Greece - Korina Miller [312]
Getting There & Away
Boats for Delos (return €15, 30 minutes) leave Hora (Mykonos) about six times a day from about 9am in high season with the last outward boat about 12.50pm. Departure and return times are posted on the ticket kiosk at the entrance to the Old Jetty at the south end of the harbour. There are fewer boats outside July and August. There are no boats on Monday when the site is closed. Boats return from the island between 11am and 3pm. When buying tickets establish which boat is available for your return, especially later in the day. In Hora (Mykonos), Delia Travel ( 22890 22322; travel@delia.gr; Akti Kambani) and the Mykonos Accommodation Centre ( 22890 23408; www.mykonos-accommodation.com; 1st fl, Enoplon Dynameon 10) sell tickets. You pay an entrance fee of €3 at a kiosk on the island.
The Mykonos Accommodation Centre organises guided tours to Delos at 10am every day except Monday, between May and September (adult/child €40/31, three hours). They include boat transfers from and to the Old Jetty, and admission to the site and museum. Tours are in English, French, German and Italian, and in Spanish and Russian on request.
A boat departs for Delos from Platys Gialos on Mykonos’ (€14, 30 minutes) at 10.15am daily.
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ANCIENT DELOS
The quay where excursion boats dock is south of the tranquil Sacred Harbour. Many of the most significant finds from Delos are in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, but the site museum still has an interesting collection, including the lions from the Terrace of the Lions (those on the terrace itself are plaster-cast replicas).
Overnight stays on Delos are forbidden and boat schedules allow a maximum of about six or seven hours there. Bring water and food, as the cafeteria’s offerings are poor value for money. Wear a hat and sensible shoes.
Exploring the Site
The following is an outline of some significant archaeological remains on the site. For further details, a guidebook from the ticket office is advisable, or take a guided tour.
The rock-encrusted Mt Kythnos (113m) rises elegantly to the southeast of the harbour. It’s worth the steep climb, even in the heat; on clear days there are terrific views of the surrounding islands from its summit.
The path to Mt Kythnos is reached by walking through the Theatre Quarter, where Delos’ wealthiest inhabitants once built their houses. These houses surrounded peristyle courtyards, with colourful mosaics (a status symbol) being the most striking feature of each house.
The most lavish dwellings were the House of Dionysos, named after the mosaic depicting the wine god riding a panther, and the House of Cleopatra, where headless statues of the owners were found. The House of the Trident was one of the grandest. The House of the Masks, probably an actors’ hostelry, has another mosaic of Dionysos resplendently astride a panther. The House of the Dolphins has another exceptional mosaic.
The theatre dates from 300 BC and had a large cistern, the remains of which can be seen. It supplied much of the town with water. The houses of the wealthy had their own cisterns – essential as Delos was almost as parched and barren then as it is today.
Descending from Mt Kythnos, explore the Sanctuaries of the Foreign Gods. Here, at the Shrine to the Samothracian Great Gods, the Kabeiroi (the twins Dardanos and Aeton) were worshipped. At the Sanctuary of the Syrian Gods there are the remains of a theatre where an audience watched ritual orgies. There is also the Shrine to the Egyptian Gods, where Egyptian deities including Serapis and Isis were worshipped.
The Sanctuary of Apollo, to the northeast of the harbour, is the site of the much-photographed Terrace of the Lions. These proud beasts, carved from marble, were offerings from the people of Naxos, presented to Delos in the 7th century BC to guard the sacred area. To the northeast is the Sacred Lake