Delos A small introduction to the history of the island  
 

     Chief isle of the embowered Cyclades,

     Rejoice, O Delos, with thine olives green,

     And poplars, and lawn-shading palms, and beech,

     In which the Zephyr breathes the loudest song,

     And hazels thick, dark-stemm'd beneath the shade:

     Apollo is once more the golden theme!

    John Keats
  Hyperion - Fragment, Book III

Delos, in ancient Greek, means clear, brought to light.  The beautiful myth states that, Delos, the island of sun, appeared from Amid waves when Leto, who was being pursued by Hera, took refuge there and brought Apollo and Artemis into the world. The birth of Apollo, the god of sun, on this island, is undoubtedly related to the morphology of Delos.

It is a small island, rocky and barren, where light dominates from the first moments of the breaking day until dusk, as neither high mountain masses nor silhouettes of trees shut out its perfect reflection. The ruins of the settlement, spread about all over the island, the surviving marble columns, the theater, the gymnasium, as well as the pieces of the most important creations of mosaic art witnessed the island's glorious history.

It seems that the first inhabitants were Carians and their settlements date back to the third millennium. At the beginning of the 10th century B.C., after Ionians had arrived on the island, Delos was transformed into a religious center and into the center of Ionic amphictyonia, creating thus the preconditions for its commercial development, increasing at the same time its political influence. Athenians dominated not only Delos but also the majority of Aegean islands and took control over the whole area in the middle of the 6th century B.C.

Around 540 B.C. Pisistratus, the tyrant of Athens, ordered the removal of all graves from Delos to the small island nearby, called Rheneia. Since then all births and burials have been banned on Delos, in order not to desecrate this sacred place. Another expression of Athenians' religious respect towards Apollo, was the brilliant festival, which was being organized in honour of the island's god, every five years. The domination of Athenians over the island ended when Macedonians arrived on Delos in 315 B.C. Their presence signaled the island's independence and its commercial growth and wealth.

Delos was conquered by the Romans who declared it a free port, transforming the island into a very significant trade centre. It attracted Egyptians, Syrians and Italians. During the war declared by Mithridates (88 B.C.) Delos was attacked twice and from that moment began a countdown that resulted to the island's total depopulation.

From the 17th century an increasing number of European travellers visited Delos, sketching its ruins and recording precious information. In 1873 the French Archeological School began official excavations on Delos, bringing to light  a large sector of the once large and affluent city with sanctuaries, harbors, market places and residential quarters. Its imposing houses with courts and atria adorned with mosaics and mural decorations are impressive for anyone even the more traveled