Photos
Delos Island
Delos in short - Key Attractions
- Very interesting ancient excavations and museum
- Very well preserved archaeological sites, statues and columns
- Breathtaking view from the mountain - refer to the map for exact location
About Delos
Delos is a small Greek, rocky island - nowadays uninhabited. It is situated in the heart of the Aegean Sea in the centre of the Cyclades - approximately 6 miles from nearby Mykonos.
The island is an archaeological site in itself and as such you will probably have to queue in the harbour for couple of minutes - just like we did - to purchase a ticket which will allow you to explore the island and enter the Archaeological Museum.
Delos for ancient Greeks was the most sacred place, as Apollo and Artemis - two of the most important deities of the Greek pantheon were born here.
If you visit Delos during a day cruise from nearby islands you will have a very limited time to fully explore it. Delos has plenty of very interesting places and therefore it is extremely difficult to see and enjoy them all in a short period of time (around 3 hours). If this is the case in your case we have listed below the most interesting places - in our opinion - which we would advise that you should not miss out:
- The Sanctuary of Zeus and Athena - located on top of the hill - where from one is a superb view of the Cycladic islands around Delos,
- The Museum where you will lots of beautiful ancient statues,
- The Sanctuary of the Syrian and Egyptian Gods,
- The Theatre, the Cistern of the Theatre and the Theatre Quarter - one of the oldest residential quarters of the ancient city,
- Famous Lions dedicated by the Naxians by the end of 7th century BC.,
- The Lake House - a typical example of Delian house of the late 2nd century BC where the rooms were arranged around an open square court, surrounded by porticos.
Published on 26th November 2009
By Arek Zasowski
Photographs by Viola and Arek Zasowski
Few points worth considering
If you visit Delos island during a daily excursion form other islands price of your excursion may not include the entry to the archaeological site so you need to be prepared to spare few Euros for the ticket. If you for any reason decide not to go to the archaeological part of the island you will have to spend few hours on the boat or in the marina (this may not be a wise choice as there are no facilities available).
If you love ancient sites and a photography you may find that time available on the island during the excursion (usually approximately 3 hours) may not be sufficient to fully explore the island.
We visited Delos during one day cruise on board of Naxos Star and really enjoyed the visit.
