Delos, Rinia, Mykonos
We dropped anchor off Delos, the mythical birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, at about 8:00 AM after a smooth evening sail from Cape Sounion. Sometimes the winds and waters off Apollo’s isle deny safe moorings to ships like ours, but happily not today. The Aegean Sea was like the proverbial pond – as smooth as a glass mirror. Surely we have been favored, as we begin our journey of exploration of the Cycladic islands.
Our tender took us ashore at 8:30, and we began our walk around this now barren, uninhabited, parched sliver of land some 7 sq km in size. It is hard to imagine that such an unforgiving place could ever have played a significant role in the unfolding of ancient history. In fact, Delos enjoyed several distinct pinnacles of prominence.
Throughout the Greek era, it was revered as a major religious center and was the destination for countless pilgrims from throughout, and even from beyond, the Greek world. In the sixth and fifth centuries BC, as Athens was emerging as the greatest maritime power in the Mediterranean, Delos became a symbolic religious center for the Athenian empire and was closely associated with its political greatness. Centuries later after its religious importance had waned, the island assumed new international prominence as one of most important commercial emporia in the expanding Roman world.
All that remains of its past glory is a vast jumble of silent ruins. Slowly, we picked our way through the physical remains of Delos’s historical tapestry, stopping to visit the three Apollo temples, marketplaces, stoas, elegant houses, pedestrian shops, and warehouses and finally to stand in wonder while viewing the iconic Delian lion statues – the sentinels of the island’s storied past.
A visit to the museum helped us better understand the complexities of life on this island. Frescoes and mosaics, small oddments of domestic life, elegant statues of long-forgotten members of the island’s elite, and statues of various divinities helped to humanize what the stark building remains could only suggest. In the distance and beyond the small portion of the island we had been able to explore, were other layers upon layers of Delos’s past beckoning to us. They are not for today, but perhaps for another visit.
Too soon, our tender arrived to take us from the past back to the present, but with a better understanding of how closely intertwined the two can be. After a quick repositioning to a quiet cove on nearby Rinia Island, there was time for a refreshing swim from the stern of the Panorama and our first buffet lunch.
The wind picked up as if on a predetermined schedule, so our ship could show off its sailing abilities. Under sail, we headed for Mykonos, our late afternoon port of call. There was leisure time on deck or in our cabins to process our Delian adventure.
We arrived at Mykonos on schedule for our excursion to this internationally renowned resort only to find that strong breezes and swells had caused a congestion of monster cruise ships waiting for docking berths. We were forced to wait our turn as conditions worsened. After one try to dock failed, there followed a long wait for a second opportunity to arise. None did, and our captain finally decided that we would not be able to make our shore excursion, so we headed away towards our evening’s anchorage in Naoussa Bay, Paros. Our disappointment about missing Mykonos was softened by an impromptu Greek lesson by our two wonderful, resourceful Greek guides, Stella Galani and Ellie Haralambous.
Expanded caption: In the photo above, Isis holds the sail of a ship, guiding it through the perils of the sea. This Egyptian goddess had gained universal acceptance in the Late Hellenistic and early Roman period. Since she was the goddess who protected sailors and their ships, a temple for her worship could always be found in any port city throughout the Roman world.
