DĒLĬA (δήλια), the name of festivals and games celebrated in the
island of Delos, to which the Cyclades and the neighbouring Ionians
on the coasts belonged. The Delia had existed from very early times,
and were celebrated every fifth year. That the Athenians took part
in these solemnities at a very early period, is evident from the
_Deliastae_ (afterwards called θεωροί) mentioned in the laws of
Solon; the sacred vessel (θεωρίς), moreover, which they sent to Delos
every year, was said to be the same which Theseus had sent after
his return from Crete. In the course of time the celebration of
this ancient panegyris in Delos had ceased, and it was not revived
until B.C. 426, when the Athenians, after having purified the island
in the winter of that year, restored the ancient solemnities, and
added horse-races, which had never before taken place at the Delia.
After this restoration, Athens, being at the head of the Ionian
confederacy, took the most prominent part in the celebration of the
Delia; and though the islanders, in common with Athens, provided
the choruses and victims, the leader (ἀρχιθέωρος), who conducted
the whole solemnity, was an Athenian, and the Athenians had the
superintendence of the common sanctuary. From these solemnities,
belonging to the great Delian panegyris, we must distinguish the
_lesser Delia_, which were mentioned above, and which were celebrated
every year, probably on the 6th of Thargelion. The Athenians on
this occasion sent the sacred vessel (θεωρίς), which the priest of
Apollo adorned with laurel branches, to Delos. The embassy was called
θεωρία; and those who sailed to the island, θεωροί; and before they
set sail a solemn sacrifice was offered in the Delion, at Marathon,
in order to obtain a happy voyage. During the absence of the vessel
the city of Athens was purified, and no criminal was allowed to be
executed.
DELPHĪNĬA (δελφίνια), a festival of the same expiatory character as
the Apollonia, which was celebrated in various towns of Greece, in
honour of Apollo, surnamed Delphinius.
DELPHIS (δελφίς), an instrument of naval warfare. It consisted of a
large mass of iron or lead suspended on a beam, which projected from
the mast of the ship like a yard-arm. It was used to sink, or make a
hole in, an enemy’s vessel, by being dropped upon it when alongside.