D E L 
aces, the Athenians made themfelves matters of it; and 
held it till they were driven out by Mithridates the Great, 
who plundered the rich temple of Apollo, and obliged 
the Delians to fide with him. Mithridates was in his 
turn driven out by the Romans,- who granted the inha¬ 
bitants many .privileges, and exempted them from all 
taxes. At prefent it is quite abandoned; the lands 
being covered with ruins in fucli a manner as to be quite 
incapable of cultivation. The inhabitants of Mycone 
hold it now, and pay ten crowns land-tax to the grand 
fignior for an illand which was once one of the riched in 
the world. Strabo and Callimachus tell us that the 
i(land of Delos, was watered by the river Inapus ; but 
Pliny calls it only a fpring; and adds, that its waters 
fvvellcd and abated at the fame time with thofe of the 
Nile. At prefent there is no river in the ifland, but one 
of the noblelt fprings in the world; being twelve paces 
in diameter, and inclofed partly by rocks, and partly by 
a wall. Mount Cynthus, whence Apollo had the furname 
of Cynthius , is by Strabo placed near the city, and faid to 
be fo high, that the whole ifland was covered by its 
fhadow, but modern travellers fpeak of it as an hill of a 
very moderate height. On the top of the mountain are Hill 
to be feen the remains of a (lately building, with a mofaic 
pavement, many broken pillars, and other valuable mo¬ 
numents of antiquity. From an infeription difeovered 
there, which mentions a vow made to Serapis, Ills, and 
Anubis, fome have conjectured, that on this hill flood a 
temple dedicated to thefe Egyptian deities, though no 
where mentioned in hiftory. The city of Delos, as is 
manifed from the magnificent ruins dill extant, took up 
that fpacious plain reaching from one coad to the other. 
It was well peopled, and the riched city in the Archipe¬ 
lago, after the dedruClion of Corinth. Strabo calls it 
one of the mod frequented empories in the world ; and 
Pliny tells us, that all the commodities of Europe and 
Alia were fold, purchafed, or exchanged, there. It con¬ 
tained many noble and dately buildings ; as the temples 
of Apollo, Diana, and Latona; the porticoes of Philip 
of Macedon, and Dionyfius Eutyches; a gymnafium; 
an oval bafon made at an immenfe expence, for the re- 
prefentationof fea-fights ; and a mod magnificent theatre. 
The temple of Apollo was, according to Plutarch, begun 
by Eryfichton the fon of Cecrops ; but afterwards en¬ 
larged and embellidied at the common charge of all the 
dates of Greece. Plutarch tells us, that it was one of 
the mod dately buildings in the univerfe; and fpeaks of 
an altar in it, which, in his opinion, deferved a place 
among the wonders of the world. It was built with the 
horns of various animals, fo artificially difpofed, that 
they hung together without any cement. This altar is 
faid to have been a perfect cube ; and the doubling it 
was a famous mathematical problem among the ancients. 
This went under the name of problema cldiacum ; and is 
faid to have been propofed by the oracle, for the ptirpofe 
of freeing the country from a plague. The didemper 
was to ceafe when the problem was folved. The trunk 
of the famous flatue of Apollo, mentioned by Strabo 
and Pliny, is dill an objetd of great admiration to tra¬ 
vellers. It is without head, feet, arms, or legs; but 
from the parts that are yet remaining, it plainly appears, 
that the antients did not exaggerate when they com¬ 
mended it as a wonder of art. It was of a gigantic fize ; 
though cutout of a (ingle block of marble ; the (houlders 
being fix feet broad, and the thighs nine feet round. At 
a (mail didance from this (tame lies, amongd confufed 
heaps of broken columns, architraves, bales, chapiters, 
&c. a f'quare piece of marble fifteen feet and a half long, 
ten feet nine inches broad, and two feet three inches 
thick: which undoubtedly l'erved as a pedellal for this 
cololfus. It bears in very fair characters this infeription 
fn Greek, “The Naxians to Apollo.” Plutarch tells 
us, in the life of Nicias, that he caufed to be let up, near 
the temple of Delos, an huge palm-tree of brifs, which 
he confecrated to Apollo ; and adds, that a violept dorm 
Vol. V. No. 305, 
DEL 63d 
threw down this tree on a colodian datue raifed by the 
inhabitants of Naxos. Round the temple were magnifi¬ 
cent porticoes built at the charge of various princes. 
The names of Philip king of Macedon, Dionylius Euty¬ 
ches, Mithridates Euergetes, Mithridates Eupator, kings 
of Pontus, and Nicomedes king of Bithynia, are found 
on feveral pededals. To this temple the inhabitants of 
the neighbouring illands fenl yearly a company of virgins 
to celebrate, with dancing, the fedival of Apollo and 
his dder Diana, and to make offerings in the name of 
their refpeftive cities. 
So very facred was the idand of Delos held by the an¬ 
tients, that no hodilities were pradtifed here, even by 
the nations that were at war with one another, when they 
happened to meet in this place. Of this Livy gives an 
indance. He tells us, that fome Roman deputies being 
obliged to put in at Delos, in their voyage to Syria and 
Egypt, found the galleys of Perfeus king of Macedon, 
and thofe of Eumenes king of Pergamus, anchored in 
the fame harbour, though thefe two princes were then 
making war upon one another. Hence this idand was a 
general afylurn, and the protection extended to all kinds 
of living creatures ; for this reafon it abounded with 
hares, as no dogs were permitted to enter it. No dead 
body was differed to be buried in it, nor was any woman 
admitted to lie-in there; all dying perfons, and women 
ready to be delivered, were carried over to the neigh¬ 
bouring ifland of Rhenaea. 
DEL'PHI, or Delphos, a city of Phocis, now Cnjlri , in 
Afiatic Turkey, in the province of Livadia, dtuate in a 
valley, at the fouth-wed dde of mount Parnadus. It 
was called Pytho, becaufe the ferpent Python was killed 
there ; and it received the name of Delphi, from Delphus, 
the fon of Apollo. Some have alfo called it Parnajjia 
Nape, the valley of Parnadus. The city arofe in the 
form of a theatre, upon the winding declivity of mount 
Parnalfus, whofe elevated top overfhadovved it like a ca¬ 
nopy, on the north; while two abrupt rocks rendered it 
inaccedible on the ead and wed, and the rugged and 
fhapelefs mount Cirphis defended it on the fouth. The 
foot of the lad-named mountain was wadted by the rapid 
Plidus, which difeharged itfelf into the fea at the didance 
of only a few leagues from the facred city. This inac¬ 
cedible and romantic fituation, from which the place de¬ 
rived the name of Delphi, (fignifying, as explained in the 
glodaries, folitary alone,) was rendered dill more driking, 
by the innumerable echos which multiplied every found, 
and increafed the ignorant veneration of the fuperflitious 
vifitants. The city was famous for a temple of Apollo, 
and for an oracle celebrated in every age and country. 
The origin of the oracle, though fabulous, is deferibed 
fomething like the wonderful dory of the fwineherd, 
wlten he difeovered the falubrious properties of the wa¬ 
ters at Bath. A number of goats that were feeding on 
mount Parnadus, came near a place which had a deep 
and long perforation. The deam which idued from the 
hole, feemed to infpire the goats, and they played and 
'frifked about in fuch an uncommon manner, that the 
goatherd was tempted to lean on the hole, and fee what 
myderies the place contained. He was immediately 
feized with a dt of enthudafm, his expredions were wild 
and extravagant, and parted for prophecies. This cir- 
cumftance was foon known about the country, and many 
experienced the fame enthudadic infpiration. The place 
was revered, and a temple was foon after erected in ho¬ 
nour of Apollo, and a city built. According to fome 
accounts, Apollo was not the fird who gave oracles 
there ; but Terra, Neptune, Themis, and Phoebe, were 
in polfedion of the place before the fon.of Latona. The 
oracles were generally given in verfe; but when it had 
been farcadically obferved, that the god and patron of 
poetry was the mod imperfect poet in the world, the 
priedefs delivered her anfwers in profe. The oracles 
were always delivered by a priedefs called Pythia, who 
was previoudy purified by ablutions at the fountain of 
8 L Cartalia, 
