Memories of Delos Island
Memories of Delos Island the most important mythological, historical and archeological site in Greece. What an incredible island full of ancient ruins, where visitors can really get up close and personal walking back in time. If you go during the week and take the first ferry from Mykonos at 9am for 18€, you will basically have the whole place to yourself, although it does not get crowed even as more boats arrive.
Wear a hat & sunscreen. And bring lots of water – the price is stupid high in the only gift shop/café on the island. Grab a detailed free map as you enter or hire a guide, but I think it’s best to just wander on your own. The map is excellent with drawings of the “recreation” of the City, along with some photos showing the highlights. I suggest doing the arrow marked walk around the main town first, then head up the mountain before it gets too hot, ending by going out to the stadium and walking around the coastline. End in the museum and then go back to see if you missed anything. My personal highlights were the top of Mount Kynthos and the mosaics that are in the houses. Oh and the “parts” of the Colossal Kouros of Apollo that are still there (upper torso & pelvis). You can literally walk back in time, this site is very accessible and only a few barriers to keep you out of specific spots. Also I don’t envy the scattered security guards jobs – standing out in the sun all day to keep the tourists away from the most sacred of sites. Note some of what you see are “replicas” of the originals that have been taken off site most likely to a museum, like the one in Athens where I saw a lot of “stuff”. But vast majority is “original” from the 1st millennium BC.
I loved it was there from 9:20 to 15:00 and covered everything at a nice leisurely pace. You can spend less time, especially if you don’t climb up Mount Kynthos (which is not “easy” with the amount of steps that need to be navigated) or go out to the Stadium complex. But I’m not sure it you need to spend more time – unless you ate in the cafe &/or hired a guide on top of what I outlined. Well if you had a guide book on every detail you were experiencing, then maybe you would spend more time. But there are information plaques in most areas explaining the specifics, which I found to be all I needed beyond what I already knew from past reading or documentaries I’ve watched.
