GREECE: Island of Delos
The tiny island of Delos lies in the centre of the Cyclades
archipelago a short boat-trip from the Greek holiday island of Mykonos.
Archaeologists consider the island was probably a place of worship for
at least a millenium before Greek mythology elevated it to sanctuary status
as the birthplace of the twin deities Apollo and Artemis. In 1000 BC
the
Ionian inhabitants of the Cyclades had made it their religious
capital and when the Athenian city-state rose to power, some time around 6BC, it was formally purified for worship.
Even the dead were exhumed
and transferred to the neighbouring island of Rhenia. Delos abounds in the ruins of
temples, fountains and shrines. One of the most evocative sights is the
Avenue of the Lions. a long way
originally lined by twelve snarling marble guardians
of the Sacred Lake. The original beasts are in the Delos Archaeological Museum
containing various antiquities including marvellous mosaic reliefs and statues of Gods
and Goddesses. One depicts Artemis -the Virgin Huntress slaying a deer.
Outside the museum in a small Sanctuary
to Dionysus - the Greek God of Wine and Fertility - are several
phallic monuments dedicated to Apollo and emphasising the bacchanalian
orgies of Dionysian festivals. Today Delos is uninhabited but ferries
arriving from Mykonos still land thousands of day-trippers at the Sacred
Harbour.