Delos (called also in ancient times Asteria, Ortygia), an island in the Grecian Archipelago, the smallest of the Cyclades, is situated between the islands Rhenea and Mykonus. According to the mythological account it was at first a floating island, but was fixed to the bottom by Zeus in order that it might become a safe abode to Leto for the birth of Apollo and Artemis. Its earliest historical inhabitants were Ionians, and it appears to have been the centre of a great periodical festival held in honour of Apollo, both on the mainland and in the islands. In 426 B.C. Delos was purified by the Athenians, all the tombs were removed from it, and it was declared pollution for any birth or death to take place on it. Four years after they expelled the Delians from the island. After 146 B.C., when Corinth fell, Delos became the seat of extensive commerce. Its sacred associations, its great festival, its excellent harbour, and its situation in the direct route from southern Europe to the coasts of Asia, all combined to render it a port highly favoured by merchants. So great was the traffic of Delos that it is said 10,000 slaves changed hands here in a single day.
After flourishing for a considerable time, it was devastated in the Mithridatic war (87 B.C.), and from this calamity it never recovered. Little more than 1 sq. m. in area, it was noted for its palm-trees, and also for its brass, and the brazen vessels which it manufactured. The town of Delos, which stood at the foot of Mount Cynthus, a granite crag 347 feet high, is now a mass of ruins. Still, however, the remains of the great temple of Apollo, and of the colossal statue raised in his honour, may be distinctly traced. Since 1877 extensive investigations have been prosecuted in its ruins by Homolle for the French Archaeological Institute.