The Cyclades
islands
lie east of the
Peloponnese and southeast of the coast
of Attica in the Aegean. A total of 30
islands make up the Cyclades, the
best-known being Myconos and Santorini.
Other popular islands are Andros, Tinos,
Delos, Paros and Naxos.
The
reason to go to Delos is to see one of
the oldest Jewish Synagogues of the
Diaspora, as mentioned in James in his
address to the 12 tribes dispersed
abroad. The term
diasporav is normally used in
biblical Greek to refer to the
scattering of the Jews. He speaks of
the synagogue and seems to intend a
Jewish audience. One of his intended
recipients may have been those living on
Delos, or certainly similar synagogues.
Myconos
We traveled from Pireaus (Athens) to
Myconos aboard a ferry. We came to
Myconos to stay instead of Delos because
Delos is uninhabited. Myconos is a
place of great beauty and very popular
amongst tourists in the summer. We
intended to travel by boat 45 minutes to
Delos the morning after our arrival but
the wind was too strong, making the sea
dangerous.
Click on picture
for a larger view
Myconos
is has almost all white buildings next
to the crystal blue sea. It is about 6
hours by ferry from Pireaus (Athens).
According to mythology, the island was
named after the son of the immortal
Anios. It is believed to have been
inhabited since 3000 BC It is one of
the cycladic (circle) islands around the
holy island of Delos (where Apollo and
Artemis were born according to
mythology). In 425 BC the Athenians in
order to purify Delos forbade mortal
people to be born and die on it. The
older tombs were moved and their content
was placed in Rinia. In 146 BC Myconos
was conquered by the Romans, In the
1500's the pirates occupied and looted
the island. The island has two
magnificent bays with wonderful beaches
and many shops. There are over 600
churches on the island and several
monasteries.
Paraportiani, built
between the 16th and 17th century, is
actually 5 churches, in two levels on
the hill
Dusk shot from the bay
shops
Me near the hotel
Me at our hotel, the
Kaholi
One of many small
churches right on the bay
Gary and me, near the
hotel
The Archeological museum
was built at the beginning of the 1900's
to house the finds from the tombs of
Rinia. We saw samples of pottery dating
back to the 9th century B,C.
The most important item
in the museum, because of it's size and
uniqueness, is the huge amphora from
Tinos dating back to the 7th century BC,
known as the large jar of Myconos, it
depicts the Trojan war and the hollow
wooden horse.
Embossed tomb pillars of
Hellenistic period, 1st and 2nd century
B.C.
January 6
marks a special holiday called
Theophania or Epiphany festival. The
young men from the island compete to
retrieve a cross thrown into the sea by
the priest. The winner gets to receive
offerings from all the island
inhabitants for one day. Last year, the
winner received $12,000 euros.
