Delos Island

Delos is a small, mostly uninhabited island in the heart of the Cyclades, lying just off the coast of Mykonos in the Aegean Sea. Covering only 3.43 square kilometers and rising to 112 meters at Mount Kynthos, the island today survives almost entirely as an open-air archaeological site rather than a living town, its population having dwindled to a handful of caretakers and archaeologists.

Long before it entered Greek mythology as the birthplace of the twins Apollo and Artemis, Delos was already revered as a sacred sanctuary for roughly a millennium, drawing pilgrims from across the Aegean world. According to legend, the goddess Leto gave birth on the island after fleeing the jealousy of Hera, and the sanctuary that grew up around this story eventually made Delos one of the most important religious centers of the ancient Mediterranean.

The island's fortunes shifted again in 166 BC, when the Romans declared Delos a free port, turning it briefly into a bustling hub of trade before repeated raids left it largely abandoned by the eighth century AD. In 1990, UNESCO inscribed the ruins as a World Heritage Site, and because no overnight stays are permitted on the island itself, Delos is best reached during a gulet cruise along the Greece coast, with nearby Rhenia offering a quiet anchorage for the night.