Ode to a Grecian Sojourn: Mykonos and Delos

Mykonos is one of the better known tourist islands of Greece - it's sort of the jet-setters' go-to island for nice hotels, good shopping, lovely beaches, etc. But a 20-minute ferry ride away is the ruin-filled island of Delos (Dee-lohs).

I'll get to Mykonos in a bit, Delos is the real draw here. Once a bustling urban development of more than 30,000, it now sits silent and preserved. It started out as the birthplace of Apollo and his twin sister Artemis. The Greeks would flock to the island to visit the temples, to buy icons (and probably fridge magnets and t-shirts), see plays, and listen to the political discussions of the day.

The island was at the center of their world - equidistant from Turkey and Africa, and in the middle of the Greek islands. It was THE place to be...sort of like the main drag. It was such a fun place, Dionysus had a house there, and his parties were legendary.

There are no hotels, so no over night stays. The only people who are allowed to stay on the island are the three excavators who are constantly digging up new stuff. There's a coffee shop and a museum, a pack of cats (who seem to have the run of the place), and at least two lizards. Everything else stands still in time. Here are the highlights:

A fishmonger's bench at the market.

This is the entrance to Dionysus' house

A mosaic in his entry hall

The capital from a long-fallen column

The known lizards

When tourists go bad. See the two girls' heads? They're sticking up above two headless female statues. The statues are on the front porch of the house owned by a woman named Cleopatra (not that one, but another one in Greece who was very wealthy and generous). She wanted everyone to know where she lived - so they could visit her - so she put statues of herself right on the front lawn.

Ruins of an ampitheatre. The front two rows of seats were made of marble and had backs on them - for the VIPs. The half circle flat area is where the chorus stood (they're the men who sang to the audience about the meaning of the players' words or what was going on in their minds or what action the audience should be imagining - like a violent rain storm or beautiful sunset. Behind the flat part was a raised stage where the players or speakers would perform. The stones in the foreground of the picture below are the base of the raised platform in this theatre.

An ancient cistern for a large part of the city.

In the marketplace, large tents covered the stands. This is a post hole for one of the tent poles.

Part of Apollo's temple

You can still see the writing on the stones (2500-3000 years old). These letters spell out Macedonia.

Spooky

Poppies everywhere

Wildflowers among the ruins

My favorite part of Delos is the Terrace of the Lions. Thought to once have more than 15, only five are left to guard the Temple of Apollo. One of the five is in the British Museum in London (being protected).