Mykonos/Delos - Birthplace of Apollo and Artemis

The Optimist could not wait to reach Mykonos, Greece!

The three of us proposed a light day of beach time and wandering the town.

The Optimist, however, was desperate to go to the nearby island of Delos - despite the heat of a barren island, despite the 3 hour interval between return boats, and despite our teasing

 - there really was no other option!

A quick boat ride away was the island of Delos, birthplace of Apollo and Artemis.

This area dates back to the Mycenaean period of 1400 BC.

By 700 BC it had grown to be a famous religious center and a dominant power in the political, cultural, and religious arenas.  It grew to a city of about 30,000 people during the Hellenistic period.  In 88 BC, however, the king of Pontus, Mithridates, leveled much of the city.

The Romans rebuilt it somewhat, but it never returned to its former status.

Teams of archeologists continue their work to this day.

After spending some time touring through much of the lower part of the city ruins, we headed to the museum - also the one piece of shade!  One of the most famous works on Delos is the Terrace of the Lions.  The museum houses some of the originals.  

Replicas have been placed outside in their original locations.  

The lions are shown with their mouths open as if roaring.  They were meant to look fierce to warn visitors that they were guarding the sanctuaries on the island. 

 During the Hellenistic period, the island was considered so sacred that no births or deaths were allowed there.  Such events were unclean.  All burials were across the water at a nearby island.  All women, near to giving birth, were sent there as well.

 The Optimist headed off to get pictures of it all!

Many of the ruins still have the original mosaic floors.  Intricate and beautiful.

The highest point on the island is Mount Kinthos - dedicated to Zeus and Athena.

We headed for the top - first on these ancient stairs....

.... and then making our way on our own.

The view was well worth the hike.

Surrounding us were altars built past and present.

We sat and took in the beautiful views and talked about how often elements of God's truths 

weave their way into almost every culture and religion in some form.

Christians have been building altars for worship and climbing to high places to commune with our Heavenly Father since the beginning of our time here on earth.

“Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, 

… and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths” (Isaiah 2:3)

After some wonderful time appreciating our surroundings, we ran to catch the water taxi.

We had one very important job still to do today.

Mailing a postcard of beautiful Mykonos to Sissy, our missionary!