Delos

History, in many ways, moves in cycles.

Empires and great civilizations emerge and disappear, towns and cities experience great success followed by economic decline and depopulation. This is noticeable when we visit the Greek Isles. Some islands are just emerging as big ports and hubs, others have once been great centers of wealth, religion and commerce but are now depopulated and only ruins remain.

A perfect example of the latter is the island that we visited today, Delos. This small island once became both a religious and commercial center. It was an important religious center as it was the birthplace of the god Apollo and the goddess Artemis, and around 1000 BC it became an important place of worship. A bit later, around the 3rd and 2nd Century BC when Delos was declared a free port, it also became a very important economic center.

Today, the island is one of the most important archeological sites in Greece, but not much is left of its once immense wealth but ruins. However, as we walked around this now uninhabited island, we could – with the help of some imagination, as well as our excellent guides – picture all the temples, statues, houses and shops that once stood there.

Delos is also linked to cycles in other ways. This island is actually the reason why the Cyclades has its name. It was considered so important in ancient times that the other islands in the region were said to form a circle around it, hence the name the Cyclades.

After our visit to this important site, the afternoon was spent cruising towards the mainland. It got off to a rocky start, but after awhile it calmed down and we could have our naturalist Linda Burback’s talk on Mediterranean plants, as well as our swim stop followed by the Captain’s farewell cocktail party and dinner.

And this, of course, brings us to one more cycle: our trip. After having spent a week doing a lap around the Cycladic islands, our trip has come to an end and we are on our way to Athens where we started our voyage.

Our great adventure amongst the Greek Isles has come full circle.