Antiquities

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	The main deity on Naxos was Dionysos was born in Naxos. He sprang from Zeus' thigh. At one time in its history the island was even called Dionysia. According to mythology Naxos was the island where the Minoan princess Ariadne was abandoned by her husband-to-be Theseus, on their return from Knosos, where he had killed the Minotaur. Dionysos found her and married her. As he was the god of wine and the good life, they lived happily ever after. A Naxos Island timeline would include: About 2000 BC Minoan Crete colonized Naxos. Cretan power in the area vanished after the eruption of the volcano at Santorini abound 1550 BC. Next came the Ionians. The Cycladic culture blossomed in the 7th and 6th centuries BC. In 490 BC Naxos was devastated by the Persians and never recovered its old splendor. After the Persians were defeated Naxos joined the Athenian Alliance in 41 BC. The island became a Roman providence and was used as a place of exile. Christians started building churches on the island in the 4th century AD. From the 7th until the 14th century AD the entire Aegean was infested with Saracen pirates. Coastal communities were fortified. Most people lived in the interior. In 1207 Venice captured the island and founded the Duchy of the Aegean with Naxos as the capitol. In 1537 the Ottoman Turks took control of the island and held it until the 1800s. In 1829 Naxos became part of the newly created Greek state.
Venetian Towers -- The towers were built to protect the population from pirates. If there was an attack, a fire would be lit on the tower roof, alerting the islanders.

Naxos Old Town Labyrinth	Portara -- Portara means "huge door" in Greek. It was the gateway to a temple dedicated to Apollo that was built in the 6th century BC.	Windmill Ruins	Cave House

Oskelos Tower -- This 17th century tower is now the home for many pigeons.	Ayios Georgios Church -- This is the church of St. George.	Kastro Castle -- Naxos was a Duchy under the Venetian Duke, Marco Sanudo and his successors from 1207 to 1564.	Della Rocca-Barozzi Venetian Mansion -- Medieval mansions in the Naxos Town are still owned by the decedents of the Venetians who built them. Now they serve as homes, museums, and concert halls.

Temple of Demeter (Goddess of Fertility)-- Built in the 6th century BC, partly dismantled in the 6th century AD to build a chapel, and of late reconstructed by dismantling the chapel.	Archaeological Museum -- In 1627 the Ottomans founded a school in the building that is now the museum.	Kouros -- A kouros is a statue of a naked man, probably Dionysos. Three have been found on the island--all unfinished.	Agia Tower -- The mediaeval tower of Agia (also spelled Ayia) overlooks the Aegean on the northeast cost of Naxos.