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* DELOBME. 97 DELPHI. DELOKME. I'lEKBE Claude Fbax^ois (1783- ISo'J). A Fronili inunter, born in Paris, lie was a pupil of (.iirodet, whose uianniT lie imi- tated. His art embodies the classical tendencies of the school of David (q.v.). His most impor- tant canvases are: "The Death of Abel" (ISIO) ; '•Hero and Leander" (1814): "Raising of the Daughter of .Jairus" (1817): "Descent of Christ into Limbo" (1819). in Xotre Dame de Paris; "Cephalus Carried Off by Aurora" ( lS:i:i), in thri Louvre: "Koundation of the College Royal by Francis I.," Versailles Gallery. He also exe- cuted mural paintings in the churches of Saint- Eustache. Saint-Gervais, and Xotre Dame de Lorette, in Paris. DELORT, dc-lor', Chables Edouakd (1841- 95). A French painter, born at Xlmes. He aban- doned his original intention to enter the army, and devoted himself to the study of art at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, first under Glcyre and afterwards under Gerome. He attracted at- tention in the Salon of 1866 by his picture "Chloe." which is now in the museum at Xlmes. He received medals in 1875 and 1S82, and was decorated with the cross of the Legion of Honor in 1889. Among the best of his other works are: "Embarkment of Manon Lescaut" ( IS75) ; "Hallali in a Market Place" (1878); "Capture of the Dutch Fleet bv the Hussars of the Repub- lic" (1S8-2); "Return from Exile" (1889). DE'LOS (Ok. A7?.oc)- The smallest of the Cyolades. called in ancient times Asteria, Orty- gia. Cynthus. It is situated between the islands Rhenea and Myconus. It is about three and one- half miles from north to south, and three-fourths of a mile from east to west. Xear the centre rises the rocky mountain Cynthus, about 380 feet high; to the west and north of this hil! is almost the onl.v level ground of the island, and here was situated the sanctuary of Apollo and the ancient town. According to the mytho- logical account it was at first a floating isl- and, but was fastened to ilyconus and G.varus by Poseidon, that it might afford a refuge from the jealous Hera for Leto, who there brought forth Apollo and Artemis. From very early times Delos was a sacred island, the centre of the Ionian cult of Apollo, and the scene of a great festival, celebrated by the lonians in the month Thargelion (ifay or .June), and mentioned in the Homeric hymn to Apollo. Even the Persian general Datis. when on his way to attack Athens, spared thi- island and made a rich offering to the god. After the Persian wars Delos became the centre and treasury of the new league under the presidency of Athens, and when the league was transformed into the Athenian Empire the temples of Delos seem to have passed under .thenian control. In n.C. 426 the island was purified by the Athenians, who reinoved all the dead bodies to the neighboring island of Rhenea. and ordered that hereafter no birth or death should occur on this sacred spot. In B.C. 422 they even expelled all the inhabitants, but allowed them to return in the following year, .fter the fall of .then~, in n.r. 404. Delos seems to have regained its independence for a short time; but the .Athenians soon recovered the suzerainty, and seem to have retained it until about B.C. 322, when it became a free community, a position which was maintained until about B.C. 166. Dur- ing this period the island prospered greatly. The successors of Alexander vied with one an- other in gifts to Apollo, while its central posi- tion made Delos a natural centre of commerce. Xor did this i)rosperity decrease when the Ro- mans once nirire placed Delos imder Athenian rule, for at the same time all imports and ex- ports were freed from taxation, and during the second and first centuries B.C. Delos was the seat of a large ?olony of merchants, Italian, Greek, and Eastern. It was a centre of the slave trade, but had few local industries, except the manu- facture of a variety of bronze. Sacked during the -Milhridatic wars (c. 87 B.C.), it never fully recovered, and by the middle of the second cen- tury A.D. was deserted by all except those con- nected with the temple. With the fall of hea- thendom, the island was deserted except by those who visited it to collect building material, or to burn its marbles into lime. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the island was plundered for the benefit of Eu- ropean collections, but scientific exploration be- gan only in 1829 with the French scientific expe- dition under the direction of Blouet. In 1873 Leb^gue explored the ancient shrine and grotto on ilount Cynthus; and in 1877 Homolle began ex- cavations in the sanctuary of Apollo. Since then the French School at Athens has conducted nu- merous and successful campaigns, which have brought to light not only the sacred precinct with its temples, porticos, and altars, but also the wharves and warehouses, the bazaars of the merchants, the theatre, the gymnasium, and a number of private houses, belonging apparently to the prosperous period of the second century B.C. In sculpture the island has yielded some important archaic statues of the sixth century B.C.. such as the "Nike" of Archermos, the statue dedicated by Xicandra, and some female figures similar to those found on the Acropolis of Athens, and, of later art, a fighting warrior and a fine copy of the "Diadumenos" of Polyclitus (q.v.), as well as many other works, often, un- fortunately, in very poor preservation. The chief harvest has been in the inscriptions, many of which are still unpublished. In addition to the decrees and dedications always common in sanctuaries, these include long lists of the treas- ures of the temple and also an important scries of accounts, showing the receipts and expendi- tures of the temple, carefully itemized, and throwing a flood of light on the financial admin- istration of a Greek shrine. Consult; Leb&gue. Kechcrchrs siir Dilos (Paris. 1876) ; von Sehoef- fer, De Ucli hisula; Rebus (Berlin, 1889) ; Ho- molle, De Anti(nii.s.simis Diance Simulaciis (Paris, 188.5), and Les archiiws de I'intendanee .lacrce <le Delo,i (Paris, 1886) ; Bulletin de cor- respondance heUenique, vol. i., et seq. (Paris, 1877, et seq.). Good summaries of the history and antiquities are to be found in .Jebb, Joiinxil of Hellenic Studies, i.( London. 1881) ; and Diehl. Excursion in Greece, English translation by Per- kins (Xew York, 1893) ; consult also: Schoeffer. in Pauly-Wissowa, Realencyklopiidie der klas- sischen AUertumswissenscliaft, vol, iv, (Stutt- gart, 1901). A Carte topofjraphique de Vile de Delos, and a detailed account of the island are in preparation by Homolle. DEL'PHI ICh. Aeol. Delphoi). An ancient town of Phoeis. Greece, celebrated for its oracle of .Apollo. It was situated about eight miles