Answer:
Delos (Δήλος) was one of the most sacred places of ancient Greece, and one of the most robust trade centers as well. The island undoubtedly owed its success to its superb location at the very center of the Aegean, allowing seafarers to meet it in the middle of their journey as they sailed from the major commercial centers of the Aegean--Athens, Miletos, Corinth, Macedonia, Thassos, Samos, Milos, Rhodes, and Crete, to name a few. Its importance also made it coveted by the most powerful maritime powers that strove for control of its harbors and sanctuary.
There is evidence of habitation in the island that dates back to 3000 BCE, and of elevated importance during the Mycenaean period (1580-1200 BCE). Its reputation as a sacred island began attracting large numbers of devotees, and along with them trade flourished, transforming Delos into a robust commercial port for almost a thousand years after the 8th c. BCE.
Its claim as the birthplace of Apollo gave Delos a strong religious identity that lasted all the way until Byzantine times. In an era when religious festivals were economic engines, attracting thousands of pilgrims and generating healthy economic growth, Delos stood strong at the center of the wealthiest commercial centers and benefited greatly.
Despite being wind-swept and almost barren of vegetation, it had several features that made it conducive to habitation (probably reached 25000 inhabitants by the early 1st century BCE). The island's several harbors and position in the middle of the Cyclades put it on the map of every sailor of antiquity, and the island also had an excellent supply of water from two sources: flowing all year in the small river Poppins and trapped in a layer of limestone that covers a layer of granite below.
Its small size (about 5 x 1.3 km) however made the island vulnerable and easy pray for several powerful maritime powers through the centuries. Naxos and Paros attempted to establish control of Delos early in Archaic period, but it was the Athenians that dominated the island on and off for almost five hundred years. The Athenians initiated two "purifications" of the island. The first one in 540 BCE decreed that all burials within sight of the temple of Apollo be removed, while the second purification in 426/5 BCE removed all burials, and forbade births and deaths on the island. After the Persian wars, starting in 478 BCE, Delos hosted the treasury of the Delian League before its subsequent relocation to the Athenian Acropolis–much to the displeasure of many members of the alliance
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