Delos is very close to Mykonos and worth visiting or at least toured by sea as it is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. This small island of Delos has one of the most important archaeology sites in Greece.
The ancient Greeks considered the island the birthplace of god Apollo and the centre of the Cyclades islands. The name is explained by greek mythology. Leto, escaping the wrath of Hera, was able to find sanctuary here in order to give birth to Apollo and Artemis. Zeus (Leto’s lover) called on his brother Poseidon to create the island with a thrust of his trident, hence the name Delos, which signifies ‘appearance’ or ‘apparent’ in ancient Greek.
Delos was both an influential political force and, with its sanctuary to the god Apollo, an important religious centre in the Archaic and Classical periods. The island was also a major commercial and trading centre in the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE.
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.
As with other major sanctuaries, Delos had a diverse complex of buildings, including a monumental gateway entrance (propylaea) to the site, a theatre (c. 300 BCE, capacity: 5,000 spectators), stadium, several stoas (for example, of Antigonus), gymnasium, hippodrome, palaestras (3rd and 2nd centuries BCE), a hypostyle hall (constructed in the 3rd century BCE) an agora (built under Theophrastus in the 2nd century BCE), and even a sacred lake, guarded by marble lions.
Four main groups of ruins are distinguishable on the west coast: the commercial port and small sanctuaries; the religious city of Apollo, a hieron (sanctuary); the sanctuaries of Mount Kynthos and the theatre; and the region of the Sacred Lake.
Notable archaeological finds at the site are the famous marble lions, much weather-worn but still retaining a regal air. Of these, five lions survive from the original nine dedicated by the Naxians in the 7th century BCE. In addition, several fine mosaics have been uncovered, including one depicting Dionysos seated on a panther.
Also two columns topped by a phallus, each carrying relief scenes of Dionysos and Pan, c. 300 BCE. The phallus was a typical symbol of the cult of Dionysos. They stand as part of the Stoivadeion, a rectangular exedra.
