val recalled the
anniversary of the birth of the god. The maidens of Delos, wearing their
richest attire, and crowned with flowers, united in joyous chorus around
the altar, and represented in sacred dances the story of the birth of
Apollo. Others, with garlands of flowers in their hands, went to hang
them on the ancient statue of the goddess, which Theseus had, according
to tradition, brought from Crete to Delos. From all parts of Greece,
from the islands, and from Asia, solemn embassies, sacred _theoriae_,
landed in the harbor. The most brilliant was that of the Athenians, who
were long the suzerains of the island. Each year, a State vessel, the
Paralian galley, conveyed the sacred embassy to Delos; the crew was
composed of free men, the vessel decked with flowers. At the moment of
its departure, the whole town was purified; the priests of Apollo
bestowed on the galley a solemn benediction, and the law forbade that
the purified town should be defiled by any sentence of death until the
return of the vessel. The members of the embassy were chosen from the
chief families of the city, and they were accompanied by a chorus of
young men and maidens, who were to chant the sacred hymns in honor of
Apollo and perform around the altar of the Horns, one of the marvels of
Delos and of the world, an ancient and solemn dance--the _geranos_. The
day of the arrival of these theoriae was a festival in Delos. Amid the
acclamations of an enthusiastic crowd, the embassy disembarked in the
harbor; and such was the joy and impatience of the people, that
sometimes its members had not even time to don their robes of ceremony
and to crown themselves with flowers. Over the bridge wound the sacred
procession of the Athenians, with its splendidly dressed musicians, its
chorus chanting the sacred hymns, its rich offerings destined for the
god; received at the end of the bridge by the official charged with the
reception of these pious embassies, it pursued its way to the temple,
there to present its offerings and prayers, and to pour out on the altar
the blood of its hecatombs. During the rest of the day, feasts were
provided for the people, and games and contests filled the island with
the sounds of rejoicing."

After the celebration, the Paralia returned to Athens, bearing homeward
the beautiful maidens who had done honor to the god and had added to the
glory of their native city.

Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and of pleasure, also had her