"MYKONOS - HOME OF PETROS AND DOORWAY TO... " a Mykonos Travel Page by mtncorg

Party-time in the Central Aegean, here is Mykonos. The island is dry and barren, but there are some fine, sandy beaches; there is a charming port; there is a relaxed attitude towards social conventions regarding visitors (not natives, unless they be male though). Islanders here were among the first in the Aegean to discover there was more money to be made serving the Shirley Valentines of the World than to be eked out of the harsh earth and unforgiving seas.

Mykonos has been settled since 2000 BC. The ancient cities were destroyed during the same war between Rome and Mithradates that was the beginning of the end for Delos. The Chora was rebuilt during Byzantine times with further renovations during the long era of Venetian rule.

The island is more expensive than most in Greece. It was also the first to allow nudism on the beaches - the two most well-known being Paradise (straight) and Super Paradise (gay), but there are many other beaches you can seek out, too. From the port, catch a boat out to the beaches or out to Delos, going from the present into the ancient past. From one set of myths to another.

NOTE: There is no separate page available for Delos right now, so I will group all of my Delos tips under Off the beaten Path here under Mykonos. The INTRO for Delos is Chapter Two.

I have not travelled far and wide over all of Greece, but from what I have seen, Delos is one on Greece's grandest sights. Here are vast grand ruins set amongst dramatic natural beauty. History is at your fingertips. I would rank Delos right there wiht the Acropolis in Athens and the site of Delphi. Most people will visit during the day from Mykonos. There are many boats that will do the short trip allowing you time to visit before returning back to Petros and the party. One word of warning, there is no shade. During the summer, it can get quite hot wandering through the ruins. Hot and sweaty will not make a non-archaeologist, myth-lover or anitquarian into one. Take lots to drink and sun protection. Better yet, go earlier in the year - May is great, plus, the flowers are abundant.

Greek mythology has Delos as the birthplace for Artemis followed by Apollo a few days later. Leto, on of Zeus' many mistresses, gave birth here following the intervention of Poseidon, Adelos (= 'Invisible One') - Leto's sister, and Zeus. Originally, Zeus had been after Adelos, but she turned herself into a rock and floated around in the sea beneath Zeus' randy eye. Not a god to be frustrated for long, Zeus turned his amorous approaches to Leto, impregnating her as only a god can. Well, Zeus' wife, Hera, was not too pleased. She normally did not take well to Zeus' dalliances. She convinced the earth to not allow Leto to give birth. Zeus enlisted Poseidon's help to produce four diamond columns to corral Adelos and Adelos, the Invisible, became Delos, the Visible One. Leto, in return for allowing the birth of her children to take place promised, Delos that her son would make Delos the richest sanctuary in all of Greece. With such a start, Delian glory was guaranteed.