“These words, though pronounced in a low voice, engaged the attention of a citizen of Delos, who approached us, and showing us an altar less embellished than the former: ‘This,’ said he, ‘is never drenched with the blood of victims; on this the devouring flame is never kindled. Hither Pythagoras came, to offer, after the example of the people, cakes, barley, and wheat; and beyond all doubt the god was better pleased with the enlightened worship of that great man than with all those streams of blood with which our altars are perpetually inundated.’
“The Island of Delos is only seven or eight miles in circuit, and its breadth is but about one third of its length. Mount Cynthus, which extends from north to south, terminates in a plain that on the west side reaches to the sea. The city stands in this plain. The rest of the island presents only an uneven and sterile soil, if we except some pleasant valleys, which are formed by several hills, on the south side. The source of the Inopus is the only spring with which it is favoured by nature; but we find, in different places, cisterns and lakes, which preserve the rain-water during several months.
“Delos was originally governed by kings, who united the priesthood to the regal authority. It afterwards fell under the power of the Athenians, who purified it, during the Peloponnesian war. The tombs of its ancient inhabitants were removed to the Isle of Rhenea; and there their successors have seen for the first time the light of day, and there are they to behold it for the last. But if they are deprived of the advantage of being born and dying in their own country, they enjoy there a profound tranquillity during their lives.
“The fury of barbarians, the enmity of nations, and the animosities of individuals, all subside at the view of this sacred land; nor ever have the coursers of Mars trodden it with their ensanguined feet. Everything that can present the image of war is rigorously banished; and even the animal most faithful to man is not suffered to remain in it, because he would destroy the weaker and more timid creatures.
“At length the day arrived which had been expected with so much impatience. The morning faintly indicated in the horizon the course of the sun, when we arrived at the foot of Cynthus.
“This mountain is but of a moderate height. It is a block of granite, of different colours, and containing pieces of a blackish and shining talc. From its top a surprising number of islands of various sizes are discoverable. They are dispersed in the midst of the ocean, in the same beautiful disorder as the stars are scattered in the heavens. Here the bosom of the waves is become the habitation of mortals. We behold a city scattered over the surface of the sea; and view the picture of Egypt when the Nile has inundated the plains, and appears to bear on its waters the hills which afford a retreat to the inhabitants. The greater part of these islands are named Cyclades, because they form a kind of circle round Delos. Sesostris, King of Egypt, subjected a part of them by his arms; and Minos, King of Crete, governed some of them by his laws. The Phœnicians, the Carians, the Persians, the Greeks, and all the nations which have possessed the empire of the sea, have successively conquered or colonized them: but the colonies of the latter have effaced all traces of those of other nations; and powerful interests have for ever attached the destiny of the Cyclades to that of Greece.
“Their inhabitants are separated by the sea, but united by pleasure. They have festivals which are common to them, and which assemble them together sometimes in one place and sometimes in another; but these cease the moment our solemnities commence. Thus, according to Homer, the gods suspend their profound deliberations, and arise from their thrones, when Apollo appears in the midst of them. The neighbouring temples are about to be deserted; the divinities there adored permit the incense destined to them to be conveyed to Delos. Solemn deputations, known by the name of Theoriæ, are charged with this illustrious commission. They bring with them choruses of boys and maidens, who are the triumph of beauty, and the principal ornament of our festivals. They repair hither from the coasts of Asia, the islands of the Ægean sea, the continent of Greece, and the most distant countries. They arrive to the sound of musical instruments, to the voice of pleasure, and with all the pomp that taste and magnificence can furnish. The vessels which bring them are covered with flowers; chaplets of flowers are worn by the mariners and pilots; and their joy is the more expressive as they consider it as a religious duty to forget every care by which it may be destroyed or abated. The small fleets which bring the offerings to Delos had already left the ports of Mycone and Rhenea, and other fleets appeared at a distance. An infinite number of vessels of every kind flew over the surface of the sea, resplendent with a thousand different colours. They were seen to issue from the channels which separate the islands, cross, pursue, and join each other. A fresh gale played in their purple sails; and the waves beneath their oars were covered with a foam, which reflected the rays of the rising sun.
“At the foot of the mountain an immense multitude overspread the plain. The crowds of people advanced, and fell back, with a motion resembling that of a field of corn when agitated by the wind; and the transports of joy by which they were animated produced a vague and confused sound that seemed to float over that vast body.
“In the meantime, the Theoria of the Athenians was perceived at a distance. A number of light vessels seemed to sport round the sacred galley. At sight of them, some old men, who had with difficulty come down to the beach, regretted their youthful days, when Nicias, the general of the Athenians, was appointed to conduct the Theoria. He did not proceed with it, said they to us, immediately to Delos; but brought it secretly to the Isle of Rhenea, which you see before you. The whole night was employed in erecting over the channel between the two islands a bridge, the materials of which, prepared long before, and richly gilt and painted, only required to be joined together. It was nearly four stadia (about 3 furlongs and 145 yards) in length, covered with superb carpets, and ornamented with garlands; and on the day following, at early dawn, the Theoria crossed the sea, not, like the army of Xerxes, to ravage and lay waste nations, but bringing to them pleasures in its train; and, that they might taste the first-fruits of these, it remained long suspended over the waves, chanting sacred songs, and delighting all eyes with a glorious spectacle which the sun will never again behold.
“The number of those foreign merchants whom the situation of the island, the privileges it enjoys, the vigilant attention of the Athenians, and the celebrity of the festivals, bring in crowds to Delos; whither they come to exchange their respective riches for the corn, wine, and commodities of the neighbouring islands; for the scarlet linen tunics, which are made in the isle of Amorgos, the rich purple stuffs of Cos, the highly-esteemed alum of Melos, and the valuable copper that from time immemorial has been extracted from the mines of Delos, and of which are made elegant vases. The island was become as it were the storehouse of the treasures of nations; and near the place where they were collected, the inhabitants of Delos, obliged by an express law to furnish water to the whole multitude of strangers, set out, on long tables, cakes, and eatables prepared in haste.[[110]]