Cynthus
Rocky summit sanctuary ruins marking the mythical birthplace of Apollo and Artemis.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Cynthus, the summit above Delos near Mykonos, opens with the myth of Leto giving birth to Apollo and Artemis on a floating island that every other shore had refused her. It follows why that story made the whole island too sacred for ordinary birth or death, from Peisistratos ordering graves dug up and shipped away to Athens later banning burial outright during the Peloponnesian War. You'll climb the same worn steps pilgrims used, pass the Cave of Kynthos with its altar to Herakles, and reach foundation stones from a sanctuary the Athenians built centuries later. Pause at the top and pick out Naxos, Paros and Syros scattered across the water below.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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