  The ANTARES telescope is the largest underwater neutrino telescope existing
at present. It is based on the detection of Cherenkov light produced in sea
water by neutrino-induced muons. The detector, consisting of a tri-dimensional
array of 885 photomultipliers arranged on twelve vertical lines, is located at
a depth of 2475 m in the Mediterranean Sea, 40 km off the French coast. The
main goal of the experiment is to probe the Universe by means of neutrino
events in an attempt to investigate the nature of high energy astrophysical
sources, to contribute to the identification of cosmic ray sources, and to
explore the nature of dark matter. In this contribution we will review the
status of the detector, illustrate its operation and performance, and present
the first results from the analysis carried out on atmospheric muons and
neutrinos, as well as from the search for astrophysical neutrino sources.
