Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
OLD DELOS DAYS
Delos's ancient fame arose because Leto gave birth to the divine twins Artemis and Apollo
here, although the island's fine, sheltered harbour and central position in the Aegean did
nothing to hamper development from around 2500 BC. When the Ionians colonized the island
about 1000 BC it was already a cult centre, and by the seventh century BC it had also become
a major commercial and religious port. Unfortunately Delos attracted the attention of Athens,
which sought dominion over this prestigious island; the wealth of the Delian Confederacy ,
founded after the Persian Wars to protect the Aegean cities, was harnessed to Athenian ends,
and for a while Athens controlled the Sanctuary of Apollo. Athenian attempts to “purify” the
island began with a decree (426 BC) that no one could die or give birth on Delos - the sick
and the pregnant were shipped to the neighbouring island of Rínia - and culminated in the
simple expedient of banishing the native population.
Delos recovered in Roman times and reached its peak of prosperity in the third and second
centuries BC, after being declared a free port by its Roman overlords; by the start of the first
century BC, its population was around 25,000. In the end, though, its undefended wealth
brought ruin: first Mithridates , of Pontus (88 BC), then the pirate Athenodorus (69 BC)
plundered the treasures, and the island never recovered since.
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kings, walk up it to reach the three marble steps of the Propýlaia leading into the
Sanctuary of Apollo . On your left is the Stoá of the Naxians, while against the north
wall of the House of the Naxians, to the right, a huge statue of Apollo (c.600 BC)
stood in ancient times; parts of it can be seen behind the Temple of Artemis to the
left. In 417 BC the Athenian general Nikias led a procession of priests across a bridge
of boats from Rínia to dedicate a bronze palm tree whose circular granite base you
can still see. Three Temples to Apollo stand in a row to the right along the Sacred
Way: the massive Delian Temple, the Athenian, and the Porinos, the earliest, dating
from the sixth century BC. To the east stands the Sanctuary of Dionysus with its
colossal marble phallus.
Lions' Quarter
Northwest of the Sanctuary of Dionysus, behind the small Letóön temple, is the
huge Agora of the Italians , while on the left are replicas of the famous lions , their
lean bodies masterfully executed by Naxians in the seventh century BC to ward off
intruders who would have been unfamiliar with the fearful creatures. Of the original
lions, three have disappeared and one - looted by Venetians in the seventeenth
century- adorns the Arsenale in Venice. The remaining originals are in the site
museum whose nine rooms include a marble statue of Apollo, mosaic fragments and
an extensive collection of phallic artefacts. Opposite the lions, tamarisk trees ring
the site of the Sacred Lake , where Leto gave birth, clinging to a palm tree. On the
other side of the lake is the City Wall, built - in 69 BC - too late to protect the
treasures.
Theatre Quarter
Bear right from the Agora of the Competaliasts and you enter the residential area,
known as the Theatre Quarter . The remnants of impressive private mansions are now
named after their colourful main mosaic - Dionysus, Trident, Masks and Dolphins.
he theatre itself seated no fewer than 5500 spectators; just below it and structurally
almost as spectacular is a huge underground cistern with arched roof supports. Behind
the theatre, a path leads towards the Sanctuaries of the Foreign Gods , serving the
immigrant population. It then rises steeply up Mount Kýnthos for a Sanctuary of Zeus
and Athena with spectacular views out to the surrounding islands. Near its base, a small
side path leads to the Sacred Cave , a rock cleft covered with a remarkable roof of giant
stone slabs - a Hellenistic shrine to Hercules.
 
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