John Sheldon's photos with the keyword: Devastation

The island of Delos, near the centre of the Cyclades archipelago, is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. The island is dry with poor soil and it would have been of no interest to anyone had it not been for its position as a holy sanctuary. When Greek mythology formulated the story of Apollo and Artemis in the first millennium BCE Delos was made their birthplace, although the island has been a holy site long before that. In the Homeric Hymn to Delian Apollo the Titaness Leto says: "Delos, if you would be willing to be the abode of my son Phoebus Apollo and make him a rich temple – for no other will touch you, as you will find: and I think you will never be rich in oxen and sheep, nor bear vintage nor yet produce plants abundantly. But if you have the temple of far-shooting Apollo, all men will bring you hecatombs and gather here, and incessant savour of rich sacrifice will always arise, and you will feed those who dwell in you from the hand of strangers; for truly your own soil is not rich." In later times the island became a very important and wealthy trading centre and surprisingly well populated given its scant natural resources; but by the 1st century BCE trade routes had changed and the island became uninhabited. It is still uninhabited today apart from visiting archaeologists and researchers.