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I took a tour from Naxos to Delos and Mykonos. Here we are disembarking near the archaeological site at the foot of mount Kynthos on the island of Delos
There is nothing else than the archaeological site on Delos and nobody is allowed to spend the night there.
This map can help you visualise where the following photos fit into the Delos site. The red trail indicates the route I took through the ruins and the black dots show where the photos of this page were taken.
Legend has it that Delos has been sacred since the beginning of all time as the place of birth of Apollo. Archaeological remains indicate human presence on the island since the third millennium BC. The Mycenaeans (1600-1200 BC), maintained a sanctuary on the island that was mentioned by Homer in his Hymn to Apollo around 700 BC.
After the Persian wars that ended with a brilliant Greek victory, the Delian League was founded in 478 BC to unite all Hellenic cities against future Persian attacks. In practice, Athens used the Delian League to manipulate all the other Greek powers (what else is new under the sun?), until Philip II and his son Alexander the great took over around 320 BC. Around 200 BC Delos became an important trade and banking centre, a neutral meeting place for merchants from the east and the west. It reached its zenith in that role around 100 BC when its population exceeded 25 000 but prosperity came to an end when Mithridates VI looted it in 88 BC slaughtering 20 000 people in a single day. Delos never recovered.
Two small temples in the Agora of the Competaliasts where grain and slaves were traded.
The Sacred Way between the stoa (covered market) of Philip on the left and the stoa of Pergamon on the right, leads north to the Propylaea that gave access to the main sanctuary at the far end.
The Propylaea at the entrance of the sanctuary area.
The main building on the right immediately after the propylaea is the Oikos (temple), of the Naxians constructed of white marble from Naxos in 575 BC.
A little further north and also on the right is the base of what was the Temple to Apollo of the Delians whose construction, begun in 476 BC, was finished only around 314 BC.
Still further north, past two more badly ruined temples and other minor structures where precious ex-votos from other cities were kept, and just beyond the stoa of Antigonos that marks the northern limit of the sanctuary area, we come upon the southern wall of the Agora of the Italians, its very large size testimony of the importance of the Italiote trade when it was built around 110 BC.
Still a little further north but on the other side of the avenue, the Naxian Lions stand guard over the northern access to the sanctuary.
Beyond the lions, a large compound, built in 110 BC, served as the religious and commercial centre of an association of merchants and shipowners from Beirut called the Poseidoniasts.
Further north was a residential area, an agglomeration of ruined buildings difficult to photograph and identify.
My next stop was at the small but interesting museum halfway to the the bottom of mount Kynthos.
This view looking west from the hill shows the House of Inopos, the two storied House of Hermes and the Temple of Aphrodite in the far distance.
Further up the hill we come to the Temple of Isis and the stairway that climbs up Kynthos to the Sanctuary of Zeus and Athena on the summit.
On the way back down is the large House of Masks so called because of ten theatrical masks decorating the mosaic of the main hall.
Across the street is the smaller House of Dolphins also named after the decoration of the floor mosaic.
Further down the hill are the remains of a theatre built to accommodate 5000 spectators in the third century BC.
This panoramic view was assembled from two photos
Finally, one more picture before boarding the tour boat going to Mykonos, here is the House of Dyonisus with an expert, protected from the sun by a canvas awning, was working on the central mosaic. We had three hours to "do" Delos it was enough but there was no time to loiter.
Half an hour later, we are arriving in Mykonos, just off the tour boat.
We also had three hours to have lunch and roam around Mykonos (also called Hora like Hora on Naxos). Three hours is just enough time to do it in a leisurely fashion.
There must be a hundred churches in Mykonos, here is a small one on the waterfront
And here is the famous Panagia Paraportiani church in the oldest part of Hora. Said to be the supreme expression of Cycladic architecture, it is an agglomeration of four chapels on the ground floor surmounted by a fifth larger one on top. It is supposed to be the most photographed church in the islands so, being a very obedient tourist, I took a shot of it too.
This small street, Agion Anargiron, leads south to an area called Little Venice, full of cafes, bars, restaurants and night clubs, where most of the action is concentrated.
Mykonos has the reputation of being a gay destination but there was no indication of it in the daytime when I was there.
Here is one of the many cafes of Little Venice that have a view on the famous five windmills of Mykonos
Mykonos is very commercial and touristy but there is no disputing it, it's also very beautiful wherever you look. A street corner in old Mykonos or two more small streets below.
Now back to the port, here is the famous Nikos restaurant
Finally a last view of the waterfront on my way to the small tour boat for Naxos from which I took a big ferry to Piraeus and Athens the next day.
