Greek Dhílos
Island, Greece.
One of the smallest of the Cyclades , it was an ancient centre of religious, political, and commercial life in the Aegean. It was the legendary birthplace of Apollo and Artemis . The Delian League was established there in 478 BC, following the Persian Wars . Made a free port by Rome in 166 BC, Delos was a flourishing commercial post and slave market. Sacked in 88 BC during the Mithradatic Wars, it gradually declined and was abandoned. Its impressive ruins have been extensively excavated.