Ancient Delos (Day 7 - Mykonos, Greece, Part 1)

Jewel of the Seas docked in Mykonos

The official name of our cruise was "9 Night Greek Isle Cruise."  Finally, on day 4 of our cruise we were on a Greek Isle!  Actually, we were on two islands that day.  Our ship docked in Mykonos, then our excursion took us to the island of Delos.  We enjoyed the views on our 30 minute boat ride.

Prior to this trip, we knew nothing about Delos.  Our guide, Sophia, was a wealth of information during our 2 1/2 hour tour, all while keeping our group moving.

Delos was considered as “the most sacred of all islands” in ancient Greek culture. According to the legend, it was there that Apollo, god of daylight, and his twin sister Artemis, goddess of night light, were born.

According to researchers, the island was settled in the third millennium B.C. (3000-2000 B.C.)  The flood in Genesis took place around 2400-2300 B.C., so a long time ago!

We really had no idea what we were going to see, but this little island was quite amazing.  It is only about 3 miles by 1 mile.  But there was plenty to see.

 

 

Because of the supposed birth of these Greek gods, Delos has always been a very sacred place.  A number of purifications were executed by the city-state of Athens in an attempt to render the island fit for the proper worship of the gods. They first took place in the 6th century BC, directed by the tyrant Pisistratus who ordered that all graves within sight of the temple be dug up and the bodies moved to another nearby island. In the 5th century, during the 6th year of the Peloponnesian war and under instruction from the Delphic Oracle, the entire island was purged of all dead bodies. It was then ordered that no one should be allowed to either die or give birth on the island due to its sacred importance.

The entire island of Delos is an archaeological site, protected by law.

There are many interesting monuments on the island.  The Terrace of the Lions was dedicated to Apollo by the people of Naxos shortly before 600 B.C.  It originally had nine to twelve squatting, snarling marble guardian lions along the Sacred Way.

We walked through the now dry "Sacred Lake."

In 166 B.C. 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.  All the commercial activity of the eastern Mediterranean was concentrated on the isle. Rich merchants, bankers and ship-owners from all over the world settled there, attracting many builders, artists and craftsmen, who built for them luxurious houses, richly decorated with frescoes and mosaic floors. The small island soon became the greatest commercial center of the whole world.

The House of Dionysus built in the 2nd century A.D.

There is also an archeological museum on the island that houses many of the more delicate items that have been recovered, including the original lions.

We were told "No Selfies" - does my "I'm really not posing" look work?

Our guide, Sophia, told us a funny true story.  A woman had climbed on a wall that she was told not to climb on.  Selfie stick in hand, she then fell into this mossy cistern!  She had to wait two hours to get rescued. 

We heard whistles being blown just as we entered the theater area.  A woman had tried to climb the hill that is off limits.  Selfie stick in hand, I'm sure.

The theater was completed around 240 B.C.  These are seats that have been recovered - they would have been on the front row and were the only ones with back support, reserved for honored guests.

This woman is wise and did not try to climb anything that was off limits.

We really enjoyed this tour and would have loved to have had more time to just wander.  But it was time to get back on the boat and head to Mykonos.  We didn't know how much fun we'd have there!

We took over 300 pictures during this excursion!  I've worked hard to weed out duplicates but there are still a bunch posted HERE.