DELOS
Greece.
Situated in the center of the
Cyclades, Delos is one of the smallest islands of the
group, measuring some 5 km N-S and 1.3 km E-W at
the widest. The highest point on the island is Mt. Kynthos, which measures 112 m and down which flows the
Inopos.
Famous in antiquity as the birthplace of Apollo,
Delos is mentioned with great frequency in ancient texts.
The most important ones which refer to it are the
Homeric Hymn to Apollo and Kallimachos Hymn to
Delos. The oldest habitation site that has been found
on the island is on the summit of Kynthos (end of the
3d millennium B.C.). The island seems to have been
abandoned in the first half of the 2d millennium. Then a
Mycenaean settlement was established at the future site
of the Sanctuary of Apollo, which was itself founded
at the beginning of the 7th c. B.C. The number of offerings between 700 and 550 indicates domination by
Naxos at this period, but in the second half of the 6th
c., it was Athens which attempted to control the sanctuary. Pisistratos, tyrant of Athens, intervened in the
religious life of the island by “purifying” it, that is, by
removing the tombs which surrounded the sanctuary.
The Athenian supremacy became increasingly apparent
in the 5th and 4th c., despite a short interruption from
404 to 394: Delos, then the headquarters of the maritime
league directed by Athens, was administered by Athenian
magistrates known as “amphictyons.” In 426 it was
again purified, with all the remaining tombs removed and
the bones and funerary furnishings deposited at Rheneia.
In 314, Delos again became independent, remaining so
until 166. The administrative accounts for the sanctuary
and the inventories of offerings give us a rather good
idea of the civil and religious institutions of this time.
In 166, by Roman decree, Delos became an Athenian
possession and was administered by an Athenian epimelete. It was declared a free port, and consequently
attracted a great deal of maritime traffic and many
merchants from Greece, Italy, and the East. This cosmopolitanism led first to the installation of foreign deities
for whom sanctuaries of a non-Greek type were built;
secondly, given the influx of immigrants, the town grew
considerably. Delos was partially ravaged in 88 by the
troops of Mithridates Eupator, and again in 69 by pirates of Athenodoros. These devastations together with
the shift of commercial traffic to Italy as a result of the
Roman conquest, led to the rapid decline of Delos. It
remained a small town until the coming of Christianity,
and was finally abandoned in the 7th c. A.D.
Excavations since 1873 have uncovered a very great
part of ancient Delos. The ruins can be divided into
seven groups: the region of the Sanctuary of Apollo,
which is situated on a small plain behind the main port;
the lake quarter and the theater quarter, which border
on the sanctuary to the N and S respectively; the quarter
of the Inopos; the Terrace of the Foreign Gods and
Mt. Kynthos; finally two outlying groups, the stadium
quarter, to the NE of the island, and the S region.
The sanctuary, which was established on the site of
a Mycenaean settlement, began to take its present form
towards the 6th c. B.C. It is reached by an avenue leading to a propylon, the avenue being flanked by two
Hellenistic porticos, one of which was built by Philip V
of Macedon. The propylon is contiguous with a 6th
c. B.C. edifice called Oikos of the Naxians, which consists
of a rather narrow room with an axial colonnade, and a
four-column prostoon which was added later. Immediately to the N on the Sacred Way is to be found the
base of the Naxian Colossos. Near it are three Temples
of Apollo, constructed side by side and all facing W.
The temple farthest N, which the inscriptions call Porinos
Naos, dates to the 6th c. B.C., and appears to have consisted of a cella and a prodoinos. The second building is
the Athenian Temple or Temple of the Seven Statues,
which was built by the Athenians ca. 425-420. It was an
ainphiprostyle hexastyle Doric temple which had in addition four pillars in antis. The interior of the cella was occupied by a horseshoe-shaped base which supported
the statues of seven divinities whose identity is conjectural. The third Temple to Apollo, which was Doric,
was the only peripteral temple on Delos. It was begun
around 475-450 B.C., but not finished until the first half
of the 3d c. To the N and the E of the temples are five
buildings arranged in a semicircle. They are referred
to as treasuries, but their actual purpose is unknown.
They date from the archaic to the Classical period. To
the E of the Temples of Apollo are a 6th c. B.C. edifice
which may have been the bouleuterion, and the prytaneion, which was constructed in the 5th and 4th c. B.C.
The latter is divided into several small rooms which
inscriptions tell us included, among other things, a prodomos, a courtyard, and an archives room. Parallel
to these two edifices is the Edifice of the Bulls, which is
formed by a six-column prodomos, a long gallery flanked
by benches, and a sort of cella reached by way of a
bay framed by two supports, the pilasters of which are
decorated with bull protoinas. The building, which was
constructed at the end of the 4th c. or the beginning of
the 3d, appears to have contained a ship which was
probably a votive offering.
To the W of the Temples of Apollo, on the other
side of the Sacred Way, are various structures grouped
around the Artemision. A first Temple of Artemis was
built in the 7th c. B.C. on top of a Mycenaean edifice
near which a hoard of gold and ivory Mycenaean objects has been found. This first temple was replaced in
the 2d c. B.C. by a new one which incorporated it. To
the E of the Arteinision the Sema of the Hyperborean
Maidens Laodike and Hyperoche which was mentioned
by Herodotos (
4.34) has been identified by some. Nearby there is an apsidal structure of uncertain purpose.
Contiguous with the S face of the Artemision are the
foundations in poros of a large edifice which according to
an account of the hieropoipoi was built by the Athenians
in the 4th c. B.C. Blocks from the frieze represent the
episodes of an epic of Theseus. Some have identified the
structure, though without compelling reasons, with the
Keraton mentioned in the accounts of the hieropoipoi.
Parallel to its W face is the Edifice with the Hexagons,
which is from the archaic period and had honeycomb
decoration on at least two sides. To the N of the Artemision were the ekklesiasterion, which was remodeled
several times from the 5th c. B.C. to the Imperial period,
and a 5th c. building of very unusual plan which some
have incorrectly identified as the Thesmophorion. It consisted of a courtyard with a Doric peristyle flanked by
two symmetrical rooms whose roofs were supported by
four Ionic columns. This building, along one side, borders an agora built ca. 126-125 by Theophrastos, epiineletes of Delos. A hypostyle hall built in the last years
of the 3d c. B.C. opens onto this agora. Inside, 24 Doric
columns and 20 Ionic columns supported a roof with
a skylight.
To the N the Sanctuary of Apollo is closed by a
portico constructed by Antigonos Gonatas. The gallery,
with a Doric exterior colonnade and an Ionic interior
one, was flanked by two projecting wings. The triglyphs
of the intercolumniation were each decorated with a
bull's head in high relief. In front of the facade of the
portico, a Mycenaean tomb surrounded by a semicircular wall corresponds to the Theke of the Hyperborean
Maidens Opis and Arge which was mentioned by Herodotos (
4.35). Behind the Portico of Antigonos, the
fountain Minoe consists of a square well into which one
could descend by means of a wide staircase of 11 steps.
To the E the Sanctuary of Apollo is closed by a wall
behind which was a residential district which has so far
hardly been excavated and the Shrine of Dionysos, the
latter flanked on either side by a cippa surmounted by
the stump of a phallus. To the S of the Sanctuary of
Apollo was the agora, a trapezoidal area surrounded by
porticos built from the 3d to the 2d c. B.C. Baths were
built on the agora in the Imperial period. Nearby, the
basilica of St. Cyriacus is the only well-preserved Early
Christian monument on Delos.
The lake quarter extends to the N of the Sanctuary
of Apollo around the “trochoidal lake” mentioned by
several ancient writers as one of the most notable features of Delos' scenery. In the archaic period, this region formed the Temenos of Leto, of which the lion
terrace offered by the Naxians towards the end of the
3d c. B.C., and the mid 6th c. Temple of Leto, still remain. To the SW of the Letoon, the dodekatheon contained only the altars and probably the statues of the twelve gods. In the 3d c. B.C. an amphiprostyle Doric
temple was added to it. To the E of the dodekatheon
and the Letoon, the agora of the Italians testifies to the
prosperity of Delos' Italian colony. The agora, which
was paid for by the donations of various benefactors in
the last years of the 2d c. B.C., consists of a large
trapezoidal area surrounded by a two-story portico on
which opened exedrae and niches. Except for two
palaestrae, the N part of the district is formed essentially of private houses, including some of the most
opulent dwellings on Delos: the House on the Hill, the
House of Diaduinenos, The House on the Lake, and
several recently excavated insulae, in particular that of
the House of the Comedians, which included a two-story tower crowned with pediments. In addition to these
private buildings mention should be made of the establishment of the Poseidoniastes of Berytos. Constructed
in the first half of the 2d c. B.C. by the “Association
of the Poseidoniastes of Berytos at Delos, Merchants,
Shippers and Warehousemen,” it consists of two courtyards, living quarters, and four shrines dedicated to
Roina, Poseidon of Berytos, and two other national
divinities of the Berytians, probably Astarte and Echmoun. The establishment of the Poseidoniastes and the
neighboring insulae are oriented N-S and E-W and
stand on straight, right-angled streets. This district,
which appears to have been constructed in the second
half of the 2d c. B.C. must have been laid out according
to a predetermined plan.
Such is not the case, however, with the area of the
theater, which extends to the S of the Sanctuary of
Apollo on the side of a hill. It is the oldest residential
district of Delos. It continued to grow throughout the
3d c. B.C., and appears to be without prearranged plan.
Its principal axis was the narrow Street of The Theater,
which begins in a large flagged square called the Agora
of the Herinaistes or Agora of the Coinpetaliastes on
account of the numerous votive monuments erected there
by these two Italian associations. The street, completely
flagged, follows a twisting course as it rises to the theater, which was constructed in white marble in the 3d c.
B.C. and could hold some 5500 spectators. The metopes
of the frieze of the proskenion were decorated alternately with tripods and bucrania. The water which
drained from the theater collected in a large cistern
whose cover was supported by eight marble arches,
which are still intact. On both sides of the Street of
The Theater are houses dating in their present form from
the 2d or the beginning of the 1st c. B.C. Most of them
are two-story affairs. The most luxurious among them
have a courtyard with marble peristyle and are decorated
with mosaics. Some of them are well known: the House
of Dionysos, which owes its name to a mosaic in opus
vermiculatum representing a winged Dionysos (?) astride
a tiger; the House of Cleopatra, in which the statues of
its owners, the Athenian woman Cleopatra and her husband Dioskourides, are still to be found; the House
of the Trident, whose peristyle of Rhodian type includes
consoles decorated with two bull protomes and two lion
protoines (probably symbols of Atargatis and Hadad),
and which possesses several pictorial mosaics.
Behind the theater is a residential district which has
only been partially excavated. The House of the Masks
there is famous for the mosaics which decorate four
contiguous rooms and which include a Dionysos on the
cheetah and a series of ten theatrical masks. Almost
directly across from it is the House of the Dolphins,
which is almost equally famous on account of the vestibule mosaic with the symbol of Tanit and the mosaic
in the iinpluvium, which is signed by [Askle]piades of
Arados.
To the E of the theater precinct is the area of the
Inopos, which is made up of public buildings and private houses along the banks of the Inopos. The waters
of the stream were caught at this point in a reservoir
constructed in the 3d c. B.C. The most noteworthy house
in the area is the House of Hermes, which backs into
a hill, and for this reason are preserved the remains of
four stories. The sector includes two sanctuaries. The
first is the Samothrakeion, consecrated to the Great
Gods of Samothrace, Dioskouroi-Kabeiroi, and including both a temple built in the 4th c. B.C. which was enlarged in the 2d c. B.C. and the Monument of Mithridates, which Helianax, priest of Poseidon Aisios and
the Great Gods, consecrated in 102-101 “to the gods of
whom he is priest and to King Mithridates Eupator
Dionysos.” The latter building consists of a square
chamber with a statue of the king, and a facade with two
Ionic columns in antis. Along the top of the walls ran
a frieze composed of twelve medallions with half-length
portraits of Mithridates' officers and allies. A little lower
down is the Sarapeion A, the oldest of the Egyptian
sanctuaries of Delos. It was built in 220 B.C. by the
grandson of a priest of Memphis in obedience to a
dream which is recounted in a long inscription carved
on a colonnette found in the sanctuary. The sanctuary
itself consists of a portico, two rooms, and a courtyard,
at the far end of which stands a small temple. Some distance from the House of Hermes is the Aphrodision of
Stesileos, a private organization of the 4th c. It consists of a marble temple, an altar, and five oikoi.
At the foot of the Kynthos massif extends a long
terrace sometimes called the Terrace of the Foreign
Gods because standing on it are the Sanctuary of the
Syrian Gods and a Sarapeion. The sanctuary, consecrated essentially to Atargatis and Hadad, occupies the
N half of the terrace. Built in stages during the second
half of the 2d c. B.C., it was administered at first by
hieropolitan priests and then as an official right by
Athenian priests. It consists of a square courtyard surrounded by small rooms and shrines, and a long terrace
onto which a small theater opens. Here the faithful
sat during the ceremonies, as is indicated by the absence
of a stage and the presence of a portico which surrounds the cavea and hid the spectacle from profane
eyes. To the S is the Sarapeion C, which was under
official administration from the beginning of the 2d c.
B.C. A dromos bordered by porticos and small sphinxes
alternating with square altars leads to a large flagged
courtyard. This is surrounded by several small buildings
of cultic purpose, in particular the little bluish marble
Temple of Serapis and the Doric distyle in antis Temple
of Isis. The facade of the latter has been reconstructed
and its cella still contains the big statue of Isis. The
dromos of the Sarapeion C is dominated by the Heraion.
This temple, Doric distyle in antis, dates from the end
of the 6th c. B.C. Its foundations enclose the remains of
a much smaller, earlier temple which appears to date
from the beginning of the 7th c. B.C.
The summit of Mt. Kynthos was reached by three
roads which ran up the N and W sides. It was originally
the site of a post-Neolithic settlement dating from the
last centuries of the 3d millennium B.C. The remains of
huts with generally curvilinear walls, as well as various
stone and earthenware artifacts, have been found under
the Sanctuary of Zeus and Athena Kynthia. This Kynthion was erected in Hellenistic times, for the most part
in the 3d c. B.C. Its main structures are an oikos of
Zeus Kynthios and an oikos of Athena Kynthia, both
Ionic distyle in antis.
The W face of Mt. Kynthos supports two sanctuaries,
that of Agathe Tyche and the Den of Kynthos; the nature of the latter has long been a matter of dispute.
It consists of a natural cleft in the rock covered by a
ridge-roof formed by 10 enormous blocks of granite
leaning against and supporting each other in pairs. Inside is a base which bore a statue of Herakles. Although
the Den was long considered to have been the original
Sanctuary of Apollo, it would appear in reality to have
been a Hellenistic Sanctuary of Herakles. The N face
of Kynthos is occupied by several sanctuaries of oriental
type, such as that of the gods of Iamneia and that of
the gods of Ascalon.
The stadium area is in the NE part of Delos, running
along the E coast. The stadium is bordered with tiers
of seats on the W and has a tribunal on the E. It is next
to a gymnasium, established there in the early 3d c.
B.C. and rebuilt during the Athenian period, whose
central courtyard with an Ionic peristyle is flanked by
rooms on two sides only. The stadium dominates a partially explored residential quarter. Nearby on the shore
was the synagogue, identified by its ground-plan and
dedications to Theos Hypsistos. It was in use until the
2d c. A.D. Halfway between the stadium area and the
Sanctuary of Apollo is the Archegesion or Sanctuary of
Anios, mythical archegetes and king of Delos. It dates
from the 6th c. B.C. but was remodeled during the Hellenistic period.
To the S of the Sanctuary of Apollo along the W
shore are various ruins which have been only partially
excavated. After a group of warehouses opening on the
port comes a sanctuary which might be the Dioskourion.
It contains various archaic and Hellenistic structures.
More to the S the Asklepieion was built between the
end of the 4th and the middle of the 3d c. B.C. Among
other things, a propylon, an oikos, and the Doric tetrastyle temple have been found there. To the E of this
sanctuary, on the side of the hill, is the exceptionally
large House of Fourni.
In 69, Delos was fortified by the legate Triarios; remains of the Wall of Triarios are to be found in various
places, particularly to the E of the lake area.
Most objects found on the island are preserved in
the Delos museum, with the exceptions of some exceptional pieces in the National Museum of Athens. The
former thus possesses a considerable collection of archaic
kouroi and korai, some pieces of Classical sculpture,
and a vast quantity of Hellenistic statues and reliefs.
In addition it contains fragments of murals from the
houses and the altars of the Compitalia; gold and ivory
Mycenaean objects; ceramics from all periods, but especially from the 1st and 2d c. B.C.; Hellenistic figurines
and furnishings; and hundreds of marble inscriptions.
Rheneia, to the W of Delos, has been only summarily explored. The E coast, which is that closest to
Delos, contains the necropolis of the Delians. In addition to numerous tombs and funerary stelai, there have
been found a columbarium from the Hellenistic period
and the mass grave where the bones and funerary offerings exhumed in the “purification” of 426 were placed.
A small Sanctuary of Herakles, dating from the 2d or
the 1st c. B.C. has been found near the W bank.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Monuments Piot, XIV:
Peintures murales et mosaïques de Délos (1908)
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PI; id.,
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(1953)
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I.
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Inscriptions de Délos; F.
Durrbach,
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Textes historiques (1921). Only Vol.
I is published. P. BRUNEAU