Delos

 

After landing in Mykonos, first order of the day was a walk around the harbour foreshores of the port to catch a boat to Delos.

This turned out to a rather interesting boat ride, with very strong winds (make that very, very strong winds). There is a hurricane headed to Greece, OK it’s the Mediterranean so it’s called a Medicane.

 

Delos

 Delos is a small, very old and sacred island at the centre of the Cyclades, which are said to guard it. It had a history as a holy sanctuary, before it was named as the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis.
It has few natural resources, and food and timber would have to have been imported.
Because of this lacking, it was uninhabited for 1300 years – one of the reason so much remains today.
The extent of the ruins is incredible, as is the amount that has survived. Many of the houses were at least 2 stories high, and included internal plumbing.
It has been inhabited since 3rd century BC
One thing to remember with all the ruins, is that the stone walls were covered in plaster and painted with frescoes, both internally and externally. In its heyday, it must have been absolutely incredible.

Mosaic floor

House of Cleopatra:

 

The guarding lions. These are replicas, with the originals now in the museum to protect them. The Forbidden Lake

Now a deliberately dried out park, (to stop smells and diseases), it was originally a sacred lake, accessible only to temple priests.

The museum

Base of a statue dated to 7th Century BC

Statue of Boreas abducting Orithyia. Dates from 5th century BC

Murals of various sports, now housed in the museum.

 

Remains of the public fountain

Some idea of the rough seas and strong winds

 

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