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 it hosted the treasury of the Delian League before it was moved later to the Athenian Acropolis much to the displeasure of many members of the alliance.
