Delos Attractions

Agora of the Kompetaliastae

The Kompetaliaston Market was given its name by Kompetaliastes, an association of slaves and freedmen which had the Larites, Roman gods of the crossroads as their patrons.

Agora of the Kompetaliastae

Others had also settled, in the same area,for example Roman and foreign merchants,Ermaistes and Apolloniastes, united in associations under the protection of a god.

Agora of the Kompetaliastae

Marble bases and altars, offerings of clubs are strewn across the square. The buildings are preserved in the south and east of the square,used to host comercial premises but most of the dealings took place outside under tents with wooden stakes.

Agora of the Kompetaliastae

Moreover,the grain trade operated from here, and also the famous slave bazaar as mentioned the geographer Stravon.

Sanctuary

In the sanctuary there are the ruins of three temples dedicated to the god: the temple of Delians, the temple of Athens and the current temple built at the time of Pisistratus.

The Temple of Delians

Opposite the Artemision, the first temple from the south, which is the largest, is the Delian Temple construction began in 476 BC and was completed in 314 BC. The columns of white marble were unbarred and plates crepidoma without the final carving. It is the only temple pavilion – i.e. temple colonnades on all four sides – in Delos.

The Agora of the Italians

The entrance to the huge Residences is known as the Italian Agora, the largest edifice of Delos is directly south of Leto-a portico with four Doric columns in front. Over the basement there is a floor with square pillars instead of columns in porticoes and Ionic architrave. Also the center of the space occupies a large quadrangular square, measuring 48x68 meters, surrounded by a colonnade, with a total of 112 columns, two of which have been restored on the North side with their architraves.

Lion Terrace

Impressive beasts sit on their hind legs with their tail between their legs,projecting the front part of their bodies. Thus,framing the avenue guarding it in a manner befitting the holy places of the East and Egypt and causing divine awe in the visitor,as true guardians of the sanctuary.

Lion Terrace

Of the sixteen original fearsome lions ,only nine have survived, some whole and others torn asunder.

Lion Terrace

One which was transferred to Venice, in the 17th century, now has a new, unmatched head in front of the dockyard of the Serenissima.

The Sacred Lake

Sacred Lake

The Lake House is one of the most elegant houses of Delos in a plot surrounded by roads all around. In the corners of the house, on granite stone,engraved emblems of the Dioscuri, which is a shield between two tapered pillars, were saved.

Sacred Lake

There were abominable symbols, like the phallus or the truncheon of Hercules. Particularly noteworthy is the superb well in the court yard reconstructed and a second one which was built within the wall with a view to conserving space. The elegant mosaic floor with simple geometric designs.on the walls of the Mens quarters relics and mortars still remain.

House of the Comedians

The house of the Comedians is the largest ,with Doric colonnades in the galleries of the atrium, which underpin Ionic pilasters supporting the roof of the first floor in a way similar to the Italian Agora.

House of Diadoumenos

The building with dimensions 36x26m. considered too large for a private home and was probably used to host a Club like the neighboring building of Poseidoniasts. Also,of interest are tall cylindrical bases of white marble, supporting gray columns in porticoes of the atrium - one of these saves unfinished embossed representations.

It owes its name to the famous statue of the sculptor Polykleitos.

The Building of the Poseidoniasts of Beirut

The Poseidon League of Βeirut was a guild which was both a religious and a commercial center. Merchants and shipowners from Beirut ,used to congregate in Delos during the period of its great economic development, under the protection of the god Vaal, who was the equivalent of the Greek god Neptune.

Hypostyle Hall

The Hypostyle Hall is one of the most peculiar and interesting buildings of ancient architecture. On the South face was a portico with fifteen limestone Doric columns. Unlike the main columns, the capitals of columns were made of marble, like the architrave. After 166 BC the term Delians was replaced with the term Athenians. The huge roof was supported by 44 limestone columns (9x5 columns in series, except that the middle row had only 4 columns, leaving the center space free). The building was finished in 208 BC, but its purpose is unknown. Some consider it to be a restaurant. After its destruction , private buildings were built in its place, some of which are preserved. East of the Hypostyle Hall is the temple of the twelve gods , the Dodekatheon.

Commercial port

In the commercial ports were many shops and stores directly by the sea, almost without any connection with the city. This indicates that the goods were destined for immediate export. Stravon writes that Delos could import and export tens of thousands of slaves the same day, so there was proverb saying "trader, come to the port, unload and all is sold”

Quarter of the Theatre

The Quarter of the Theatre, perhaps the most interesting part of town, has been for the most part uncoverd. There were roads, workshops and shops which provided the thriving business community of Delos, with furniture, marble tables and pots, and impressive utensils of stone or clay.

House of Dionysos

The house of Dionysus stands out from afar with huge marble columns that extend over the walls.The most famous part of the house is the super emblem in the center of the mosaic floor in the courtyard, which is one of the most exquisite creations of Hellenistic mosaic decoration. The overwhelming god Dionysos with wide open wings wreathed with ivy, on a tiger,which is also carrying a wreath with vines and grapes around its neck . In his right hand the god is holding the thyrsus like spear adorned with ribbons. On the floor, among the plants,there is a beetle,a wine utensil,all of which are symbols of the God of Wine who is shown here probably on his journey from India.

Theatre

The Theatre was built in the 3rd century BC. and presents the usual form of an ancient theater with its hollow, the space where the spectators sat on the western side of the hill with a magnificent view of the sea and the ports, semi-circular orchestra and the stage. From the marble seats that could have accommodated an audience of about five thousand viewers, few remain intact today. Unlike the seats in the front row around the orchestra and the Presidency, which were the only seats with back support and still exist.

House of Hermes

It is an affluent home of the 2nd century BC . It was built on four graduated levels.

House of Masks

The House of Masks consists of four homes. A large pool, carved in natural granite, supplied water to the block of houses , built around 150-100 BC. In this luxurious house, which was decorated with exceptional mosaics and frescoes, luxury vessels, gold, jewels and statues were found.

House of the Dolphins

A large rosette with floral motifs decorating the center of the floor, surrounded by concentric decorated circles . On one of them you can even read the name of the manufacturer. The signature on such a project is rare, since mosaicists as ordinary craftsmen, usually lived anonymously. Noteworthy is the band decorated with shaped heads of birds and lions. In the four corners of the floor meshes of dolphin couples, who are ridden by Cupid with the symbols of Hermes (caduceus), Neptune (trident), Dionysus (thyrsus) the symbol of the fourth Cupid is not distinct. The entire composition and the variety of colors is superb.

District of Inopos

The district of Inopos was developed at the north bank of the river . From homes that have been excavated the house of Inopos is distinguished , a characteristic mansion with two entrances. Further west is the house with one column that took its name from a single column that supported a portico in front. It is noteworthy that the bathroom with the clay bath,is still in place.

The tank of the Theatre

Of particular interest is the water tank of the Theatre, where all the rainwater was gathered. The roof rested on eight wonderfully preserved and masterfully constructed arches of granite.

Temple of Hera

The temple of the Goddess Hera, consists of a nave and a antetemple with two columns in antis on the front. The walls of the small and well-preserved temple are build in marble, which dates back to 500 B.C. The marble altar of the Goddess is well preserved. On the pedestal many tributes were found in the excavation of 1912, many of which you can see in the museum.

Sanctuary of Hercules

The cave, is mostly artificial, using a natural hollow in the rock, and was then roofed with huge rectangular granite boulders. A large volume of granite in the middle of the area, served as a pedestal for the statue of Hercules, parts of which were found during the excavation.

Mt Cynthus, seen from the Sacred Way

Despite the poor conservation of the ruins , climbing to the top of Kynthos is worth it, especially on days with good visibility, since one has the opportunity to enjoy the unique view of the Cyclades hanging almost circularly around Delos. This is why the islands were named Cyclades meaning circular.

The Sanctuary of Promachona

The Sanctuary of Promachona was probably dedicated to the worship of Aphrodite or Artemis Soteira. In the temple stands the base of the cult statue, and in front of the temple the marble altar. The sanctuary was completely destroyed in the raid of 69 B.C. Two years later Gaius Triarios built a bastion of walls over the temple which were supposed to protect the remains of the city.

Letoon

This is a temple of the 6th century BC dedicated to Leto, mother of Apollo and Artemis. In the nave of the church was the archaic statue of Leto seated on a throne, dressed in linen chiton and a royal purple himation (garment), this was so strange for people of the Hellenistic period, that, as the historian Seamus Delios said ," the melancholic philosopher Parmeniskos of Metapontion broke into laughter the minute he saw it ".

The Monument of the Bulls

It is an elongated, highly peculiar property with its length reaching 68 meters. Build in the 4th century B.C., probably housed a trireme, a tribute to Apollo after a victorious battle of Demetrius the king of Macedonia. The interior was decorated with sea monsters and dolphins crested with Nereids, jumping over the foaming waves.

The Stoa of Antigonus

The Stoa of Antigonus was built around 250 B.C. by Antigonus Gonatas the King of Macedonia, as stated on the architrave inscription: "KING OF KING ANTIGONOS DIMITRIOY MACEDON Apollos." On the Doric entablature, triglyphs alternate with embossed heads of bulls. The statue of Gaius Villiinou proconsul of the Romans gives an idea of the height of the gallery and how the sanctuary would look like with the hundreds ofdedicative statues.

Athletic Facilities

In the early decades of the 3rd century B.C. and at the N.E. of the sanctuary the stadium was build. The area wasformed with large embankments and a strong retaining wall, which was built on the east.

In the surrounding area all the sports facilities are concentrated, the Palestra, the Gymnasium and the Hippodrome. Nearby are also, in a short distance between them, possibly Stasea's Palestra (arena), a highly successful privateschool for the sons of wealthy families, and the Granite Palestra.

The Gymnasium

Gymnasium

The initial period the High School , belongs to the early 3rd century. Reconstructed later by the Athenians and destroyed in 88 B.C. The drainage system is remarkable funneling the rainwater in marble basins in the four corners of the courtyard.

Traces of life which once buzzed in the area, can be seen from the engravings on the slabs of rock and the names of adolescents on scattered pieces of marble, the sweethearts and the beauties of the time, their special moments, their games and their mischief.

House of Trident

Phallus dedicated to god Dionysus

The Archaeological Museum in Delos

Archaeological Museum

The Museum of Delos, as it is nowadays, includes nine exhibit areas. It is unique for the series of archaic sculptureof Cyclades and the samples of Hellenistic painting and the items of private living.

Archaeological Museum

In the first two exhibit areas we find the work of archaic sculptures of Naxos and Paros. The archaicsculpture is continued in the third showroom, which mainly contains works of the 5th century B.C.

Archaeological Museum