According
to mythology, Delos is the birthplace of Apollo,
god of music, of true and light, and his twin sister
Artemis, goddess of hunting.
The childs’ mother was Leto who was seduced by Zeus,
as many goddesses, nymphs and mortals were; when
Hera, Zeus’ wife, learn about Leto’s pregnancy,
she banned her from all the places of the earth
so she couldn’t give birth.
The only place for Leto to give birth was the little
island of Delos, then called Ortygia (Quail Island)
which wasn’t considered as part of the earth and
which was revealed by Poseidon, who came to help
his brother and his brother’s lover.
This gave to the island its name for Delos means
“revealed”.
Because the islands around Delos were lining in
the shape of a circle, the whole group of island
was called the Cyclades. |
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In 1100 BC, Delos was inhabited by the Ionians and
it was they who brought the worship of the god Apollo.
The Ionians also managed to develop the island into
a powerful commercial and spiritual centre (7th
century BC).
During the 5th century BC, the Athenians organized
what they called a purification of the island, forbidding
the burials of the dead on it.
A new purification followed in the 4th century BC,
and this time the Athenians forbade all the births
and deaths on the island of Delos, transferring
all the dead to the neighbouring island of Rhenia,
which became a necropolis.
After this last purification, a great religious
ceremony in favour of Apollo was organized every
five years. |
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Roman
Period was the most prosperous and wealthy period
for Delos which turn into an important port.
But, in 88 BC, the King of Pontos who was in was
against the Roman completely destroyed Delos and
Mykonos.
The history of Delos appeared to have stopped after
this period for no historical information have been
kept or discovered.
The excavations of the rich archaeological finds
of Delos started in 1873 and continue to be carried
out by the French School of Archaeology.
The island of Delos became part of the World’s Cultural
Heritage and is protected by UNESCO.
It is reachable by taxi-boat from the island of
Mykonos (20 minutes).
More info on Delos by plato-dialogues.org
 Map of Delos with Google |
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