Not far from the once-notorious glitz party island of Mykonos in Greece lies the uninhabited (since the 7th century AD) island of Delos. It is considered the most sacred island in the peninsula-archipelago as it is the mythical birthplace of Apollo and Artemis.
You must arrive early for the short boat ride from Mykonos. Delos is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (bestowed in 1990), but the island is deemed an archeological site with no inhabitants except for a handful of workers doing the restorations.
While tourism is ongoing (partly to defray the restoration expenses), Greek authorities ensure it is limited.
Hands down, the island’s main draw is the enigmatic yet nostalgic Terrace of the Lions. But getting there would be the last segment of our guided island tour.
But, it boggles the mind that the island was inhabited by the ancient Greeks as early as the 3rd millennium BC (3000 – 2001 BC) and became a rich trading port in the eastern Mediterranean after 167 BC. While the more ancient Egyptians were still dreaming about their pyramids, the Greeks were already building settlements in this part of the Aegean Sea.
Delos also served as one of the Pan-Hellenic sanctuaries, like Athens. Every four years, they celebrate the feast of the Delians, similar to the Olympic and Pythian Games (held in Delphi).
After we visited some of the other, more preserved points of interest on the island, the trip culminated at the famous Terrace of the Lions, where we could see a few workers doing restoration work from a distance.
Note that some of the more important sculptures uncovered on the island, including the Naxian Lions, are kept inside the museum and replaced with exact replicas. This protects the fragile marble structures (quarried from the island of Naxos, also in the Cyclades) from constant exposure due to the north wind.
After admiring all the island’s wonders—natural and man-made—including a short visit inside the small archeological museum (not always accessible to visitors), we took the longer road back to the visitors’ center, where the boat that will take us back to Mykonos -and, back to modern civilization- awaits.
