ca. 280 – 166 BCE
AE 9mm 0.56g
Laureate head of Apollo right /
Δ-Η, lyre.
cf. SNG Cop. 668
Delos is one of the top archeological sites in Greece. While Delphi was the center of the Oracle every Greek city and ruler sought for advice, Delos was the holiest place for all of them.
Archeological evidence suggests that the island was revered since at least 900 BCE. The major gods worshipped there were Dionysos and Leto. It was also famed as the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis (Leto was their mother).
In the ancient times, all bodies were removed from the island and buried elsewhere. Then a prohibition on dying there was enacted, though I wonder what the punishment was (death?). Even that wasn’t enough, as eventually all inhabitants were moved off the island.
Although the Delian League was really the puppet of Athens, the council met here – hence naming it after the island.
Ancient coinage from Delos, like that of pretty much all of the Cyclades, is quite rare. This one has Apollo on the obverse, who was born on the island. The six-string lyre also shown was a symbol of Apollo. I do wonder why Artemis had no mention, though. The coins were minted during a period when Delos had some autonomy in the 3rd century BCE and were to the Rhodian standard.
The ruins are still incredibly well preserved and are a popular tourist attraction from Mykonos. To this day, no one actually lives on the island other than a lot of cats. I had the opportunity to visit the ruins and I took the following photos.
