12 Best Sights in The Cyclades, Greece

This tiny 5-km-long (3-mile-long) island was once considered the most sacred place in the known world and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. Fabled as the birthplace of Apollo and his twin sister Artemis, it is a testament to Greece's glorious ancient civilization and home to one of its most important archaeological sites. First settled in the 3rd millennium BC, the sanctuary reached its glory in the Classical period as pilgrims from all over paid tribute to Apollo. To preserve its sacred importance, births and deaths on the island were forbidden and yet a population of 30,000 crammed on to the island as it became the main trading center of the eastern Mediterranean. Today the island is uninhabited, but it is easy to imagine the ancient society that once ruled here. You will find ruins of ancient temples, houses, an amphitheater, elaborate mosaics, and, of course, the acclaimed Terrace of the Lions statues. Hike to the summit of Mt. Kynthos (370 feet) and you will be blessed with views of the surrounding islands that circle Delos. The boat from Mykonos takes 30 minutes and overnight stays are not allowed.

The island has no shade, so don't forget to bring a hat, sunscreen, and plenty of water.

The first monument you'll see, on the left from the harbor, is the Agora of the Competialists (circa 150 BC). The competialists were members of Roman guilds, mostly freedmen and slaves from Sicily who worked for Italian traders. They worshipped the Lares Competales, the Roman "crossroads" gods; in Greek they were known as Hermaistai, after the god Hermes, protector of merchants and the crossroads.

Beyond the path that leads to the southern part of the island is this ancient theater, built in the early 3rd century BC. It once sat 5,500 people. Close by was the elegant residential quarter inhabited by Roman bankers and Egyptian and Phoenician merchants. Their one- and two-story houses were typically built around a central courtyard, sometimes with columns on all sides. Floor mosaics of snakes, panthers, birds, dolphins, and Dionysus channeled rainwater into cisterns below; the best-preserved can be seen in the House of the Dolphins, the House of the Masks, and the House of the Trident.

This museum is on the road south of the Gymnasium. It contains most of the antiquities found during excavations on the island: monumental statues of young men and women, stelae, reliefs, masks, mosaics, and ancient jewelry.

One of the most evocative and recognizable sights of Delos is the 164-foot-long Avenue of the Lions. The five marble beasts, which were carved in Naxos, crouch on their haunches, their forelegs stiffly upright, vigilant guardians of the Sacred Lake. They are the survivors of a line of at least nine lions that were erected in the second half of the 7th century BC by the Naxians. One statue, removed in the 17th century, now guards the Arsenal of Venice (though with a refurbished head); the remaining originals are in the Delos Archaeological Museum on the island.

Northeast of the palaestras is the Gymnasium, a square courtyard nearly 131 feet long on each side. Scratched into the rock are early graffiti of the local boys names and the girls they ogled. The long, narrow structure farther northeast is the stadium, the site of the athletic events of the Delian Games. East of the stadium site, by the seashore, are the remains of a synagogue built by Phoenician Jews in the 2nd century BC.

Southeast of the Sanctuary of Apollo are the ruins of the Monument of the Bulls, also known as the Neorion, an extremely long and narrow structure built, it is thought, to display a trireme (an ancient boat with three banks of oars) that was dedicated to Apollo by Antigonas Gonatas thankful for a naval victory over the Ptolemies. Maritime symbols were found in the decorative relief of the main halls, and the head and shoulders of a pair of bulls were part of the design of an interior entrance.

A dirt path leads up the base of Mt. Kynthos, which is the highest point on the island. Here lie the remains of many Middle Eastern shrines, including the Sanctuary of the Syrian Gods, which was built in 100 BC. A flight of steps goes up 368 feet to the summit of Mt. Kynthos (from which the name "Cynthia" was derived), where Greek mythology says Zeus watched the birth of his son, Apollo, on the slope. There are amazing views of Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, and Syros from the top of the mountain. The path is completely unshaded, so be prepared for the heat.

Beyond the Sacred Way is one of the most important sites on the island, the Sanctuary of Apollo. Three separate temples originally stood here flanked by altars, monuments, and statues, although not much remains of them. The main temple was grand, fittingly called the Great Temple of Apollo (circa 480 BC). Inside the sanctuary and to the right is the House of the Naxians, a 7th- to 6th-century BC structure with a central colonnade. Dedications to Apollo were stored in this shrine. Outside the north wall a massive rectangular pedestal once supported a colossal statue of Apollo (one of the hands is in Delos's Archaeological Museum, and a piece of a foot is in the British Museum in London). Near the pedestal a bronze palm tree was erected in 417 BC by the Athenians to commemorate the palm tree under which Leto gave birth. According to Plutarch, the palm tree toppled in a storm and brought the statue of Apollo down with it. In The Odyssey, Odysseus compares the Phaeacian princess Nausicaa to a palm he saw on Delos, when the island was wetter.

Immediately to the right of the Archaeological Museum is the small Sanctuary of Dionysus, which was erected in about 300 BC. Outside the sanctuary you'll find one of the more boggling sights of ancient Greece: several monuments dedicated to Apollo by the winners of the choral competitions of the Delian festivals, each decorated with a huge phallus, emblematic of the orgiastic rites that took place during the Dionysian festivals. Around the base of one of them is carved a lighthearted representation of a bride being carried to her new husband's home. A marble phallic bird, symbol of the body's immortality, also adorns this corner of the sanctuary.

A short distance north of the Monument of the Bulls is an oval indentation in the earth where the Sacred Lake once sparkled. It is surrounded by a stone wall that reveals the original periphery. According to islanders, the lake was fed by the river Inopos from its source high on Mt. Kynthos until 1925, when the water stopped flowing and the lake dried up. Along the shores are two ancient palaestras (buildings for physical exercise and debate).

East of the Agora of the Competialists you’ll find the entrance to the Sacred Way, which leads north to the temple of Apollo. The Way was once bordered by beautiful marbled statues and monuments created by various kingdoms and city states of Ancient Greece. It was also the route used by pilgrims during the holy Delian festival.