October 19 Mykonos

October 19, 2017, Cruise day 7, Trip day 18 Mykonos

We sailed all night and arrived at Mykonos at 7:30. This is the glamor island of the Cyclades area, the island with the parties, reputation and style. Very upscale and touristy.

Following breakfast, the independents were put on a small ferry for a ride across the harbor for the bigger ferry to Delos. That “complementary” ride saved us the effort of walking around the harbor. A major effort was made to get us out early so that we could avoid the crowds coming from the big cruise boats in Delos. The boat ride to Delos was a pleasant 15-minute trip. The ferry boast schedules are arranged so that you can only spend a maximum of 4 hours on the island.  There are no residents on the island nor is swimming permitted. Just touring ruins and a small museum.

Delos is the mythical birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. It was inhabited as early as the 3^rd millennium BC, but and for many centuries it was shrine to Apollo. (I never learned why his twin Artemis did not receive as much glory, although she has a big temple in Ephesus.) and the oldest temples on the island dedicated to him date back to the 8^th century BC. Athens gained full control of the island and surrounding region in the 5^th century BC. In 478 BC, following its victory over the Persians, Athens established an alliance known as the Delian League, with it as the leader and its treasury on the island. This established Athens as the leading Greek city state of the time.

During this period Delos reached the height of its powers. Its population swelled to 30,000 (half of whom were slaves) and many of its residents were wealthy merchants, bankers and mariners from lands throughout the eastern Mediterranean. Delos was not only a center of commerce, but also a religious center that welcomed foreign gods, although Apollo remained the leading deity. Athens maintained its control in part by forbidding births or deaths on the island.

Under Roman rule Delos continued to thrive and the Romans made it a duty-free port. Part of the prosperity was based on a thriving slave market in which up to 10,000 slaves were sold daily. Over the next century as Roman power declined and the importance of the ancient religions declined in the face of the growth of Christianity, Delos experienced a slow decline such that by the 3^rd century AD, the only inhabitants of the island were a Christian settlement. For several centuries thereafter, the island’s infrastructure was looted by pirates and others seeking building materials. It wasn’t until the 17th century that the antiquities of Delos were rediscovered.

Our tour took us initially to the Theatre Quarter where he wealthy resided. We walked through several houses including the Houses of Dionysus and Cleopatra where large structures surrounding peristyle courtyards that had elaborate mosaic floors.  The house of Trident was also very large and well preserved. The theatre dated to 300 BC, but was not well preserved. It contained a cistern that supplied most (the wealthy homes had their own cisterns) of the arid town with water. Beyond that on the mountain we could see, but did not go to the Sanctuaries of the Foreign Gods

We retraced our steps and walked along the Stoa of Philip V which lead to the Temple of Apollo. Opposite that is the Terrace of the Lions. The marble originals, all of which have been lost or are in the Athens and British Museums, were offerings from the people of Naxos presented in the 7^th century BC.  We saw plaster cast replacements. We then walked across the dry Sacred Lake, the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis to the Museum. It had an interesting collection of relics.

We took the 12:30 ferry back to Mykonos and were on our own. We walked around and through the Church of Panagis Pareportiani. It is a rocky whitewashed building that consists of four small chapels. That lead us to the Little Venice area which had lots of narrow streets, tourist and jewelry shops and lots of water front restaurants. We continued along the waterfront to the windmills. These are thatched roofed structures which are the mostly now residences. One that was till a functioning windmill was open for a walk through. We then turned inland and stopped for coffee. Finally walked back to the boat by way of the center of the town and then along the waterfront bay. There were several people on the small beach and we viewed several murals near the boat.

We had to be back on the boat at 2:00 for lunch and the return trip to Athens. Do not know why we had to leave that early since we docked in Athens about midnight. During the afternoon we got to go on the bridge with the captain. Lots of gadgets up there. Had a sit-down dinner and then had to settle our accounts. The tours were expensive.

House of Dionysos

Picture of a mural of Little Venice