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 currently under study. In the meantime, the visit is organized chronologically and thematically through nine small rooms.

Archaic period. Opposite the entrance, rooms 1 and 2 house the museum's most famous sculptures: a 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 seated on a throne (c. 500 BC), in the Athenian styleC.), in Athenian style but from Paros; the famous five erect lions from the Terrace of the Lions (late ^7th century B.C.), from Naxos.

Classical period. In room 3, note this large marble piece from the^5th century BC: it comes 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 his right arm, while raising his left arm.

Hellenistic period. Rooms 4, 5 and 6 contain various decorative objects from wealthy houses in Delos. From the House of Hermes (Inopos district), the statue of a nymph with elegant hips dates from around 300 B.C. Made around 100 B.C., the mosaic from the House of Jewels (Lake district) has lost many of its tesserae, but the helmet and owl of Athena and the petase (round hat) of Hermes are recognizable. Among the two statues of the satyr Silenus (^2nd century BC), note the one in which he is holding his wineskin and tympanum, a kind of round zither. In fact, he is an actor portrayed as Dionysus' old tutor, wearing a mask and sheepskin.

Daily life. The plunge into the beautiful homes of Delos continues in rooms 7 and 8, with small bronze and ivory objects, jewelry from the Mycenaean period and a display case of erotic objects. It's a pity that no information is provided on the frescoes, which are nonetheless very expressive. These paintings undoubtedly date from the ^2nd or ^1st century BC, and mostly come from the Theater and Inopos districts.

Ceramics and inscriptions. The display cases in the last two rooms (to the right of the entrance) group together objects from different periods, including black-figure ceramics from the Archaic period.