STADIUM DISTRICT

Unsurprisingly, this vast "neighbourhood" got its current name from the many sports facilities it once housed. Let's take a look at the past... It is indeed here that the Delian Games were held every five, then four years, in May-June, in honour of Apollo. The whole ruins, still very visible, stretches between the Lake district (west), the museum (south), the bay of Gourna (east) and the hill of Gamilla (north). It was sparsely inhabited during antiquity and has few well-preserved remains, but it does contain the ruins of one of the oldest synagogues in the world. The hill of Gamilla itself seems never to have been occupied throughout history. That's why the island's guardians have recently moved there in what are, it must be said, quite unsightly yellow houses. It's a pity, but you soon forget!

Hippodrome.

The journey back in time continues. Located 100 m north-east of the museum, this racecourse can only be identified by its retaining walls. Beginning at the pathway, it extends about 270 m northward, making it one of the smallest racecourses in ancient Greece. Due to the difficulties of transporting horses by boat for the Delian Games, horse shows were only held here for a century, between 426 and 314 BC. Between the events, the area was used as a barley field or a grazing area for sheep.

Sanctuary of Anios. Situated between the hippodrome and the path leading to the guards' houses, this complex is dedicated to the hero Anios, son of Apollo and mythical archaete (founder) of Delos at the time of the Trojan War. Created in the 7th century BC and remodeled until the 1st century BC, it still has the layout of its xeschara, a circular foyer overlooking a series ofoikoi

(banquet halls) where this tutelary character of the Delians was honored. Then turn right towards the stadium and the bay of Gourna.

Gymnasium. Just before the stadium, on the left, the athletes' training area is marked by a partially restored triple archway overlooking an exedra, a semicircular room with benches that served as changing rooms. The complex was built in the 1st century BC on the site of a previous gymnasium from the 3rd century BC. In the middle there is a courtyard. The interior consists of a square peristyle courtyard, 44 m on each side, which served eleven rooms of varying sizes, including three exedras and two loutrons (cold baths). To the northeast, a vestibule leads to the xyst

, a double covered running track where athletes could exercise under cover from the elements. This structure was placed in parallel to the stadium, and was almost the same length: 187 m against 182 m for the stadium track. Around it were marble basins intended to collect rainwater. Numerous graffiti were discovered during excavations, a sign of the great animation that could once take place in these sports venues.

Stadium. It was here, above all, that the Delian Games were held every five years in honour of Apollo. A retaining wall and the remains of a large stone tribune are preserved. They date from the 3rd century BC. The track, also visible, corresponds to the standard length of ancient Greek stadiums: the stadion, or 600 feet. But as in each city the foot was different (from 29 to 33 cm), the stadium of Delos (182 m) is not the same length as those of Olympia (192 m) or Delphi (177 m). However, the events of the Delian Games were similar to those of the Panhellenic Games: the stadion (sprint on a length of stadium), the diaulos (middle-distance with 2 stadions), the dolichos (endurance with 7 to 24 stadions) and thehoplitodromos (2 stadions in fighting clothes with spear and armor). The throwing events (discus and javelin), pugilism (ancestor of boxing), wrestling, pancrace (mixture of pugilism and wrestling) and pentathle (race of 24 stadions

, long jump, discus and javelin throwing, wrestling) were also held there.

Residential area.

Located to the right of the stadium, this small district of a few blocks also dates back to the 3rd century B.C. The walls of its dwellings can be seen, as well as the four ovens of a perfumery workshop where oil was cooked in a water bath with flower petals. To the northeast, the Greek Orthodox chapel of Agia Kyriaki (Saint Dominic) was added in the 19th century for the needs of the workers who worked on the excavations alongside the French archaeologists. A small festival is held there every year on July 7.

Synagogue. This is the oldest synagogue built to date. It faces the sea, 90 m east of the southern part of the stadium, and its presence is attested since at least the first century BC in the Books of the Maccabees (Jewish writings in Greek), which makes it the oldest synagogue outside Palestine. It was built away from the city by a small community of Phoenician Jews and remained active until the 2nd century A.D. Facing east (towards the bay) and almost square (26 m x 28 m), it retains the bases of its walls, a tank for the mikveh (ritual bath), a seat known as the 'throne of Moses', and four inscriptions, one of which is in Greek, Theos Hypsistos ('God Most High'), the equivalent of Shaddai

in Hebrew.