DELOS . A small rocky island in the Ægæan Sea, which has played an extraordinary part in history. It was the seat of a wide-spread worship of Apollo, who, with his sister Artemis, was said to have been born there. In b.c. 478 it was chosen as the meeting-place of the confederacy of Greek States united against their common enemy the Persians, and became a rival of Athens. In the 2nd and 1st cents. b.c. it became a great harbour, and was under Roman protection from b.c. 197 to 167. It was later a portion of the Roman province Achaia. It is mentioned in the famous letter of the Romans in favour of the Jews (b.c. 139 138, 1Ma 15:16-23 ). It was a great exchange, where slaves and other products of the E. were nought for the Italian market. It was the scene in b.c. 87 of a horrible massacre carried out by Mithradates, king of Pontus, who slaughtered 80,000 Italians there and in neighbouring islands. It never fully recovered, and in the Empire became insignificant.
A. Souter.