Ancient Delos
We booked this cruise at a time when all excursions were included in the price. Unfortunately the rest of the crowd had booked earlier and their perk was discounted airfare, so Steve and I are spending part of the day away from our group. We did meet for breakfast and got to say hello before we scampered off to our first tour. I enjoyed some of the best-smoked salmon I’ve ever had, with red onion, capers and cream cheese on a bagel (my usual birthday breakfast). Happy me.
Guys in the group looked askance at Mia, our guide, after her mythology recap. She said, “Don’t look at me like that: just believe it.”
Today we toured Ancient Delos, an island off of Mykonos that is uninhabited (with the exception of the guards caretaking the excavated ruins and archaeologists when they are in evidence). The island is small, about 3 miles wide and 1 mile across, but was a most sacred place for ancient Greeks as Apollo and Artemis, two important deities to Greeks, were born here.
We took a ferry from Mykonos harbor, about a 30-minute ride, during which time the captain had to blow his horn at an idiot yacht anchored smack in the middle of the channel to Delos’ dock. Damn tourists.
I won’t try to give you the complete historical overview in this blog (although I do suggest you Google it because it is quite fascinating) but I will say that for the 3rd and 2nd century BC they had a very sophisticated water and sewer system, much of it evident in the ruins and still waterproof after all this time. When the Romans invaded they were known to say, “We have conquered Greece but we have been conquered by the Greeks.” They understood they had conquered a more advanced civilization and chose to assimilate it vs. stamp it out.
Of course so much of Greece is tied to their mythological beliefs and Delos is no different. In this instance Zeus was after Leto, a Titaness, who was not his wife. Men. Leto became pregnant, and Hera (Zeus’ wife) forbade mother earth from giving Leto refuge. Poseidon took pity, and Leto’s sister, who’d turned herself into a floating rock to get away from Zeus (see what I mean?) was tied to the ocean floor by four diamond pillars to create a place for Leto to give birth. This island is Delos. Leto gave birth to Artemis first, and then helped her mother with Apollo’s birth. You know, when you want something done, just ask a woman.
Guys in the group looked askance at Mia, our guide, after her mythology recap. She said, “Don’t look at me like that: just believe it.”
Artemis was the Goddess of the hunt, and the cult of Artemis predates the cult of Apollo. Apollo is all music and light (culture so to speak), not doing any of the heavy lifting. The time of the cult of Apollo was during the period when the Ionians were able to develop a civilization not based solely on trying to stay alive (because his sister had figured all that out) and some of the great minds emerged, like Homer.
Apollo’s temple ruins are here, and it is the only temple in Greece guarded by animal statuary; the 164 foot-long Avenue of the Lions. The current statues are reproductions as the north winds were eroding the original excavated beasts at a rapid rate. But we were able to see the originals in the museum. Interestingly there are cats on the island. The guards take care of them. I wonder how old the bloodline is? And if they’re still guarding Apollo’s temple?
Delos was also the home of Greece’s earliest synagogue (built by Phoenician Jews) and the earliest synagogue of the Diaspora.
The mosaics that have been recovered and moved to the museum are spectacularly complicated, for example: there is a mosaic in which 20 pieces were used to create the foot of a bird. These were in the living rooms of homes, like an oriental carpet.
Some interesting relics (to a food person) were the fishmonger’s table, a lipped flat slab with a hole for the water to drain. This design is still used today in the Mykonos harbor, but the slab is slanted instead of flat.
There was also a multi-burner stove where one could grill as well as cook in pots at differing temperatures.
Only 10% of Delos has been excavated. French and Greek archaeologists began the work in 1872, and it has carried on since. Currently there are no active excavation sites as there is no money. Austerity has hit the antiquities.
Delos is the place that has the third brightest light on earth. NASA measured it and said it’s reflected from the ocean. Perhaps Poseidon’s diamond pillars?
While on Delos I was delighted to see a pure white dove fly by and a couple of wonderful lizards as well. They weren’t Apollo’s dolphins but we’ll take what we can get.
Our guide, Mia, is an artist (etchings and paintings) who spent summers on Mykonos as a youth. She told me she lives in Athens part of the year and Mykonos in the summer, and that she was a lousy businesswoman so she had to go to guide school. She was incredibly knowledgeable and a delightful guide. She also gave us an awesome lunch recommendation for back on Mykonos.
Steve and I roamed around the stone streets of Mykonos, taking in the beautiful white washed buildings, the bright blue doors and the domes of the churches. We stumbled upon a photo shoot in front of the Church of Paraportiani, where a model wrapped in black jersey wearing a stunning necklace and stilettos was attempting to pose. Unfortunately her right boob kept springing itself from the jersey. She was certainly attracting a crowd.
We made our way to Yialos restaurant, and while most tourists ate outside facing the harbor we opted for inside where the locals were dining.
I have become a fan of Mythos beer, especially on draft and served in an iced mug. Mia suggested we try the Mykonian Mostra, which is a large rusk topped with kaponisti (a yellowish, salty cheese with a flavor reminiscent of a strong blue), tomatoes, olive oil and oregano. We also had fresh anchovies, fried, along with tzatziki and more “breaky bread”. Really good. Fresh anchovies are mild and flavorful and not at all reminiscent of the salt bombs in oil that come from a can. We surmised this was a family operation and the sweet young woman who served us pointed out her mother, her uncle and the cook, who was not related but came from the same village. I’d ask for a DNA check because she looked just like the uncle.
Bright, clean fishing boats dotted Mykonos harbor, it was a beautiful last sight before heading to the tender and back to the ship.
