It's widely regarded as one of the most important sanctuaries of the ancient Greek and Roman world.
But Delos could disappear in just 50 years - with rising sea levels to blame, experts have warned.
The UNESCO heritage site is said to be the birthplace of Apollo, and is surroundedby piercing blue waters, just a stone's throw away from Mykonos.
Within decades, because of rising sea levels brought about by climate change, the site known for its temples guarded by stone lions could be gone forever.
'Delos is condemned to disappear in around 50 years,' said Veronique Chankowski, head of the French archaeological school of Athens (EFA), which has been excavating the site for the past 150 years under licence from the Greek state.
It's widely regarded as one of the most important sanctuaries of the ancient Greek and Roman world. But Delos could disappear in just 50 years - with rising sea levels to blame, experts have warned
The UNESCO heritage site is said to be the birthplace of Apollo, and is surrounded by piercing blue waters, just a stone's throw away from Mykonos
What is Delos?
Delos is a UNESCO world heritage site located in the waters of the Aegean Sea, just a few miles away from Mykonos.
According to Greek mythology, Apollo was born on this tiny island.
This attracted pilgrims from all over Greece and Delos was a prosperous trading port.
The island bears traces of the succeeding civilizations in the Aegean world, from the 3rd millennium B.C. to the palaeochristian era.
The archaeological site is exceptionally extensive and rich and conveys the image of a great cosmopolitan Mediterranean port.
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According to scientists, the worst structural damage to the site is visible in an area that once housed trade and storage buildings in the first and second centuries BCE and is not accessible to visitors.
'Water enters the stores in winter,' explained Jean-Charles Moretti, the French mission's director on Delos and a researcher at the French state institute for the research of ancient architecture (IRAA).
'It eats away at the base of the walls.
'Every year in the spring, I notice that new walls have collapsed.'
In the space of 10 years, the sea level has risen by up to 20 metres (66 feet) in some parts of the island, according to Ms Chankowski.
A study by Aristotelio University in Thessaloniki last year found that increasing temperatures combined with high levels of humidity can significantly affect the chemical composition of certain materials used in cultural heritage monuments.
'Just like the human body, monuments are built to withstand specific temperatures,' study supervisor Efstathia Tringa, a meteorology and climatology researcher at Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, told Kathimerini daily earlier this year.
Delos is an island just a stone's throw away from Mykonos and attracts thousands of eager tourists every year
According to scientists, the worst structural damage to the site is visible in an area that once housed trade and storage buildings in the first and second centuries BCE and is not accessible to visitors
In the space of 10 years, the sea level has risen by up to 20 metres (66 feet) in some parts of the island, according to Ms Chankowski
A steady stream of tourists from Mykonos, who often veer away from permitted areas, constitute an additional problem.
In the summer, only a handful of archaeologists are at hand to supervise.
To the ancient Greeks, Delos was the birthplace of Apollo, god of light, arts and healing, and of his sister Artemis, goddess of the hunt.
The siblings were among the chief deities honoured by both the Greeks and the Romans.
At the height of its acclaim during the Roman era, Delos attracted pilgrims and traders from across the ancient world and ultimately grew to a bustling city of some 30,000 people.
At the height of its acclaim during the Roman era, Delos attracted pilgrims and traders from across the ancient world and ultimately grew to a bustling city of some 30,000 people
A steady stream of tourists from Mykonos, who often veer away from permitted areas, constitute an additional problem
But the island's popularity proved its undoing.
It was looted twice in the first century BCE and eventually abandoned altogether.
For now, wooden support beams have been used to shore up some walls, Chankowski said.
But more robust measures are complex and will require a multi-disciplinary response, she added.
'All coastal cities will lose significant areas currently located at sea level,' said Athena-Christiana Loupou, a Greek archaeologist who guides groups through the site's main attractions.
'We replaced plastic straws with paper straws but we lost the war' to protect the environment, she said bitterly.
