PORT

This is where you will arrive, at the site of the Sacred Port (Iero Limani). It is moving to imagine that one disembarks here - even if there are a few more - like the pilgrims of antiquity who went to the sanctuary of Apollo. Just next to this site, north of the dike, was theemporion, the huge ancient trading port which made Delos the "Hong Kong of the Greek world". But the arrival is a bit disappointing: the ancient docks, warehouses and shipbuilding basins have disappeared with the rising waters. Now, on the modern embankment, stands a visitor center where you have to pay an entrance fee and where you can find information.

History. From the ^2nd century B.C. to the ^2nd century A.D., the island was "the greatest commercial center on earth," wrote the Roman grammarian from Narbonne Sextus Pompeius Festus (^2nd century). In addition to the goods necessary to the pilgrims of Delos (food, incense, etc.), it is on theemporion of Delos that transited a great part of cereals, wood, oil and wine between Greece and the East, that is to say 750 000 tons per annum in the ^first century BC. The island also drew its wealth from its large slave market: about 10,000 men, women and children were auctioned here every day. The port also had its own shipyards where the ships of the powerful Delian trade fleet were built. But most of the port facilities were not connected to the rest of the island, as goods were stored here before being re-exported.

Excavations. Excavations of the shoreline undertaken by the French School of Athens from 1897 onwards have revealed the existence of three ports: the Sacred Port where pilgrims disembarked, theemporion with its warehouses and shipyards, but also an archaic port located to the north of the Lake district and used until the ^4th century BC. Today, few ruins are visible. And for good reason, since the ^2nd century, the water level has risen by 2.50 m. However, in 2017, Greek and French archaeologists launched a campaign of underwater excavations. These revealed the existence of a huge breakwater 160 m long and 40 m wide off the current landing stage. They also discovered numerous shipwrecks dating back to the^5th century B.C. with loads of amphorae of very diverse origins, thus attesting to the strong commercial activity during Antiquity.