Corridor: Western Trans-Balkan Road
Country: Greece, Cyclades
Type: Ancient Site
Epoch: Antiquity
Theme: Antiquity
World Heritage: Cultural Heritage

According to Greek mythology, Apollo was born on this tiny island in the Cyclades archipelago. Apollo's sanctuary attracted pilgrims from all over Greece and Delos was a prosperous trading port. The island bears traces of the succeeding civilizations in the Aegean world, from the 3rd millennium BC to the palaeochristian era. The archaeological site is exceptionally extensive and rich and conveys the image of a great cosmopolitan Mediterranean port.

UNESCO


Delos was the most important Panhellenic sanctuary, and, according to mythology, the birth-place of Apollo and Artemis.
The first signs of habitation on the island date from the 3rd millennium BC, and important remains of the Mycenaean period have been uncovered in the area of the sanctuary. In the 7th century BC Delos was already a known Ionic centre because of its religious importance as the birth-place of Apollo.
Athenian influence was initiated on the sanctuary with the first purification of Delos by Peisistratos in 540 BC but it gradually developed into a proper domination lasting - with short intervals - until the end of the 4th century BC, when Delos was finally declared free and independent (314 BC).
The most important monuments of the site are:
The Agora of the Competaliasts, the Temple of the Delians, the Minoan Fountain , Terrace of the Lions, the Establishment of the Poseidoniasts from Beirut, the Stoivadeion, the Theatre, the Temple of Isis, the Temple of Hera and the ‘’House of Dionysos’’.

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Read more about Delos at the Unesco World Heritage List.