arcosolium
(lat.) A tomb carved out of a wall (solium) with an arched niche (arcus) above it.

Commonwealth of the islands
Confederation of the Aegean islands. The initiative for its establishment is attributed to Antigonos the One-Eyed and is dated to 313 BC. The Commonwelth, which seems to have been put under the protection of the sanctuary of Apollo in Delos, allowed Antigonos to control the islands and to use them as bases for the spread of his power in mainland Greece. Outside Apollo's cult, within the framework of the Commonwelth there were instituted cults in honour of the house of Antigonidae and later the Ptolemies.

Delian or First Athenian League
League established by the Athenians after the end of the Persian Wars (478 BC). Many city-states of the Aegean were included in the league with the obligation to contribute ships or money. The lists with the sums offered by each member allow us to estimate their economic situation.

sarcophagus
A large rectangular stone coffin in which a dead person was laid to rest. In some cases sarcophagi were made also of clay, wood or metal.

templon or iconostasis
A structure separating the sanctuary from the main church. At first, it simply divided the nave from the presbytery, but later it became higher, with small columns and an epistyle. From the 11th century onwards, icons were placed between the templon columns and, somewhat later, icons were also placed above the epistyle, thus forming the iconostasis. The templon were originally from marble. Wooden iconostases appeared from the 13th century.