Delos

The island of Delos near the centre of the Cyclades archipelago, is one of the most important mythological, historical and archaeological sites in Greece. The excavations in the island are among the most extensive in the Mediterranean.

Delos had a position as a holy sanctuary for a milennium before Olympian Greek mythology made it the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. From its Sacred Harbour, the horizon shows the two conical mounds that have identified landscapes sacred to a goddess in other sites: one, retaining its pre-Greek name Mount Kynthos is crowned with a sanctuary of Zeus.

A short boat ride from Mikanos. Visited in October 2015.

Delos was eventually abandoned around the eighth century AD.

House of Dionysus floor mosaic

The Terrace of the Lions, also was dedicated to Apollo by the people of Naxos shortly before 600 BC. It originally had 9-12 squatting, snarling marble guardian lions along the Sacred Way; one was removed and is presently situated over the main gate of the Venetian Arsenal. The lions create a monumental avenue comparable to Egyptian avenues of sphinxes. (A Greek sphinx is in the Delos Museum.) Today, only seven of the original lions remain.