DEIOS (called also in ancient times Asteria, Ortygia, Cynthus, etc.), an island in the Grecian archipelago, the smallest of the Cyclades, is situated between the islands Rhe neia and Mykonus, in lat. about 37° 23' a., and long. 25° 17' east. According to the mythological account, it was at first a floating island, but was fixed to the bottom by Zeus, in order that it might become a safe abode to Leto, who, about to bring forth Apollo and Diana, was seeking a refuge from the wrath of Hera. Its earliest historical inhabitants were Ionians, and it appears to have been the center of a great periodical festival held in honor of Apollo, both on the mainland and in the islands. Iu 426 B.C., D. was purified by the Athenians, all the tombs were removed from it, and it was declared pollution for any birth or death to take place on it. Four years after, the inhabitants of Athens expelled the Delians from the island. After 146 B.C., when Cor inth fell, D. became the seat of extensive commerce. Its sacred associations, its great festival, its excellent harbor, and its situation in the direct route from southern Europe to the coasts of Asia, all combined to render it a port. highly favored by merchants. So
great was the traffic of D., that it is said 10,000 slaves changed hands here in tine clay. After flourishing for a considerable time, it was devastated in the Mithridatic war, and from this calamity it never recovered. Pliny describes D. as being merely a rock, and only 5 m. in circumference. It was noted for its palm-trees, and also for its brass and the brazen vessels which it manufactured. The town of D., which stood at the foot of Mt. Cynthus, a granite crag of from 400 to 500 ft. high, is now a mass of ruins. Still, however, the remains of the great temple of Apollo, and of the colossal statue raised in his honor, may be distinctly traced, although shiploads of the more perfect architectural fragments were conveyed, centuries ago, to Venice and Constantinople. A few shepherds and goatherds from Mykonus are now the only inhabitantss of Delos.