ISLAND

One summer noon in Delos...

...sings Nena Venetsanou for the sacred island of Apollo and Artemis, children of Leto.
According to the ancient Greeks, Delos is the center of Cyclades and a gateway to a journey through time.

Legend says that Ira banished Leto from all parts of the world because she was a mistress of Zeus, so she can not give birth to her twins. However, Poseidon felt pity for her and with a beat of his trident into the sea, showed that island. That’s how it took the name Delos, which means "overt."

Historical data show that the first inhabitants were Karians or Phoenicians, but in 1100 BC, it was settled by Ionians, who first began to worship Apollo, and thanks to them the island developed into an important cultural and commercial center.

However, the Athenians decided to purify the island for the second time in the 4th century BC. and thus banned births and deaths on the island and death was exiled in the neighboring Rinia, which turned into a necropolis.

The whole island is an open museum as it contains the ruins of one of the largest and most impressive ancient settlements.

Useful Information

The Archaeological Museum of Delos is open daily 08.45-15.00 and on Sundays 09.30-14.30.
Every Monday and Easter Sunday is closed.

Your tour of the archaeological site will start from the temple of Apollo, which housed the statue of the god and the treasure of the Delian League, while at the same place there is the temple of Artemis, the Ypostili Hall, the Market of Theophrastus and a little more north the Arcade of Antigen. Near the porch is the archaeological museum.

In the Lake District between the temples is saved one of the finest and most famous monuments in the area, the famous "Road of Lions”, in which there were nine marble lions, tribute of Naxians in the 7th century, of whom five are saved.

Unfortunately, the lake where the holy swans of Apollo were swimming, no longer exists, as it had been covered in 1926 after an epidemic of malaria.

A few metres away you’ll see the most densely populated part of town, the District of Theatre, where you can see the ruins of houses decorated with famous mosaics and inlaid with various performances. Near the "House of the Masks" are obvious some remnants of a theater of the 2nd century BC, while at the same hill is the cave where Hercules was worshiped.

Located about one kilometer south are the ruins of the Sanctuary of Asklepios and among them you can see the temple, a portico, the treasure, the building housed where the patients stayed but also the restaurant.

SOS: In Delos swimming, scuba dive and stay after 15.00 noon are prohibited.
As the summer heat is unbearable, the use of hat and sunscreen are stronglyn recommended.
Some water and a quick snack can be purchased from the cafeteria on the boat you’ll get to reach the island or on bar of the archaeological site.

How do we reach?

There daily and frequent routes by boat from Mykonos to 30 minutes.

Where to stay?

Staying on the island is prohibited outside the hours of operation of the site and no one can stay after sunset.

Useful Phones

Mykonos Port: 22890-22218
Archaeological site of Delos: 22890-22259
Archaeological Museum of Delos: 22890-22259

Επιμέλεια: Ελένη Μπεζιριάνογλου