While cruising in Greece during 2023, Becky (my wife) and I made a stop in Mykonos, Greece.

Dry and barren Mykonos is no natural beauty, but even so, along with neighbors, this low-lying hunk of rock is one of the most popular of all the Greek Isles. Mykonos shows off especially good sides in beautiful Mykonos Town, (better known as Hora), and on Delos, the haunting and legendary ruin-rich islet just offshore.

The geotectonic and geodynamic evolution of the Hellenic area over the past 13 million years is closely related to the collision and subduction of the African tectonic plate and the remains of the ancient Tethys Ocean under the Eurasian tectonic plate along the Hellenic arc. The island of Mykonos & Delos is located in the Cycladic blueschist belt in the central Aegean. They are dominated by a medium to coarse-grained hornblende + biotite monzogranite. Along the southwestern part of the Mykonos island with Delos, small pendants of marble, metapelite, and amphibolite are exposed. These rocks exhibit a well-developed mylonitic, fabric and are exposed beneath a shallow-dipping fault. Overlying the fault are marble, greenstones, sandstone, and conglomerate. The geometry and style of structural relations indicate an extensional origin for the metamorphic-mylonitic foliation and mineral elongation lineation in footwall mylonitic rocks and the overlying low-angle faults exposed on Mykonos and Delos.

Pictured above, perhaps the most famous icons of Mykonos are the ‘windmills’ that line Alefkandra Ridge on a point of land just south along the waterfront from the Old Quarter. Until a few decades ago 16 of these conical, thatch-roofed mills were still in operation around Mykonos to grind grain.

Pictured above, Becky and I booked an organized excursion, while sitting on a bench of the Saint Nikolaos of Kaden Holy orthodox church, from Mykonos to the small island of Delos.

Pictured above, the boat trip took about 30 minutes to Delos island, southeast of Mykonos. Delos is an uninhabited isle that is one of the most important archaeological sites in the Aegean.

Pictured above, as the legendary birthplace of Apollo, Delos Island was one of ancient Greece’s most sacred religious sanctuaries. Even in antiquity, Delos was set apart from the rhythms of everyday life; (no one was allowed to be born, die, or to be buried there). Delos even had a second exciting-act, developing under the Romans into a flourishing center of trade, with a huge slave market, on the shipping routes between the Aegean world and the Middle East. Delos was gradually abandoned, however, after most of the population was massacred in a wave of attacks beginning in 88 A.D.. Except for occasional visits by Venetians and crusaders, the temples, mosaics, and shrines were left to the natural elements, (as we saw in 2023).

In myth, Delos is the birthplace of Apollo, god of music and light, begotten of Zeus and his lover Leto. When Zeus fell in love with Leto and she became pregnant, Zeus’s furious wife, Hera, ordered the Python, the earth dragon, to pursue Leto. Poseidon took pity on Leto and provided her a safe haven by anchoring Delos to the sea floor with four diamond columns. She first stopped on nearby Rhenea to deliver Artemis; then she gave birth to Apollo on Delos, grasping a sacred palm tree on the slopes of Mount Kynthos, the highest hill on the island, as Zeus watched from the summit.

Imaged above, Delos grew to the center of an Apollo cult, hosting the annual Delian festival in his honor. Its power as a trade center grew, and for a few decades in the 5th century B.C., Delos was important enough to be the headquarters of the Delian League, (the confederation of Greek city-states), and the repository for its treasury. By 100 B.C., under Roman occupation, Delos had a cosmopolitan population of 25,000, drawn from throughout the Mediterranean world; its market sold 10,000 slaves a day.

Pictured above, (next to the harbor), we could see what’s right of the ‘Agora of the Competialists’, (a Roman-era domain of members of trade guilds known as Competialists). This is one of the main markets of the Hellenistic city that has an open-square directly abutting the Sacred Harbor, paved with large flat stones of gneiss, many of which have post-holes for tents. The whole complex is dated to the last quarter of the 2nd century B.C..

Pictured above, just to the east of the ‘Agora of the Competialists’ is the ‘Delian Agora’, (sit of the slave trade). This market square has an L-shaped stoa which was once lined with shops, (pictured below).

Pictured above, marble pedestals and altars are dispersed in the Delian Agora Squire. The buildings preserved to the south and east of it housed shops, but most activities probably took place in the open area under the shelter of temporary awnings fastened to wooden posts inserted in the hole visible in the flagstones. As mentioned, this was the locus of the grain trade as well as the famous slave market.

Picture above, pilgrims once made their way from the harbor to the ‘Santuary of Apollo’ along the ‘Sacred Way, past two long, columned porticoes. During the Period of Independence (314-166 BC) the rulers of the Hellenistic states vied with each other in constructing magnificent buildings on Delos. The kings of Pergamum built (mid-3rd century B.C.) large stoa or portico on the east side of the ‘Sacred Way’ that led from the Hellenistic port to the entrance of the Sanctuary.

Pictured above and below, the ‘Sacred Way is considered the most important path on Delos. It is flanked by shops, arcades and statures, the most important ones are the ‘Stoa of Philip V and the South Stoa. A ‘Stoa’ is a portico, usually walled at the back and having a front colonnade, designed to provide a sheltered promenade.

Imaged above, the ‘Stoa of Philip’ building (72 X 11)m flanks the ‘Sacred Way’. On the stones of its epistyle, is the still legible dedicatory inscription: King of the Macedonians, Philip of King Demetrios to Apollo, in Greek. Only the crepis has survived in situ, but its reconstruction, (and perhaps even its future restoration), is possible from the several parts of the upper structure lying all around. [Note: there were scaffolding covering the entire location in 2023. We were told that the reconstruction of the marble Stoa of Philip V is being funded by the Paul and Alexandra Canellopoulos Foundation and the work will be undertaken by the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cycladic Islands.].

Pictured below, After the 2nd century B.C., they would enter the sanctuary through the ‘Propylheria’, a triple arched marble gateway that opened to a precinct of temples and shrines. Some of the oldest remains on Delos are here, including a shrine thought to be Mycenaean, from as early as 1300 B.C.. View of the three stepped platform of the Propylaea, the monumental gateway to the Sanctuary of Apollo. The Propylaea had Doric columns in front and was built by the Athenians in the 2nd century BC, replacing an older structure. To the right of the platform is the eroded stele of Hermes Propylaios, erected by the Amphictions in 342 BC.

View of the three stepped platform of the Propylaea, the monumental gateway to the Sanctuary of Apollo. The Propylaea had Doric columns in front and was built by the Athenians in the 2nd century BC, replacing an older structure. To the right of the platform is the eroded stele of Hermes Propylaios, erected by the Amphictions in 342 BC, (pictured below).

Pictured below, 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 sixth century BC.

Pictured below, the most important structure associated with the House of the Naxians’ was the 9m high statue of Apollo that stood in the northwest corer of the building, where the huge marble base weighing approximately 32 metric tonnes remain today. The god was represented as a Kouros, a naked youth with long hair, sturdy shoulders, and his left leg slightly ahead of the right one.

Pictured below, three great temple to Apollo were erected in the 6th and 5th centuries B.C..

Immediately, after the Oikos of the Naxians are the three temples of Apollo. The first, which was also the largest, was dedicated by the Delians and is therefore known as the Great Temple, or Temple of the Delians.

Imaged above, the ‘Temple of the Delians’ is the only peripteral temple on Delos, with six Doric columns on each narrow side and 13 on each long side. Pictured below, between the ‘Temple of the Delians’ and the ‘Poros Temple’ is the temple referred to in the inscriptions as the ‘Temple of the Athenians’.

Imaged above, the ‘Temple of the Athenians’ was built between 425-420 B.C., and probably inaugurated by General Nicias, it was an amphiprostyle temple in the Doric order, with 6 columns on each narrow side. Inside the cella, 7 statues were placed upon a horseshoe-shaped base of grey-blue Eleusinian marble, hence the inscriptions referring to the temple as the “Temple in Which stand the Seven Statues“.

Pictured above, the oldest temple of Apollo, the ‘Poros Temple’ was built of poros stone during either the period of the Athenian tyrant Peisistratus, in the late 6th century B.C. It consisted of a wooden core to which sheets of hammered gold were attached.

Just north of the 3 temples of Apollo, a slight depression in the earth is all that remains of the ‘Sacred Lake’, now dry. Pictured above and below, on it’s shores stood the enormous ‘Agora of the Italians’, once bordered by 112 columns.

Pictured above, the ‘Agora of the Italians’, with a size of some 6,000 square meters, is situated prominently in the center of Delos, between the famous sanctuary of Apollo to the south and the Sacred Lake to the north. The porticoes, and maybe even the courtyard, were decorated with statues. Most of the nearly 240 sculptural fragments found within the confines and in the immediate neighborhood of the Agora seem to come from honorary statues, which were mostly presented in the rectangular and semicircular statue niches, but also outside of them, probably in the porticoes. The ‘Agora of the Italians’ was most probably constructed between 130-120 B.C., partly destroyed during the raids of 88 B.C., then repaired, and finally abandoned after 69 B.C. Its function is still being contested.

Also next (west) to the ‘Sacred Lake’ was the 50m long promenade, the ‘Terrace of the Lions’, where 5 replicas of the original 12 or even 16 marble lions still stand, as if ready to pounce.

Pictured above, presented by the people of Naxos around 600 B.C., the snarling lions were probably intended to guard the sanctuaries and also inspire righteous fear in worshippers. The lions are faced east towards the ‘Sacred Lake’ where Greek scholars of the time believed Apollo had been born.

Pictured above, just north of the ‘Terrace of the Lions’ is the ‘Institution of the Poseidoniasts’. It was the club house of the association of Syrian shippers, merchants, bankers, and warehousemen bound up by their desire for racial kinship and the desire to worship the national gods but also for the protection of their commercial interests. It consisted of a central peristyle court, around which are arranged various rooms and temples dedicated to Poseidon, Hercules and Rome. Dated to the 90-120 B.C..

Pictured above, in 2002, in the large square in front of the ‘Lake Palaestra’, another market of the ancient city was excavated, which, as the findings indicate, was the main market for sine from the South Italy and Sicily, for flour and read. The stores consist of one or two rooms with the primary entrance onto the main road and a secondary entrance onto the outdoor area at the back. Large permanent installations for grinding cereal were discovered in two stores.

Pictured above, northeast of the ‘Sacred Lake’ is the ‘Granite Palaestra’ and lake Palaestra. This area had wells that retained water the year through and developed gradually the extensive athletic and educational center of the city.

Pictured below, north of the lake is the ‘House on the Lake’ or the ‘Lake House’, a once-elegant residence.

Pictured above, the ‘Lake House’ is situated near the sacred lake, and is a typical example of a Delian house of the late 2nd Century BC or the Hellenistic period. This was one of the most elegant residences on Delos. Three entrances lead to the atrium surrounded by an elegant colonnade in the Ionic order, which were uncommon for houses at that time.

From the eastern side of ‘Sacred Lake’, Becky and I trekked back down to the boat docks, (in front of the closed museum), to explore the ‘Maritime Quarter’ and ‘Theater District’ of Delos.

Pictured above, the Maritime Quarter, is located next to the harbor and was the main residential area when the city was at its peak. In 88 B.C. Menophanes, a general of Mithradates attacked the island, killed or enslaved the population, looted the sanctuary and destroyed the city. In 87 B.C. Sulla retook the island, returned it to Athenian control and aided in its rebuilding. In 69 B.C. Delos was sacked by pirates, and in 66 B.C. the Romans built a fortification wall around the city. The sanctuary and the commercial center, however, continued to decline (in part because of changes in Roman trade routes) and suffer pirate attacks, and by the 2nd century A.D. it was all but abandoned.

Pictured above, Becky and I trekked up the street starting in the ‘Maritime Quarter’ and starting in the southwest ‘Theater Quarter’. Perhaps the most interesting part of the city, a large area of which has been revealed. Streets, workshops and above all shops that serviced the very lively trade in Delos, with abundant vessels and furniture, storage jars and marble table, vases of clay or stone, all made a vivid impression. Most of these houses seem to have a well dug within the room. I assumed that it was like a sink of modern day.

Pictured below, a short way up the ‘Theater-Quarter’ street is one of the most important houses on Delos: the ‘House of Dionysos’. Discernible on a stone in the wall is a relief of Herakles’ Club, as an apotropaic symbol.

Pictured above, the surround of the outside door is magnificent and the columns of the peristyle, 5.60m high, impressive. The stone staircase just right of the entrance led to the upper storey. The floor of the main hall is covered with a fine mosaic of the handsome Dionysos holding his ornamental thyrsus and mounted on a leopard, (pictured below).

Pictured below, under the court is a large cistern for drawing water. There was also a well in the other corner of the court, with a second marble well head. The andron (men’s chamber) with three doors is on the north side, while in the room of the opposite side of the court are remnants of stucco with an imitation polychrome marble dado. It appears that the stucco had interesting inscriptions and sketches on them.

Imaged below, workshops like those in the picture, for the preparation of perfumed oils, have been uncovered in different parts of the city.

Clearly visible opposite the ‘House of Dionysos’ is the ‘House of Kleopatra and the Dioskourides’, named after the statures standing on the pedestal, (pictured below). Less interesting than the previous residence, with its peristyle crammed in the narrow space, the house is known, thanks to the vanity of its occupants and to fortune.

Pictured above, the exceptional preservation of the statures on the owners, erected in the courtyard by the Athenian Kleopatra on the occasion of the dedication by Dioscourides, her husband, of two silver tripods in the Temple of Apollo, according to the incriptions on their bases, “in the archonship of Timarchos of Athenian“.

Pictured below, Becky and I continued trekking east uphill towards the theater.

On the left side of the street, (while walking east), a little higher up, is the ‘House of the Trident. It is an excellent example of an opulent residence during the island’s floruit.

Pictured above, the restored roof of the northeast portico and the andron (Oecus Major), the largest of all the apartments in the houses in the ‘Theater Quarter’, with ancillary rooms behind and two windows on the facade, (right and left of the entrance), both helps us to understand the form of the ancient house and protects, partially at least, the wonderful mosaic floors in the main reception rooms, (pictured below).

Pictured below, there is a fine mosaic with a wonderfully executed complicated and colorful meander pattern in the implucium of the court, as well as on the floor of the andron, that certainly shows a work of art.

Pictured below, a place of interest, is the room beside the entrance, on account of the barred-window onto the street, an extremely rare feature in Greek architecture, while in the adjacent room amount the many interesting vessels is the lower stone of an oil-press.

Pictured below, the ‘Theater’ lies at the end of the main street through the ‘Theater Quarter’ and is one of the most important monuments from the period of Delian Independence.

Pictured below, A handsome retaining wall of ahlared blocks of grey marble supports the cavea all around, at the same time isolating it from the other buildings in the quarter. The lower section of the cavea, with 26 rows of seats, is divided by eight steep stairways into seven cunei. A diazoma separates the lower part of the auditorium from the upper, the eptheater with 17 rows of seats and an ellipsoidal form so that all the spectators have a good view. Apart from the parodoi, the passages right and left of the skene, the theater was entered by three ramps in the upper part.

Pictured below, a gutter all round the orchestra helped drain away the rain water. Parts of the theater skene have survived, that enable us to understand its form.

Pictured below, the steep street southeast of the ‘Theater’ leads up to a large complex with an enormous cistern of exceptional depth and several rooms arranged along corridors, which make its identification as a hospice (xenon) very plausible.

Pictured below, on our way back to the boat, Becky and I made a quick trip to the at the base of Mount Kynthos to visit the ‘House of Hermies’. The ‘House of Hermies’ is a lavish multistory home from the 2nd century BC with a partially intact courtyard.

Pictured below, the ‘Temple of Isis’ is the restored temple of the goddess, with two Doric columns in antis on the front and the well preserved pediment is the most impressive building in the ‘Sanctuary of the Egyptian Gods’.

Delos is a gneissic granite rock in the midst of the sea, ranged around which are the islands of the Central Aegean, the Cyclades, as if defining the circumference of a wondrous circle with the sacred isle at its cetner. The short distances (about 6km long and less than 1.5km wide) and the barren terrain hardly justify the fate that History held for Delos. Likewise small-scale are its geomorphological features: Mount Kynthos, a granite mountain 112 m high and a small wheel-shaped pool of water that is now dried up.