Editing Delos (section)

===Ancient Greece===
{{further|Mosaics of Delos}}
[[File:Carl Anton Joseph Rottmann 001.jpg|thumb|left|The island of Delos, [[Carl Anton Joseph Rottmann]], 1847]]
[[File:Ancient Greek theatre in Delos 01.jpg|thumb|left|The theatre]]

Investigation of ancient stone huts found on the island indicate that it has been inhabited since the third millennium BC. [[Thucydides]] claims that the original inhabitants were [[piratical]] [[Carians]] who were eventually expelled by [[King Minos]] of [[Crete]].<ref>Thucydides, I,8.</ref> By the writing of the ''[[Odyssey]]'', the island was already famous as the birthplace of the twin gods [[Apollo]] and [[Artemis]] (although some confusion seems to exist of Artemis' birthplace being either Delos or the island of [[Ortygia]]). 

Between 900&nbsp;BC and 100&nbsp;AD, Delos was a major cult centre, where the [[List of Greek deities|gods]] [[Dionysus]] and [[Leto]], mother of the twin [[deities]] Apollo and Artemis, were revered. Eventually acquiring [[Panhellenic sanctuary|Panhellenic]] religious significance, Delos was initially a religious [[pilgrimage]] for the [[Ionians]].

A number of "[[Ritual purification|purifications]]" were performed by the city-state of [[Athens]] in an attempt to render the island fit for the proper worship of the gods. The first took place in the sixth century BC, directed by the tyrant [[Peisistratos (Athens)|Pisistratus]], who ordered that all graves within sight of the temple be dug up and the bodies moved to another nearby island. In the fifth&nbsp;century BC, during the sixth year of the [[Peloponnesian War]] and under instruction from the [[Delphi|Delphic Oracle]], the entire island was purged of all dead bodies. A new decree was eventually issued, so that no one should be allowed to be buried or give birth on the island due to its sacred importance, and to preserve its neutrality in commerce since no one could then claim ownership through inheritance. Immediately after this purification, the first [[quinquennial]] festival of the Delian games were celebrated there.<ref>Thucydides, III,104.</ref> Four years later, all inhabitants of the island were removed to [[Adramyttium]] in Asia as a further purification.<ref>Thucydides, V,1.</ref>

After the [[Persian Wars]], the island became the natural meeting ground for the [[Delian League]], founded in 478&nbsp;BC, the [[congresses]] being held in the temple (a separate quarter was reserved for foreigners and the [[sanctuaries]] of foreign [[deities]]). The league's common [[treasury]] was kept here as well until 454&nbsp;BC, when [[Pericles]] removed it to Athens.<ref>Thucydides, I,96.</ref>

During the [[Hellenistic period]], a well-established [[Phoenician colony]] on the island had extensive trade relations.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Boussac |first=Marie-Françoise |date=1982 |title=À propos de quelques sceaux déliens |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/bch_0007-4217_1982_num_106_1_1923 |journal=Bulletin de correspondance hellénique |language=fr |volume=106 |issue=1 |pages=445–446 |doi=10.3406/bch.1982.1923 |issn=0007-4217}}</ref>

The island had no productive capacity for [[food]], [[fiber]], or [[timber]], which were all imported. Limited [[water]] was [[Exploit (natural resources)|exploited]] with an extensive [[cistern]] and [[aqueduct (watercourse)|aqueduct]] system, [[Water well|wells]], and [[Sanitary sewer|sanitary drains]]. Various regions operated ''[[agora]]e'' (markets).

[[Suda]] writes that the Greeks used the proverb "ᾌδεις ὥσπερ εἰς Δῆλον πλέων", meaning you sing as if sailing into Delos in reference to someone who is happy, light-hearted, and enjoying himself.<ref>[http://www.poesialatina.it/_ns/greek/testi/Suda/Lexicon.html Suda, alpha, 455]</ref>

[[Iamblichus]] writes that Delos Mysteries (similar to the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]]) were established.<ref>Iamblichus, Life of Pythagoras, § 28.151</ref>
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[[Semos of Delos]] (Σῆμος ὁ Δήλιος) wrote many works, including 8 books about the history of Delos. The Suda mistakenly lists him as being from [[Elis]].<ref>[https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/sigma/327 Suda, Sigma, 327]</ref>