Quarantine of Delos

From the beginning of time boats have been given names which usually have some kind of specific meaning, be it of either personal or historic nature. As in the case of the Quarantine of Delos both reasons are true.

During the 18th Century when all sea transport was powered by sail, one of the major sea routes that serviced the economy of Europe passed from Russia and Asia through the Cycladic region. As the island of Syros was the most commercial port of Greece at that time, its well developed harbor formed a kind of gateway through which all vessels were obliged to pass.

To reduce the risk of introducing disease to the European mainland, a quarantine location was established on nearby Delos where anchorage was inforced for a waiting period of 40 days before proceeding to Syros and all points beyond.

With the eventual transition to steamship technology and the development of Pireaus as Greece's new super port the importance to the shipping world of Syros and its neighbor Delos all but disappeared. To this day Syros maintains notoriety as the capital of the Cycladic islands and still maintains a modest but efficient shipyard to verify its history. Delos on the other hand has been left virtually uninhabited save for a few humble dwellings, homes to its inherited guards and caretakers who descended from this time.

When owner and captain Panayiots Faroupos had his boat built in Syros by their traditional ship-building craftsmen, he chose the name Quarantine of Delos intending not only to bring to light a little known moment in Delos' history but also to pay tribute to his family heritage as caretakers of this unique little island.

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