Greece Trip #34: Visiting Historic Delos Island

 Today's blog actually features a historic place in Greece!  We took the trip because we are both fascinated with Greek history and were surprised that there wasn't a lot more. Today's blog takes you to the historic island of Delos, where a civilization once thrived. Today, the ruins of the island city remain and we'll explore them. 

FERRY TO THE ISLAND OF DELOS - Because Delos is an island you have to take a ferry over to it, so Tom and I, Bill C. and Eric were the only ones from the group who wanted to see the island so we got ferry tickets. It was about a 20 minute ferry ride. 

WHAT IS DELOS? Delos is a rocky Greek island and archaeological site in the Aegean Sea's Cyclades archipelago, near Mykonos. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site now and was considered ""the most sacred of all islands" in ancient Greek culture (3 BC). The island's ruins encompass Doric temples, markets, an amphitheater, houses with mosaics and the iconic Terrace of the Lions statues.

(Photo - A headless statue stands guard over rubble from a former building. Credit: RG)

WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF THE ISLAND?  According to UNESCO, the island was first settled in the third millennium BC. The Apollonian sanctuary, established at least since the 9th century BC, reached the peak of its glory during the Archaic and Classical period, when it acquired its Pan-Hellenic character. 

(Photo: A good part of the island consisted of rubble outlining homes or buildings, Credit-RG)

A WEALTHY SETTLEMENT PLACE - After 167 BC, as a result of the declaration of Delos as a free port, 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 became the greatest commercial center of the whole world. 

HOW DID DELOS FALL INTO RUIN?  The prosperity of the island and the friendly relations with the Romans were the main cause of its destruction. 

Delos was attacked and looted twice: in 88 BC by Mithridates, the King of Pontus, an enemy of the Romans, and later, in 69 BC, by the pirates of Athenodorus, an ally of Mithridates. Since then, the island fell rapidly into decline and was gradually abandoned. 

Captured after its abandonment successively by the Byzantines, Slavs, Saracens, the Venetians, the Knights of St. John and the Ottomans, Delos was turned into a quarry site with its temple columns burnt for lime, and its houses left in ruins. 

WELLS AND AQUEDUCTS -  Throughout the ruins, we saw wells and aqueducts. The ancient Greeks were brilliant with their water resources. 

MORE PHOTOS - Delos is a HUGE island, and below are more photos of the ruins in the western side of the island. The eastern side of the island had more intact buildings and we'll show you those in an upcoming blog. 

NEXT: WHO WERE THE GODS BORN ON DELOS?