ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM OF DELOS

Founded in 1904 and expanded until 1972, the museum exhibits some of the 41,000 objects discovered on the island since the 19th century. A project for a new building is under study. In the meantime, the visit is organized chronologically and thematically through nine small rooms.

Archaic period

. Located opposite the entrance, rooms 1 and 2 house the most famous sculptures in the museum: a very beautiful headless kouros (460-450 BC) with protruding muscles made by a Naxos workshop and discovered in the sanctuary of Artemis; a representation of the goddess Hera sitting on a throne (c. 500 BC); a sculpture of the goddess of the island (c. 500 BC); and a sculpture of the goddess of the island (c. 500 BC), which was discovered in the sanctuary of ArtemisC.), in Athenian style but originating from Paros; the famous five lions standing on the Terrace of the Lions (end of the 7th century BC), originating from Naxos.

Classical period. In Room 3, note this large marble piece from the^5th century BC: it came from the acroterion of the pediment of the Athenian temple. It is The Abduction of Orithye

: Boreas, the North Wind, lifts the Princess of Athens from the ground with her right arm, while raising her left arm.

Hellenistic period.

Rooms 4, 5 and 6 contain various decorative objects from the rich houses of Delos. The elegantly swaying nymph statue dates from around 300 BC, and the mosaic of the House of Jewels (Lake District), made around 100 BC, has lost many of its tesserae, but one can recognise the helmet and owl of Athena and the petase (round hat) of Hermes. Among the two statues of the satyr Silenus (2nd century BC), note the one where he is holding his wineskin and his tympanon, a sort of round zither. He is in fact an actor represented as the old tutor of Dionysus, with a mask and sheepskin.

Everyday life.

The dive into the beautiful houses of Delos continues in rooms 7 and 8 with small bronze and ivory objects, jewellery from the Mycenaean period and a showcase of erotic objects. It is a pity that no information is provided on the frescoes, which are very expressive. These paintings probably date from the 2nd or 1st century BC and most of them come from the districts of the Theatre and Inopos.

Ceramics and inscriptions. In the showcases of the last two rooms (to the right of the entrance) there are objects from different periods, including black-figure ceramics from the Archaic period.