Page 63 - MYCONIAN COLLECTION MAG 2017

Above. Herbert List, circa 1937. Below, A figurine of Aphrodite from
the 1st century B.C., depicting the goddess trying to untie her sandal.

as those of Chora of Mykonos, let us remind
ourselves that in antiquity, Mykonos was a satellite
of Delos. When the ancient Greeks built Delos, it
is from Mykonos that they took the materials. And
conversely, when Delos collapsed, the Myconians
took these materials back again to build and fortify
their own houses!
“What is of particular interest for the contemporary
visitor is the phenomenon of universality. The fact
that “foreigners” from all over the world lived in
Delos, that there was open trade with the East and
West and a vast Syncretism – an amalgamation of
different religions, cultures, or schools of thought
- with Greek temples but also places of worship
from other Eastern religions such as the Temple
of Isis and the Synagogue.

THE MUSEUM
“A visit to the museum is a must, as it has one of
the most significant collections of ancient Greek
sculpture. Visitors can see veritable treasures,
from the Archaic Period which first emerged in
the Cyclades, such as kouros, kore, and lions, to
economic ascent. Merchants, bankers and ship- statues of the Hellenistic era. They will also see
owners from all of the known world settled there, items of everyday use, found intact inside excavated
attracting a large number of masons, craftsmen and sites where once houses, markets, shops and
sculptors. It was a large city with public buildings workshops thrived!”
such as the Bouleuterion (Assembly House), the Is there any chance that the site’s magic and
Prytaneion and the Ekklesiasterion, with religious scale will disappear once Delos further develops
and merchant guilds housed in buildings such as an archaeological site? “Its magnitude will not
as the Poseidoniasts of Beirut, squares with change”, Dimitris Athanasoulis say confidently.
votive offerings from Italian guilds such as “The infrastructure has to be improved so that the
the Agora of the Competaliasts and unique Museum is “worthy” of its exhibits and we have
houses decorated with murals, mosaic to carry out restorations. One of the main issues is
floors and statues. the temple of Apollo, which, for all its architectural
“It was a transport hub for the Eastern elements, visitors cannot experience in the third
Mediterranean due to the privileges dimension – space - because it has not yet been
granted by the Romans and encouraged restored. It is a huge challenge that the Ephorate
an unprecedented cosmopolitanism, where wants to meet. The pillars can be raised and we
all the races of Israel met, accumulating can have a clear idea of what the temple used to be
enormous amounts of wealth which was like. Our aim however is to use other ideas as well,
invested in constructing an elaborate city with to reinvigorate the site. For example, we can make
winding streets, unique buildings such as the copies of the authentic statues which are in the
Theatre, the only marble theatre in the Aegean museum and place them in their original positions
as well as three-storey houses (The House of the so that the archaeological site itself comes to life. John Patrikianos © ΥΠΠΟ-ΚΑ' ΕΠΚΑ Photo: P. I. Xatzidakis © ΥΠΠΟ-ΚΑ' ΕΠΚΑ
Lake, The House of Dolphins, The House of At night, when there are no lights on Delos,
Masks, The House of the Trident, The House it is magnificent and extraordinary. We try to
of Dionysus and The House of Kleopatra) with organise selected events during the full moon, in
colonnades and unique mosaics. order for the public to be able to experience the
And if the squares and narrow streets of this enchantment of such a unique event. Delos will Detail from a magnificent mosaic floor from the House with the Masks. This particular mosaic depicts
2nd century B.C. city have the same ambience always be magical!” Dionysus sitting on a leopard or panther between two Centaurs.

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