Delos, Greece
Beckoned by Apollo, the God of Sun, we set sail for the island of Delos, our tenth and sadly, our final island in the Cyclades. In the pale, clear blue light of dawn this seemingly barren island of schist and granite appeared to be floating on the horizon. The round, palm-filed oasis on the north end of the island is the legendary birthplace of Apollo and his twin sister, Artemis. The sacred island is one of the four Pan-Hellenic sanctuary sites, and as such many Greek city-states vied to impose spiritual and political authority over the island. As a result, temples abound in this ancient sanctuary. We started our tour along the same route as the Ancients, standing before the marble steps of the Propylaea, a gateway that was once flanked by Doric columns. We passed by the Temple of Apollo erected by the Athenians, and another erected by the Delians before arriving at the Oikos of the Naxians. We completed our visit to the sanctuary portion of the site in the shadow of the great white marble lions, seated like sentinels, guarding the sacred lake.
During the classical ear, Delos was more than a sanctuary, located in the center of the Aegean; the island was also a bustling commercial center that once had a population of 30,000. So after our visit to the museum, we started to explore the mosaic-floored courtyards of the peristyle houses and now deserted streets leading up to the theater. Built against the slopes of Mt Cynthus in the fourth century BC, the theater could accommodate an audience of 5,500. The sun-baked stones and glistening white marble of this extraordinary site will be for many the highlight of our magical expedition through the Cyclades.
Beckoned by Apollo, the God of Sun, we set sail for the island of Delos, our tenth and sadly, our final island in the Cyclades. In the pale, clear blue light of dawn this seemingly barren island of schist and granite appeared to be floating on the horizon. The round, palm-filed oasis on the north end of the island is the legendary birthplace of Apollo and his twin sister, Artemis. The sacred island is one of the four Pan-Hellenic sanctuary sites, and as such many Greek city-states vied to impose spiritual and political authority over the island. As a result, temples abound in this ancient sanctuary. We started our tour along the same route as the Ancients, standing before the marble steps of the Propylaea, a gateway that was once flanked by Doric columns. We passed by the Temple of Apollo erected by the Athenians, and another erected by the Delians before arriving at the Oikos of the Naxians. We completed our visit to the sanctuary portion of the site in the shadow of the great white marble lions, seated like sentinels, guarding the sacred lake.
During the classical ear, Delos was more than a sanctuary, located in the center of the Aegean; the island was also a bustling commercial center that once had a population of 30,000. So after our visit to the museum, we started to explore the mosaic-floored courtyards of the peristyle houses and now deserted streets leading up to the theater. Built against the slopes of Mt Cynthus in the fourth century BC, the theater could accommodate an audience of 5,500. The sun-baked stones and glistening white marble of this extraordinary site will be for many the highlight of our magical expedition through the Cyclades.
