Delos, Or Delos (Now Dili Or Sdilli), an island of the Grecian archipelago, one of the smallest in the group of the Cyclades, in lat. 37° 23' N, lon. 25° 17' E. It is little more than 5 m. in circumference, and consists for the most part of barren rock, culminating in Mt. Cynthus, about 400 ft. high. At the foot of this are , the ruins of the ancient town of Delos. The only present inhabitants are a few shepherds, and even these do not spend the entire year in the island. - With the ancients the island derived great importance from the religious beliefs connected with it. It was also called Ortygia, Cynthia, and sometimes Asteria, and still other names are occasionally found. The ancient legend, probably alluding to its origin from a volcanic eruption, represents it as having risen from the sea at a stroke of Neptune's trident and floated until it was moored to the bottom with adamantine chains by Jupiter, in order that it might become a place of refuge for Latona, who was delivered there, on a desert rock and under a shady tree, of Apollo and Diana, hence called Delius and Delia. To them, but especially to Apollo, the island was sacred; and in accordance with a vow of Latona a temple was erected by Erysichthon, son of Cecrops, at the foot of Mount Cynthus, which in due time was enriched by the gifts of nations, and remained unshaken by the earthquakes that often desolated neighboring islands.

The oracle of Apollo, who gave responses here in summer, and at Patara in Lycia in winter, was regarded as the most distinct and trustworthy. Delian festivals were held here every four years; the Athenians sent yearly an embassy with choruses and dances. Latona had also her temple. Delos was colonized by the Ionians, became the centre of splendid festivals in honor of Apollo, and was ruled by kings, who at the same time performed the functions of priests. In later times it became dependent upon the Athenians, who performed there two purifications, first under Pisistratus, and secondly in the sixth year of the Peloponnesian war (426 B. C, as described in the third book of Thucydides), by removing the tombs and dead bodies to a neighboring island, and who also enacted a law to guard the sacred grounds from the pollution of births and deaths. Its towns, having no walls, were guarded by their sanctity; its temple and immense treasures were untouched by the Persians in their invasion; and during the following wars it became the seat of the common treasury of the Grecian states.

When this was removed to Athens, Delos decayed, but was still remarkable for commerce; and after the destruction of Corinth by the Romans (146 B. 0.), it was the chief emporium of the slave trade, and a flourishing seat of art. The city and temple were plundered and destroyed by Menophanes, general of Mithri-dates, king of Pontus, and the women and children sent as slaves to Asia. At a later period the remains of the splendid ancient buildings were carried away by Venetians and Byzantines; but interesting ruins still exist.