was already famous as the birthplace of the twin gods

and Artemis (although some confusion seems to exist of Artemis' birthplace being either Delos or the island of Ortygia). Between 900 BC and 100 AD, Delos was a major cult centre, where the gods

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...

and Leto, mother of the twin deities Apollo and Artemis, were revered. Eventually acquiring

Panhellenic Greek nationalism (or Hellenic nationalism) refers to the nationalism of Greeks and Greek culture.. As an ideology, Greek nationalism originated and evolved in pre-modern times. It became a major political movement beginning in the 18th centur ...

religious significance, Delos was initially a religious

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

for the Ionians. A number of " purifications" were performed by the city-state of

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

in an attempt to render the island fit for the proper worship of the gods. The first took place in the sixth century BC, directed by the tyrant

Pisistratus Pisistratus or Peisistratus ( grc-gre, Πεισίστρατος ; 600 – 527 BC) was a politician in ancient Athens, ruling as tyrant in the late 560s, the early 550s and from 546 BC until his death. His unification of Attica, the triangular ...

, who ordered that all graves within sight of the temple be dug up and the bodies moved to another nearby island. In the fifth century BC, during the sixth year of the Peloponnesian War and under instruction from the Delphic Oracle, the entire island was purged of all dead bodies. Prohibition of dying was then ordered, so that no one should be allowed to die (or give birth) on the island due to its sacred importance, and to preserve its neutrality in commerce since no one could then claim ownership through inheritance. Immediately after this purification, the first quinquennial festival of the Delian games were celebrated there. Four years later, all inhabitants of the island were removed to Adramyttium in Asia as a further purification. After the Persian Wars, the island became the natural meeting ground for the

Delian League The Delian League, founded in 478 BC, was an association of Greek city-states, numbering between 150 and 330, under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Persian Empire after the Greek victory in the Battle of Pl ...

, founded in 478 BC, the

congresses A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ad ...

being held in the temple (a separate quarter was reserved for foreigners and the sanctuaries of foreign deities). The league's common

treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or ...

was kept here as well until 454 BC, when Pericles removed it to Athens. During the

Hellenistic period In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

, a well-established Phoenician colony on the island had extensive trade relations. The island had no productive capacity for

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ...

, fiber, or

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including Beam (structure), beams and plank (wood), planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as fini ...

, which were all imported. Limited

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...

was exploited with an extensive

cistern A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by ...

and aqueduct system,

wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada * Wells, British Columbia England * Wel ...

, and sanitary drains. Various regions operated ''

agora The agora (; grc, ἀγορά, romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Greek city-states. It is the best representation of a city-state's response to accommodate the social and political order ...

e'' (markets). Suda writes that the Greeks used the proverb "ᾌδεις ὥσπερ εἰς Δῆλον πλέων", meaning you sing as if sailing into Delos in reference to someone who is happy, light-hearted, and enjoying himself. Iamblichus writes that Delos Mysteries (similar to the Eleusinian Mysteries) were established.

Roman era

Strabo states that in 166 BC, the Romans converted Delos into a free port, which was partially motivated by seeking to damage the trade of Rhodes, at the time the target of Roman hostility. In 167 or 166 BC, after the Roman victory in the Third Macedonian War, the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kingd ...

ceded the island of Delos to the Athenians, who expelled most of the original inhabitants. Roman traders came to purchase tens of thousands of slaves captured by the

Cilician pirates Cilician pirates dominated the Mediterranean Sea from the 2nd century BC until their suppression by Pompey in 67–66 BC. Because there were notorious pirate strongholds in Cilicia, on the southern coast of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), the ...

or captured in the wars following the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire. It became the center of the slave trade, with the largest

slave market A slave market is a place where slaves are bought and sold. These markets became a key phenomenon in the history of slavery. Slave markets in the Ottoman Empire In the Ottoman Empire during the mid-14th century, slaves were traded in special ...

in the larger region being maintained here. The Roman destruction of Corinth in 146 BC allowed Delos to at least partially assume Corinth's role as the premier trading center of

, but Delos' commercial prosperity, construction activity, and population waned significantly after the island was assaulted by the forces of Mithridates VI of Pontus in 88 and 69 BC, during the Mithridatic Wars with Rome. Before the end of the first century BC, trade routes had changed; Delos was replaced by Puteoli as the chief focus of Italian trade with the east, and as a cult centre, too, it entered a sharp decline. Despite its decline, Delos maintained some population in the early Roman Imperial period. Pausanias (8,33,2), writing in the second century AD, states that Delos was uninhabited apart from a few custodians of the sanctuaries. Evidence has been found of Roman baths, coins, an aqueduct, residential and elite houses, multiple churches, basilicas, and a monastery all from the first to sixth centuries AD, which, however, does not suggest that the island was continuously inhabited in the period. The pottery found indicates that produce, such as wine and oil, continued to be imported from regional centres. Also, a number of wine presses were found amidst the ruins of the ancient city that date to this period, suggesting that the population at this time was engaged in considerable viticultural endeavour. Delos was eventually abandoned around the eighth century AD.

Landmarks

* The small sacred lake in its circular bowl, now intentionally left dry by the island's caretakers to suppress disease-spreading

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were am ...

, is a topographical feature that determined the placement of later features. * The Minoan Fountain was a rectangular public well hewn in the rock, with a central column; it formalized the sacred spring in its present sixth-century BC form, reconstructed in 166 BC, according to an inscription. Tightly laid courses of masonry form the walls; water can still be reached by a flight of steps that fill one side. * Several market squares were found; the

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium i ...

Agora of the Competaliasts by the Sacred Harbour retains the postholes for market awnings in its stone paving. Two powerful Italic

merchant guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometime ...

s dedicated statues and columns there. * The Temple of the Delians, dedicated to Apollo, is a classic example of the

Doric order The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of ...

. Beside the temple, once stood a colossal kouros of Apollo, only parts of which remain. Dating to the sixth century BC, parts of the upper torso and pelvis remain '' in situ'', a hand is kept at the local museum, and a foot is in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docume ...

* The Terrace of the Lions, also was dedicated to Apollo by the people of Naxos shortly before 600 BC. It originally had 9-12 squatting, snarling marble guardian lions along the Sacred Way; one was removed and is presently situated over the main gate of the Venetian Arsenal. The lions create a monumental avenue comparable to Egyptian avenues of sphinxes. (A Greek sphinx is in the Delos Museum.) Today, only seven of the original lions remain. * The Oikos of the Naxians (House of the Naxians), first quarter of sixth century BC, has a long hall with one central ionic colonnade, a west porch tristyle in antis, and an east marble prostasis of the middle of the six,th century BC. * The Establishment of the Poseidoniasts, clubhouse of "the Koinon of the

Berytian ) or Laodicea in Canaan (2nd century to 64 BCE) , image = St. George's Cathedral, Beirut.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Roman ruins of Berytus, in front of Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral in mode ...

Poseidoniast merchants, shipmasters, and warehousemen", during the early years of Roman hegemony, late 2nd century BC. To their protective triad of

Baal Baal (), or Baal,; phn, , baʿl; hbo, , baʿal, ). ( ''baʿal'') was a title and honorific meaning "owner", " lord" in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during antiquity. From its use among people, it came to be applied ...

/ Poseidon, Astarte/

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion (emotion), passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman god ...

and Eshmun/

Asklepios Asclepius (; grc-gre, Ἀσκληπιός ''Asklēpiós'' ; la, Aesculapius) is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Religion in ancient Greece, Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology. He is the son of Apollo and Coronis (lover of ...

, they added

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council * Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

* The Doric Temple of Isis was built on a high, overlooking hill at the beginning of the Roman period to venerate the familiar trinity of Isis, the Alexandrian Serapis, and Anubis. * The Temple of Hera, ''circa'' 500 BC, is a rebuilding of an earlier Heraion on the site. * The House of Dionysus is a luxurious second-century private house named for the floor mosaic of Dionysus riding a panther. * The House of the Dolphins is similarly named from its atrium mosaic, where erotes ride dolphins; its

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...

n owner commissioned a floor mosaic of Tanit in his

vestibule Vestibule or Vestibulum can have the following meanings, each primarily based upon a common origin, from early 17th century French, derived from Latin ''vestibulum, -i n.'' "entrance court". Anatomy In general, vestibule is a small space or cavity ...

. * The Stoivadeion dedicated to

bears a statue of the god of wine and the life-force. On either side of the platform, a pillar supports a colossal

phallus A phallus is a penis (especially when erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history a figure with an erect penis is described as ithyphallic. Any object that symbolically—or, more precise ...

, the symbol of Dionysus. The southern pillar, which is decorated with relief scenes from the Dionysiac circle, was erected around 300 BC to celebrate a winning theatrical performance. The statue of Dionysus was originally flanked by those of two actors impersonating ''Paposilenoi'' (conserved in the Archaeological Museum of Delos). The marble theatre is a rebuilding of an older one, undertaken shortly after 300 BC. * The Delos Synagogue, the oldest synagogue known today.

Current population

The 2001 Greek

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

reported a population of 14 inhabitants on the island. The island is administratively a part of the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

of Mýkonos. According to more recent numbers, in 2011 the island counted 24 inhabitants.

Gallery

File:Theatre Quarter, Delos 04.jpg, The Theatre Quarter File:Sacred Way, Delos 03.jpg, Sacred Way File:Establishment of the Poseidoniasts, Delos 01.jpg, Establishment of the Poseidoniasts File:Delos House of Dionysus floor mosaic.jpg, House of Dionysus floor mosaic File:House of the Masks 01.jpg, House of the Masks File:House of Cleopatra, Delos.jpg, House of Cleopatra File:Delos House of Cleopatra.jpg, Statues at the House of Cleopatra File:Ancient Delos.jpg, House of the Lake File:Temple of Isis, Delos 03.jpg, Temple of Isis File:Bust of Hermes, Delos 01.jpg, Bust of

Hermes Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orato ...

File:Mosaic from the Insula of the Jewellery 04.jpg, Mosaic from the Insula of the Jewellery File:Dolphins in Delos.JPG, A mosaic on the floor of the House of the Dolphins File:Agora of the Italians, Delos 02.jpg, Agora of the Italians File:Heraion, Delos 02.jpg, Heraion (Temple of

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...

) File:House of the Trident 03.jpg, House of the Trident

References

External links

Hellenic Ministry of Culture site: Delos

Delos Island on WikiMapiaThe Barrington Atlas Directory notes: Delos GRE
{{Authority control Ancient Greek geography Islands of Greece World Heritage Sites in Greece Ancient Greek sanctuaries in Greece Landforms of Mykonos Islands of the South Aegean Delian League Populated places in the ancient Aegean islands Phoenician colonies in Greece