The island of Delos was one
of the most important places
in the ancient Greek world...
with temples honoring
the birthplace of the twin gods
Apollo and Artemis.
Centuries before Christ,
Delos attracted pilgrims
from across the Western world.
♪♪
Delos was important in
three different ancient eras,
first as a religious site,
then as the treasury
of the Athenian League.
That was sort of the Fort Knox
of the ancient world.
And later, during Roman times,
this was one of the busiest
commercial ports
in the entire Mediterranean.
Delos ranked right up there with
Olympia, Athens, and Delphi.
Survey the remains
of the ancient harbor,
foundations of shops and homes,
and hillsides
littered with temple remains.
♪♪
The iconic row
of sphinx-like lions
still heralds
the importance of the place.
This was one of the
Aegean world's finest cities.
Imagine Delos in its heyday,
a booming center of trade,
streets lined with 3,000 shops
where you could buy
just about anything,
dazzling mansions
of wealthy merchants
with colonnaded
inner courtyards.
There were fine mosaics like
this one of the god Dionysus
riding a panther.
Culture thrived here
enough to keep this theater,
which could seat 6,000, busy.
Innovative cisterns
collected rainwater.
These round arches date
from the third century B.C.
Plumbing ran under the streets,
and water was plentiful.
Local guides demonstrate
still-working wells.
-One of the 200 wells
and cisterns in the city,
fresh, drinkable water from
the rich aquifer underneath us,
and it was enough to supply
the 30,000 people
at the peak of
the flourish of the city.
-30,000?
-So for more than 2,000 years,
water has come out of this well.
You can still drink if you want.
-Very nice.
About a century before Christ,
Delos was devastated
by a terrible war.
It never recovered
and was eventually abandoned.
After 14 centuries
of silence and darkness,
it was finally excavated
in the late 1800s,
and today, the ruins of Delos
are ours to explore.
♪♪
I cap my visit by climbing
to the summit of the island.
My reward: one of
the Mediterranean's great
king-of-the-mountain thrills.
As you observe
the chain of islands
dramatically swirling
in 360 degrees,
you can understand
why historians believe
that these Cycladic Islands
got their name from the way
they make a circle --
or a cycle -- around this
oh-so-important
little island of Delos.
