Delos Transfer

A Delos transfer is a boat ride arranged to or from Delos, an island of the Cyclades. This page is part of the Greece tours collection. It looks at boats and harbour parts first, then at old stories tied to the island, from Hyperborea and Serapis to coins, a royal house and the feasts of Athens. A short FAQ closes the page. Hard words are explained, and each fact comes from a reference article.

What is a Delos transfer?

A Delos transfer is a boat ride arranged to or from Delos, an island of the Cyclades. The nearest everyday match is the water taxi, a boat used to provide public or private transport. The name water taxi applies to an on-demand boat.

A scheduled service can make multiple stops, in the way a bus does. An on-demand service can also reach multiple locations, in the way a taxi does. A Delos transfer is only a plain name for one such ride. The name does not point to a route, a boat or a time.

A boat shuttling between two points is described as a ferry, not a water bus or taxi. In North American usage, the two terms have nearly the same meaning. The earliest recorded water taxi service ran around the area that became Manchester, England. A Delos transfer comes from this old idea.

On-demand water taxis are also found in marinas, harbours and cottage areas. A marina is a small harbour for leisure boats. On-demand water taxis give access to waterfront properties that cannot be reached directly by land. Waterfront means the strip of land right beside the water.

A motorboat runs on a motor alone, with no help from wind or muscle. Motorboats are used for work, recreation, sport, or racing. High-performance speedboats can reach speeds above 50 knots. One knot is one nautical mile each hour. A Delos transfer by water taxi or motorboat is one way to picture the term.

• Water taxi: A water taxi is a boat used to provide public or private transport.
• Ferry: A boat shuttling between two points is described as a ferry.
• Motorboat: A motorboat runs on a motor alone, with no help from wind or muscle.

Water taxis, water buses, ferries and motorboats are all ways to cross water. A Delos transfer is a name for one such crossing to or from Delos. Later sections cover harbour parts and then turn to the story of Delos.

On a Delos transfer, what does the jetty add?

A Delos transfer brings up the jetty, a man-made structure that sticks out from land into water. The term jetty derives from the French word jetée, which signifies something thrown out. A jetty can serve as a breakwater, a walkway, or both.

A breakwater is a wall that shields a harbour from waves. Wing dam jetties extend out from each riverbank, opposite one another, to narrow a wide channel. Wing dams concentrate a river’s current so that the channel deepens. A Delos transfer calls the jetty to mind as a plain shore structure.

Jetties on each side of a river outlet across the beach can fix the outlet in place. An outlet is the point where a river meets the sea. A solid jetty across a bar concentrates tidal currents and lowers the bar by scour. A bar is a ridge of sand under the water.

Pilework jetties outside dock entrances form an enlarging, trumpet-shaped channel. Pilework means a frame built on posts driven into the seabed. Solid jetties with quay walls can run at right angles into a wide dock to add accommodation. Accommodation here means more room for ships to tie up.

A wharf is a structure where ships dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Smaller, modern wharves can float on pontoons to stay level with the ship as tides change. A pontoon is a hollow float. A Delos transfer shares these words with any harbour. Each word names a plain part of a port.

• Origin: The word jetty comes from the French jetée, meaning something thrown out.
• Use: A jetty can serve as a breakwater, a walkway, or both at once.
• Rivers: Wing dam jetties narrow a wide river channel and make it deeper.

A jetty is a simple arm of stone, wood or concrete that reaches into the water. A Delos transfer meets the word as part of the language of harbours. Next comes the ship that ties up beside it.

On a Delos transfer, what does the passenger ship add?

A Delos transfer brings up the passenger ship. It is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. Passenger ships have also been used as troopships and commissioned as naval ships. An ocean liner is the traditional form of passenger ship.

Cruise ships mainly transport passengers on round-trips. Ocean liners value speed and traditional luxury, while cruise ships value amenities rather than speed. An amenity is a comfort or service on board. A round-trip is a voyage that ends where it began. A Delos transfer is a far smaller idea than a cruise.

Cruise ship amenities include swimming pools, theaters, casinos and sports facilities. Ocean liners were built to cross the Atlantic between Europe and the United States. Cruise ships serve shorter routes with more stops along coastlines or among islands. A route is the path a ship follows. A coastline is where land meets sea.

Gross tonnage (GT) is a newer measurement, adopted in 1982 to replace GRT. The ratio of gross tonnage per passenger gives a sense of a ship’s spaciousness. Gross tonnage is a number for the inside volume of a ship, which means its closed space. A Delos transfer does not name any such figure.

An ice patrol was formed in 1914 after the sinking of the Titanic. In Italian, the water buses of Venice are called vaporetti. Double-ended ferries are also built in Greece, in the shipyards of Perama and Salamis. A double-ended ferry has a bow at each end.

• Liner: The ocean liner is the traditional form of passenger ship.
• Cruise: Cruise ships mainly transport passengers on round-trips.
• Greece: Double-ended ferries are built in the shipyards of Perama and Salamis.

Passenger ships range from ocean liners to small ferries. A Delos transfer sits at the small end of that range. It is a plain idea, far from the great liners. The next section looks at a boat that skims above the water.

On a Delos transfer, what does the hydrofoil add?

A Delos transfer brings up the hydrofoil, a boat with wings under the hull. A hydrofoil and an airfoil create lift in identical ways. A hydrofoil consists of a winglike structure mounted on struts below the hull. Lift is the upward push that raises the hull.

The fully submerged type of configuration is not self-stabilizing. The angle of attack must be adjusted continuously, using sensors, a computer and active surfaces. The angle of attack is the tilt of the wing against the flow. A strut is a thin post. A Delos transfer by hydrofoil is only an idea here.

Cavitation disturbs the lift created by the foils above 60 knots. Cavitation means bubbles that form in fast water and harm the flow. Wider adoption of hydrofoils is limited by the complexity of building and maintaining them. Maintaining means keeping a craft in good order. Hydrofoil craft are mainly used as high-speed passenger ferries.

The first evidence of a hydrofoil on a vessel is a British patent granted in 1869. Italian inventor Enrico Forlanini began work on hydrofoils in 1898. A patent is a paper from the state that guards an invention. The Delos transfer is a plain label that holds none of this history.

Alexander Graham Bell and Casey Baldwin rode Forlanini’s hydrofoil boat over Lake Maggiore. Bell’s hydrofoil boat set a world marine speed record of 114 km/h on 9 September 1919. A full-scale replica of Bell’s boat is viewable at a museum in Baddeck, Nova Scotia. A museum keeps and shows old objects.

• Lift: A hydrofoil and an airfoil create lift in identical ways.
• Speed: Cavitation disturbs the lift created by the foils above 60 knots.
• Aegean: Hydrofoil services run in the Aegean between the Cyclades, Saronic Gulf islands and Athens.

The hydrofoil lifts its hull clear of the water on thin wings. A Delos transfer is not tied to this craft. Still, the Aegean has a long record of hydrofoil services. The next section looks at the motor that drives small boats.

On a Delos transfer, what does the outboard engine add?

A Delos transfer brings up the outboard motor, an engine hung on the back of a boat. Every outboard has a manual piston release that lets the operator lower the motor. An outboard unit can use a jet drive in place of a propeller.

A jet drive pushes water out in a stream instead of turning a blade. Pump-jets are less efficient than an open propeller but useful in very shallow water. Pump-jets also remove the laceration danger of an open propeller. A Delos transfer by motor boat is only one picture of the term.

One early gasoline outboard was developed from 1903 in Grosse Ile, Michigan. Electric outboard motors were first invented in 1973 by Morton Ray. Induction-type electric outboard engines need less maintenance because they use no permanent magnets. A permanent magnet keeps its pull without power. Gasoline is another word for petrol.

This setup can produce 10 kW or more and replace a petrol engine of 15 HP or more. A kilowatt, written kW, is a unit of power. Small outboard motors, up to about 15 horsepower, are easily portable. A Delos transfer can call such a motor to mind.

Outboard shaft lengths are standardized to fit 15-, 20- and 25-inch transoms. A transom is the flat board across the back of a small boat. Propane outboard motors have lower emissions and avoid ethanol-related issues. Small portable outboards power craft such as johnboats, dinghies and canoes. A dinghy is a small open boat.

• Drive: An outboard unit can use a jet drive in place of a propeller.
• Power: Small outboard motors, up to about 15 horsepower, are easily portable.
• Fuel: Propane outboard motors have lower emissions and avoid ethanol-related issues.

The outboard motor is a small engine on the stern that can be lifted out of the water. A Delos transfer is a plain label and names no engine or make. The next section looks at the places where boats tie up.

On a Delos transfer, what does the wharf add?

A Delos transfer brings up the wharf. It is a structure where ships dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. A marginal wharf is connected to the shore along its full length. A wharf includes one or more berths, which are mooring locations for ships.

A wharf can also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities needed for handling ships. A wharf comprises a fixed platform that can stand on pilings. Pilings are long posts driven into the seabed. A warehouse is a large building for storing goods. A Delos transfer shares this word with every port.

Where more capacity is needed, ports build multiple wharves or one large wharf with multiple berths. A pier sits raised over the water, commonly used where cargo weight or volume is low. Smaller and newer wharves can be built on pontoons to stay level with the ship. A pontoon is a hollow float.

The word quay is common in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. The word wharf is more common in the United States. Both words name a place where a ship ties up. A quay is pronounced like the word key. A Delos transfer can use either word.

In old ports such as London, wharves have been converted to residential or office use. Certain early English railways called goods loading points wharves. The resident in charge of a wharf was called a wharfinger. A wharfinger kept the books and the keys of the quay. Residential means used for homes.

• Parts: A wharf includes one or more berths, which are mooring locations for ships.
• Words: The word quay is common in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.
• Staff: The resident in charge of a wharf was called a wharfinger.

A wharf is a solid platform where a ship meets the land. A Delos transfer meets the word as part of the language of ports and quays. The next sections turn from boats to the long story of Delos.

On a Delos transfer, what does Hyperborea add?

A Delos transfer brings up Hyperborea, a land of Greek myth beyond the north wind. The name Hyperborean appears to mean beyond Boreas, the god of the north wind. The Hyperboreans were believed to live in a sunny, temperate, divinely blessed land. Temperate means mild.

Versions of the story placed the Hyperboreans north of the Riphean Mountains, shielding them from cold. The oldest myths portray the Hyperboreans as favorites of Apollo. A myth is a tale told by the ancient Greeks about gods and heroes. A Delos transfer meets this tale only as a story.

One group of ancient Greek writers saw the Hyperboreans as founders of Apollo’s shrines at Delos and Delphi. According to Herodotus, Hyperborean offerings were passed from tribe to tribe toward Delos. A tribe is a group of related people who share land. A shrine is a sacred spot set apart for a god.

Herodotus names two maidens, Hyperoche and Laodice, who first carried the gifts. On Delos, women collected gifts from the Hyperborean maidens and sang hymns to them. A hymn is a song of praise. A maiden is a young unmarried woman. Plato regarded Abaris as a physician from the far north.

Greek legend says the Boreades, descendants of Boreas and Chione, founded Hyperborea’s first monarchy. A monarchy is rule by one king or queen. The Boreades were believed to be giant kings, about 3.0 metres tall. Pindar moved Perseus’s meeting with Medusa from Libya to Hyperborea. A Delos transfer can recall these old tales.

• Name: The name Hyperborean appears to mean beyond Boreas, the god of the north wind.
• Gifts: Herodotus says Hyperborean offerings were passed from tribe to tribe toward Delos.
• Sun: Legend said the sun rose and set only once a year in Hyperborea.

Hyperborea is a land of story. The ancient Greeks tied it to the island of Delos and to Apollo. A Delos transfer meets it only as a tale. The next section turns to an old alliance that met around the shrine of Apollo.

On a Delos transfer, what does the Amphictyonic League bring?

A Delos transfer brings up the Amphictyonic League, an ancient alliance of peoples. An ancient league of polities under Apollo’s shrine at Delos was well established by the seventh century. A polity is a state or a community with its own rule.

A hymn is a poem sung to a god. The Homeric Hymn to Delian Apollo lists the members of the Delos league. The Homeric hymn gives an origin myth for the cult of Apollo on Delos. A cult here means a form of worship. The joint Ionian festival held on Delos was called the Delia.

The Delian Amphictyony emerged in the fourth century BC as a tool of Athenian hegemony. Hegemony means leadership by one strong state. Traditional means long established. Traditional amphictyonies coordinated the Olympic and Pythian Games. A Delos transfer meets these words as part of a long past.

League doctrine barred wiping out any member in war and cutting any member’s water supply. By 191 the league had 17 members, but only the dominant one held two votes. Augustus gave the vote of the vanished Dolopes to the city of Nicopolis. A Delos transfer holds none of these rules.

The league’s seat was in Athens, the emperor’s favorite city. In the third century the Soteria festival honoured the Greek victory against the Gauls. The name Hellenes is related to the league’s members and was later extended to Greeks in general. Sources note eleven to thirteen founding populations.

• Seat: The league had its seat in Athens, the emperor’s favorite city.
• Festival: The joint Ionian festival held on Delos was called the Delia.
• Vote: By 191 the league had 17 members, but only the dominant one held two votes.

The league joined a group of peoples under a shared shrine and a shared set of rules. A league is a pact. A Delos transfer meets it as one thread in the story of the island, with its shrine. After it comes the god Serapis.

On a Delos transfer, what does Serapis add?

A Delos transfer brings up Serapis, a Graeco-Egyptian god. His origin lies in the joined worship of the Egyptian gods Osiris and Apis. Ptolemy Soter ordered Serapis widely promoted in the third century BC. Graeco-Egyptian means both Greek and Egyptian in character.

The purpose was to unite the Greek and Egyptian subjects of the Ptolemaic Kingdom. A kingdom here is a realm ruled by one royal house. Outside Egypt, Serapis took the place of Osiris beside Isis in temples. A Delos transfer meets this god only as a name from the past.

He gained underworld powers linked to the Greek gods Hades and Demeter. Underworld means the realm of the dead. The statue showed him enthroned, with a modius basket on his head. A modius was a Roman grain measure shaped like a basket. Cerberus, the gatekeeper of the underworld, rested at the statue’s feet.

The best-known serapeum stood in Alexandria. Alexandria was a great city of Egypt. A serapeum is a temple of Serapis. The letters CE mean Common Era. In the 2nd century CE, Pausanias noted two Serapeia on the slopes of Acrocorinth. Vespasian credited Isis and Serapis with miraculous events during his stay in Alexandria.

A Christian mob destroyed the Serapeum in Alexandria around 391 CE. The cult of Serapis declined under Theodosius. A mob is a rowdy crowd. A cult is a form of worship. A Delos transfer meets the same god in the island’s story, as a sign of mixed customs.

• Origin: Serapis grew from the joined worship of the Egyptian gods Osiris and Apis.
• Statue: The statue showed him enthroned, with a modius basket on his head.
• Alexandria: The best-known serapeum stood in Alexandria.

Serapis joined Greek and Egyptian beliefs in one figure. A Delos transfer meets him as part of the wider world of the ancient Mediterranean. That world had mixed customs, from Egypt to Greece. The next section looks at the first coins of ancient Greece.

On a Delos transfer, what does ancient Greek coinage add?

A Delos transfer brings up ancient Greek coinage, the money of the Greek city-states. More than two thousand Greek city-states existed, and more than half of them issued their own coins. The coinage is divided into four periods: Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Roman.

The earliest known coins are Lydian and East Greek coins found at Ephesus, dated to about 640 BC. A city-state was a town that ruled itself and its land. Athenian coins were nicknamed owls because of their central design feature. A Delos transfer meets this money only as a part of the past.

The Attic standard was based on an Athenian drachma of 4.3 grams of silver. A drachma was divided into six obols, a name from the Greek word for a spit. A spit is a thin metal rod. A standard here means a fixed weight for a coin. Silver is a pale metal.

Paestum, Crotone, Sybaris, Caulonia, Metapontum and Taranto were among the first Greek mints in southern Italy. These southern Italian cities began producing coins between 550 and 510 BC. A mint is a place where coins are made. A Delos transfer stands far from these mints, in time and place.

The coin designs were carved into a bronze or iron block called a die. A die is a stamp that presses a design into metal. A striking new feature of Hellenistic coins was portraits of living kings themselves. A Delos transfer can call this long line of coins to mind.

• Owls: Athenian coins were nicknamed owls because of their central design feature.
• Obols: A drachma was divided into six obols, a name from the Greek word for a spit.
• Portraits: Hellenistic coins brought a striking new feature: portraits of living kings themselves.

Ancient Greek coins carry the story of more than two thousand city-states in small discs of metal. A Delos transfer meets them as one part of the long past of the Aegean. The next section turns to a royal house of Macedon.

On a Delos transfer, what does the Antigonid dynasty add?

A Delos transfer brings up the Antigonid dynasty. It was a royal house that ruled Macedon in the Hellenistic period. The dynasty was founded by Antigonus Monophthalmus, a general and successor of Alexander the Great. A dynasty is a chain of rulers who share one family.

Antigonus took the title of basileus after his son Demetrius won at Salamis in 306 BC. Basileus is the Greek word for king. Cyprus is an island. Demetrius defeated Ptolemy at Salamis in 306 BC, then conquered the island of Cyprus. A Delos transfer meets this history only as a backdrop.

In 307 BC, Demetrius ousted Cassander’s governor of Athens, Demetrius of Phalerum. Ousted means driven out. A governor is an official who rules a place for a higher ruler. Demetrius seized Athens and made himself king of Macedon. Pyrrhus and Lysimachus drove Demetrius out in 288 BC.

Demetrius eventually died as a prisoner of Seleucus Nicator. Antigonus died in 301 BC, in the fight fought at Ipsus. A battle here means a clash between armies. Antigonus Gonatas established his family’s control over the old Kingdom of Macedon. A Delos transfer holds none of this fighting.

Antigonus Doson reestablished the Hellenic Alliance with himself as its leader. An alliance is a deal between states. The Antigonid was one of four dynasties founded by Alexander’s successors. The Antigonid Empire was a land spanning from the Aegean Sea to the Middle East. An empire is a vast realm made of other lands.

• Founder: The dynasty was founded by Antigonus Monophthalmus, a general and successor of Alexander.
• Kingdom: Antigonus Gonatas established his family’s control over the old Kingdom of Macedon.
• Empire: The Antigonid Empire spanned from the Aegean Sea to the Middle East.

The Antigonids ruled Macedon for a span of the Hellenistic age. Hellenistic means of the Greek world after Alexander. A Delos transfer meets them as one royal thread in the history of the Aegean. The next section looks at the obelisk, a tall stone pillar.

On a Delos transfer, what does the obelisk add?

A Delos transfer brings up the obelisk. An obelisk is a tall stone shaft that narrows toward a point. The earliest temple obelisk still in its original position is that of Senusret at Al-Matariyyah. In Egyptian mythology, the obelisk symbolized the sun god Ra.

Herodotus, the Greek traveler, was one of the first classical writers to describe obelisks. Herod the Great set up an Egyptian red granite obelisk in the hippodrome of Caesarea. Red granite is a hard stone. A hippodrome was a track for horse and chariot races. A Delos transfer meets the obelisk only as a monument.

In 357 CE, Emperor Constantius II had two Karnak Temple obelisks moved down the Nile to Alexandria. The Obelisk of Theodosius stayed in Alexandria until 390 CE, when Theodosius had it moved to Constantinople. The letters CE mean Common Era. Constantinople was the name of the city now called Istanbul.

Austen Henry Layard discovered the Black Obelisk in 1846 on the citadel of Kalhu. Kalhu was an Assyrian city. A citadel is a walled stronghold above a city. The prehistoric Tello Obelisk, found in 1919 at Chavín de Huantar in Peru, is a monolith stele. A stele is a tall flat slab set upright.

The Washington Monument, an obelisk from 1884, stands in Washington, D.C. The largest obelisk successfully erected in ancient times weighed 455 metric tons. A 520-metric-ton stele was found in Axum, but researchers believe it broke while being erected. A metric ton is one thousand kilograms. A Delos transfer shares none of these places.

• Sun: In Egyptian mythology, the obelisk symbolized the sun god Ra.
• Weight: The largest obelisk successfully erected in ancient times weighed 455 metric tons.
• Assyria: Assyrian obelisks were public monuments that commemorated the achievements of the king.

Obelisks stand in Egypt, Assyria, Peru and the United States. Each one marks a person or a power. A Delos transfer meets the obelisk as a symbol of old monuments. The next section turns to the festivals of Athens.

On a Delos transfer, what do the Athenian festivals add?

A Delos transfer brings up the Athenian festivals, the yearly feasts and contests of ancient Athens. A festival is a feast day kept each year. Classical Athens held at least 120 festival days each year. Jon Mikalson counted 120 positively dated festival days.

Athenian festivals honoured Athena, Dionysus, Apollo, Artemis, Demeter, Persephone, Hermes and Heracles. Except for slaves, every inhabitant of the city was able to take part in the Panathenaea. A slave here means an unfree worker. A Delos transfer meets these feasts only as a part of Athenian life.

The Panathenaea procession assembled before dawn at the Dipylon Gate, in the northern sector. A procession is an orderly walk of a crowd. A sector is a part of a city. Singing and poetry contests at the Panathenaia had performers recite selections from Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.

Standard prize amphorae showed roosters standing on two columns on each side of Athena. An amphora is a tall clay jar with two handles. The central event of the Dionysia was performing tragedies and, from 487 BCE, comedies. A tragedy is a serious play. The abbreviation BCE places a year before the Common Era.

The Thesmophoria was a festival in honour of Demeter and her daughter Persephone. The Apaturia was an Athenian citizenship festival held on the 11th to 13th of Pyanepsion. Citizenship means the right to belong to a city. The Thargelia honoured the Delian Apollo and Artemis, and was one of the chief Athenian festivals.

• Calendar: Classical Athens held at least 120 festival days each year.
• Gods: Athenian festivals honoured Athena, Dionysus, Apollo, Artemis, Demeter, Persephone, Hermes and Heracles.
• Thargelia: The Thargelia honoured the Delian Apollo and Artemis.

Athens filled a third of the year with feasts, processions and contests. That is the count given above in this section. A Delos transfer meets the Delian Apollo in one of them. The last section then answers four short questions about a Delos transfer.

Which questions arise before a Delos transfer?

A Delos transfer raises four small questions about season, names, a passenger building and a wind. Each answer below comes from a reference article. The answers speak of Greece and the Aegean in general, not of one day on the water.

Which season suits a Delos transfer?

Summer in the Mediterranean zone is sunny and dry, with rain limited to showers or storms. Winter rain in that zone is persistent. Very windy days are known across the Cyclades. These facts describe the climate in general, so they promise nothing about a given day.

Which names come from the hill behind a Delos transfer?

The epithets Cynthius and Cynthia belong to Apollo and Artemis. An epithet is a name that describes a person or god. Cynthia later turned into a first name for girls in the West. Mount Cynthus rises on Delos, one of the Greek Cyclades.

Which building serves boat passengers behind a Delos transfer?

A passenger terminal is a structure in a port that serves people boarding and leaving ships. A small ferry terminal can be just a tie-up point and a waiting area. Passengers reach a ship from the wharf by a gangway or a linkspan. A gangway is a narrow ramp.

Which wind blows over the Aegean behind a Delos transfer?

Strong and dry, the etesians sweep over the Aegean from the north. Their direction runs from north-east to north-west, set by the shape of the local land. King Philip II of Macedon timed his campaigns around them. Southern fleets, slowed by these winds, were unable to reach him.