Mosaics and columns in the House of Dionysus on Delos
After the crowds, noise, and confusion of Athens, it was nice
to get back to the cruise ship and enjoy a shower and lovely dinner. After dinner we four went up to the swimming
pool deck for what was called “Cinema under the Stars.” The featured film was “The Life of Pi” and
the deck was arranged with recliners, cushions, and blankets. What a luxury to
relax, stretched out under the night sky watching the film on a huge screen,
while stewards passed out bags of popcorn, fresh baked cookies and hot
coffee. The ship was steaming for our
next port, Mykonos, at top speed with the engine smoke stacks occasionally
sending up glowing sparks with the exhaust.
The early risers watched our commander maneuver the ship
into the pier of Tourlos Bay on the west side of Mykonos. Having read about the picturesque blue-domed
churches and the whitewashed houses on this “old-world” island, I expected this
stop to be postcard perfect, and I was not disappointed. We split up for the shore excursions, with L.
& G. preferring to spend the morning at one of the beautiful beaches for a
chance to swim in the Ionian Sea, while C. and I opted to take the charter boat
to the nearby island of Delos. We
planned to re-group for an afternoon of exploring Mykonos Town, and check out
the shops and ouzo bars!
Even as C. and I boarded the boat for Delos, I knew the 3.5
hour tour would not be enough time. Our
tour guide, a diminutive Greek lady, prepared us to see the ruins on Delos by
describing this island as one of Greece’s most important archaeological sites,
dating back to 3000 BC. Delos is small,
narrow, and devoid of vegetation, only 5 km long and 1.3 km wide, with the
highest point at 112 m called Mt Kynthos.
Along the west side of the island and climbing up to the summit of
Kynthos are the ruins of the sanctuary of Delos, dedicated to the sun god
Apollo and his twin sister Artemis.
According to the ancient myths, this island was chosen by the goddess
Leto, pregnant by Zeus, and hiding from the wrath of Hera his wife, to deliver
her babies.
After a 20 minute boat ride over choppy seas, we arrived at
Delos, and assembled on the small pier.
Our guide herded us through the gate with our entrance tickets,
explaining that the island was controlled by Mykonos, and that visitors were
not allowed to stray from the group or stay overnight. The population was about 14, and those were
archaeologists with permits to investigate the ruins. I was struck by the utter lack of greenery--
no trees, and the few desiccated weeds were barely hanging onto the rocky soil. Wind swept, it seems as though the top soil
had long since blown out to sea. The
neighboring island of Rheneia lay off the west side, and our tour guide told us
that the Delos sanctuary was so sacred that around 1000 BC all the graves on
the island were moved to Rheneia; by decree no one was permitted to be born or
to die on Delos. The sanctuary, in which
there had been a cult since the Mycenaean period (ca. 1400 BC) began to be
placed on an organized basis in the 7th century BC. There are references to the Delian sanctuary
in The Odyssey and The Homeric Hymn to Apollo, written in
about 700 BC, as a famous religious center of the Ionians.
From the pier we went directly to the Theatre Quarter, the
ruins of a large city that once held 30,000 inhabitants during the Hellenistic
period. We walked the ancient streets,
peering into the courtyards of the houses with the fluted column still lining
the atrium with mosaic floors. The high
quality mosaics gave names to houses such as the House of Dionysus, the House
of the Masks, the House of the Dolphins, and the House of the Tritons. There were signs of stucco that had once
covered the stone walls, and evidence of water pipes, wells, and the communal
cistern gave the impression of relatively comfortable living. There were even small alcoves in the walls on
the street side, suggesting places for oil lamps – 3000 year-old street
lighting! One of the buildings had
windows with holes cut into the stones of the windows, which the archaeologists
determined were for metal bars; perhaps the building had been used as a
bank. It had been a common practice to
bring offerings to the Sanctuary of Apollo so the presence of a bank would make
sense. Our guide said many coins were
found during excavation of this city, and were housed in the Museum. We saw the theatre that gave this district its
name, and as with other ancient theatres I have visited, still impressive
acoustics.
We then toured the sanctuary district itself, an amazingly
large area. Our guide pointed out the
ancient paved road, lined with ruins of buildings. This was the Stoa of Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great. We could read the Greek letters carved in the
stones that had been the epistyle with Philip’s name. This Stoa
lead up to the Treasury, which had a huge gate, called a Propylaea, the
entrance to the Sanctuary of Apollo, and, since research work was in progress, was
cordoned off so we could not enter. To
the north of the Sanctuary is probably the most famous of statues on Delos, the
Terrace of the Lions, dating from about the 7th century BC. There were originally sixteen, now reduced to
five weathered marble statues of lions, one is in the Delos Museum and our
guide said one had been removed by the Venetians and is now at the Arsenal in
Venice! We did not have enough time to
visit the Stadium Quarter or explore further up the mountain, but were turned
loose to pop into the Museum before catching the boat to return to
Mykonos. Not nearly enough time to see
all the amazing artifacts at the Museum, so I decided to wander around the
ruins that were not off-limits, sand-blasted by the wind, and get a few more
photos. *SIGH* All too soon were hustled
out of the gate and back on the charter boat.
The wind was really strong by now, and the ride back was
even rougher than the ride out. Both C.
and I were on the upper deck, and the boat was rocking so much the waves were
washing up onto the upper deck.
Gritty from the sand, coated with salt-spray from the waves, we were
deposited on the dock at Tourlos Bay with the afternoon left open to walk into
Mykonos Town. First we had to find L.
and G. who we expected had had a windy morning at the beach.
Next: Exploring Mykonos Town
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