Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. The largest town and capital of the island is Chora or Naxos City, with 8,897 inhabitants out of the total 20,578 in the island (2021 census). The main villages are Filoti, Apiranthos, Vivlos, Agios Arsenios, Koronos and Glynado. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best abrasives available.

History

Mythic Naxos

thumb|200px|Landscape of the island

thumb|200px|Entrance of [[Temple of Apollo (Naxos)|Apollo Temple (Portara)]]

According to Greek mythology, the young Zeus was raised in a cave on Mt. Zas ("Zas" meaning "Zeus"). Homer mentions "Dia"; literally the sacred island "of the Goddess". Károly Kerényi explains:

One legend has it that in the Heroic Age before the Trojan War, Theseus abandoned Ariadne on this island after she helped him kill the Minotaur and escape from the Labyrinth. Dionysus (god of wine, festivities, and the primal energy of life) who was the protector of the island, met Ariadne and fell in love with her. But eventually Ariadne, unable to bear her separation from Theseus, either killed herself (according to the Athenians), or ascended to heaven (as the older versions had it). The Naxos portion of the Ariadne myth is also told in the Richard Strauss opera Ariadne auf Naxos.

The giant brothers Otus and Ephialtes figure in at least two Naxos myths: in one, Artemis bought the abandonment of a siege they laid against the gods, by offering to live on Naxos as Otus's lover; in another, the brothers had actually settled Naxos.

It is also said that the sea god Poseidon was passing by Naxos whilst driving his chariot on the sea surface and is where he first laid eyes on his future wife, the nereid Amphitrite as she was dancing there.

thumb|left|Neolithic finds from the Zas cave: jewelry, pottery, tools; archaeological museum of Naxos

Middle Paleolithic era

Stelida quarry, south-west of Chora, contains Mousterian tools dating back to the Middle Paleolithic era, which indicates that Neanderthal activity on the island spanned almost 200,000 years ago. The extinct dwarf elephant species Palaeoloxodon lomolinoi lived on Naxos at some point during the Late Pleistocene.

Cycladic civilisation

Zas Cave, inhabited during the Neolithic era, contained objects of stone from Melos and copper objects including a dagger and gold sheet. The presence of gold and other objects within the cave indicated to researchers the status of the inhabitant.

Emery was exported to other islands during that time.

Classical era and Greco-Persian Wars

thumb|200px|[[Temple of Sangri|Temple of Demeter]]

During the 8th and 7th centuries BC, Naxos dominated commerce in the Cyclades.

Herodotus describes Naxos circa 500 BC as the most prosperous Greek island.

In 499 BC, an unsuccessful attack on Naxos by Persian forces led several prominent men in the Greek cities of Ionia to rebel against the Persian Empire in the Ionian Revolt, and then to the Persian War between Greece and Persia.

Naxos was the first Greek city-state to attempt to leave the Delian League circa 469 BC; Athens quickly quashed the notion and forcibly removed all military naval vessels from the island's control. Athens then demanded all future payments from Naxos in the form of gold rather than military aid.

Byzantine era

thumb|200px|Fotodotis monastery

In Late Antiquity, the island was part of the province of the Islands.

Pope Martin I was detained on the island of Naxos for almost a year after he was arrested by Byzantine authorities in Rome due to his holding of a synod that condemned monotheletism. He was held on the island prior to being taken to Constantinople for trial. While detained on the island, he wrote to a certain Theodore living in Constantinople.

Under the Byzantine Empire, Naxos was part of the thema of the Aegean Sea, which was established in the mid-9th century.

In Byzantine times, the island's capital was on the southern fortress of Apalyres. During this time, it suffered from Saracen raids, particular during the existence of the Emirate of Crete (824–961), to which the island occasionally paid tribute. Traces of Muslim artistic influence are visible in frescoes from the 10th century.]]

thumb|200px|Sanudo tower, part of the Duchal Palace

thumb|200px|Belonia tower

In the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade, with a Latin Empire under the influence of the Venetians established at Constantinople, the Venetian Marco Sanudo conquered Naxos and most of the other Cyclades in 1205–1207.

Naxos became the seat of Sanudo's realm, known as the "Duchy of Naxos" or "Duchy of the Archipelago".

Bernard Randolph, in The Present State of the Islands in the Archipelago (1687, Oxford, pp. 20–21).

Jean de Thévenot, in Travels into the Levant (1687, London, pp. 103–105).

Joseph Pitton de Tournefort, in A Voyage Into the Levant (1718, London, pp. 161–176).

Thomas Bankes et al., in A new royal authentic and complete system of universal geography antient and modern... (1787, London, p. 943).

Edward Daniel Clarke, in Travels in Various Countries (1814, vol. 3, section 2, London, pp. 377–400).

William Martin Leake, in Travels in Northern Greece (1835, vol. 3, London, pp. 93–95).

Theodore Bent, in The Cyclades, or Life Among the Insular Greeks (1885, London, pp. 329–371).

Geography

Climate

Naxos experiences both a Mediterranean climate (Csa) and a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSh) depending on the location. According to the stations of the National Observatory of Athens, various locations in Naxos have a hot semi-arid climate. Inland areas of the island are much wetter and cooler in winter, owing to their higher elevation.

Economy

thumb|200px|[[Emery (rock)|Emery mine]]

thumb|200px|Marble quarry of Naxos. Note large green truck at lower left of the marble face.

Historical population

{| class="wikitable"

! Year !! Island population !! Change

|-

| 1981 || 14,037 || –

|-

| 1991 || 14,838 || +801/+5.71%

|-

| 2001 || 18,188 || +3,350/+22.58%

|-

| 2011 || 18,904 || +716/+3.93%

|}

Tourism

Naxos is a popular tourist destination, with several places of touristic interest, including beaches, villages and old ruins. Beaches on the island include Agia Anna, Agios Prokopios, Aliko, Kastraki, Mikri Vigla, Plaka, and Agios Georgios, most of them on the western side of the island, near Chora. Like other cycladic islands, Naxos is considered a windy place perfect for windsurfing, as well as kitesurfing. There are seven sports clubs on the island that offer both of these sports and other water activities.

Agriculture

Naxos is the most fertile island of the Cyclades. It has a good supply of water in a region where water is usually inadequate. Mount Zeus () is the highest peak in the Cyclades, and tends to trap the clouds, permitting greater rainfall. This has made agriculture an important economic sector with various vegetable and fruit crops as well as cattle breeding, making Naxos the most self-sufficient island in the Cyclades. Naxos is well known within Greece for its "Arseniko Naxou" cheese, potatoes, Kitron (a local lemon-citrus spirit), and Naxian honey (which is largely derived from the nectar of thyme).

Marble

The quarrying of marble on Naxos began before 550 BCE. Naxian marble was used for the creation of the roof tiles at ancient Olympia and on the Athenian Acropolis, As of 2016, about 5,000 m³ of high value Naxian marble was being exported annually.

Sports

  • Pannaxiakos A.O. (sports club)

== Notable people ==<!-- notability established by existence of an article -->

  • Ecumenical Patriarch Anthimus III of Constantinople (1762–1842)
  • Ecumenical Patriarch Callinicus III of Constantinople (died 1726)
  • Keti Chomata (1946–2010), singer
  • Manolis Glezos (1922–2020), rebel, politician, writer
  • Giannoulis Fakinos (born 1989), soccer player
  • Iakovos Kambanelis (1922–2011), poet, playwright, lyricist and novelist
  • Kostas Manolas (born 1991), soccer player
  • Stelios Manolas (born 1961), soccer player
  • Nikolaos Mykonios, fighter of the Greek War of Independence and officer of the Greek Army
  • Iakovos Nafpliotis (1864–1942), cantor
  • Nicodemus the Hagiorite (1749–1809), saint
  • Giorgos Ninios (born 1959), actor
  • Michalis Polytarchou, basketball player, Former Captain of AEK Athens BC
  • Petros Protopapadakis (1854–1922), Prime Minister of Greece

<gallery class="center">

File:Naxos Νάξος Chora 2020-08-20 28 Portara Πορτάρα.jpg|View through Portara on the peninsula Palátia towards Chora of Naxos

File:Agios Nikolaos at Grotta, Naxos, 4th to 7th c, 213443.jpg|Agios Nikolaos on the Grotta of Naxos Town (Chora)

File:Valley between Potamia and Moni, Naxos, 19M7555.jpg|Valley between Potamia and Moni, Naxos. View from road from Apeiranthos to Filoti

File:Heiligtum des Dionysos (Yria) 03.jpg|Sanctuary of Dionysus (Yria)

File:028MAD Sphinx.jpg|Sphinx of Naxos, now at Delphi Archaeological Museum

File:Building from terrace, Byzantine Museum Naxos, 143770.jpg|Crispi tower, housing the Byzantine museum

File:Naos Drosianis Naxos 03.jpg|Panagia Drosiani church, Moni village

File:Naxos Moni Faneromenis.JPG|The monastery of Faneromeni

File:Akadimoi Naxos Greece 2018081316330N09239.jpg|Chalki, Naxos

File:Atsipapi, Naxos, Greece 2018081216580N08690.jpg|Agios Isidoros at Atsipapi

File:Kaloxilos Naxos Greece 2018081018100N08139.jpg|Kaloxilos, Naxos

File:Vourvouria Naxos Greece 2018081119110NH8230.jpg|Vourvouria

File:Catholic cathedral, Kastro, Noxos Town, 1207-1963 AD, 144131.jpg|Presentation of the Lord Catholic church of Naxos

File:Koronos, Naxos, 119500.jpg|Koronos village

File:Panagia Damiotissa Naxos Greece 2018080816280N05907.jpg|Panagia Damiotissa, Chalki

File:TO FILOTI APO TOYS PROPODES TOY ZA.jpeg|Filoti village

File:Tower in Filoti, Naxos, commemorated 1620, 119754.jpg|Tower in Filoti

File:Απόλλωνας Νάξου.jpeg|Apollonas village

File:Naxos Keramoti.JPG|Keramoti village

File:Castle (Kastro) in Apeiranthos, Naxos, 101911.jpg|Tower in Apeiranthos

File:Aerial view of Hawaii Beach on Naxos Island, Greece.jpg|Hawaii beach, Alykos, Naxos

</gallery>

See also

  • Communities of the Cyclades
  • Emery (rock), mined on Naxos
  • Kitron
  • Moutsouna

Citations

General and cited references

  • Agelarakis, A., "The Naxos Island Archaic Period Necropolis: Archaeological-Anthropology Research Report", Hellenic Antiquities Authority, Archival Report, 2005, Naxos.
  • Ernst Curtius, Naxos. Ein Vortrag im wissenschaftlichen Verein zu Berlin 1846 gehalten, neu herausgegeben von Martin Biastoch, Göttingen, 2012.
  • Moving Postcards Naxos
  • Municipality of Naxos and Small Cyclades