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CATEGORIES
SIGHTS
WE ARE NEXT TO YOU
- Do not hesitate to contact us for any questions or concerns. We will be glad to help you.
- +30 6978.185736
- info@akrogiali-rent-a-car.gr
The Portara Gate
The Portara, the great marble gate that stands high on the islet of Palatia, now united with Naxos town, is what remains of the Temple of Apollo, who started to be built around the 6th-7th century BC and was never completed.
The Portara gate is the first image visitors face when the ship enters the port of Naxos and is of course the trademark of the island of Naxos. On the islet, according to mythology, Theseus abandoned his love Ariadne, after killing Minotaur in Crete. In fact what we see today, is the gate of the temple that the tyrant Lygdamis began to build, wishing to present a larger temple than the temple of Zeus in Athens and the Temple of Hera in Samos. After the fall of tyranny on Naxos although, the temple remained unfinished.
Today only the foundations of this majestic temple are visible. The glorious gate was constructed of four large pieces of local marble, each of them weighing around 20 tons. It has a height of almost 6 meters and a width of more than 3.5 meters.
Tower of Agia
On the way to Apollonas (6km before reaching the village) you will meet the Tower of Agia on your left hand, standing out with its fortifications. It is a really imposing building facing the sea and controlling the northern part of the island. It was built in the 17th century and it belonged to Kokkos family, a powerful Orthodox family that played an important role in the island’s life of that time.
Barozzi-Gratsia Tower
Behind the Church of Panagia Protothroni in Chalki, there is the 17th century Barozzi-Gratsia Tower. The monument comes in three levels, with strong walls, iron-barred windows, heavy wooden gates, wooden drawbridge, murder hole to thwart attackers with scalding water and coats of arms.
Tower of Himarros
The most important monument in the area though, pride of all Filotites, is the legendary Tower of Himarros built on the top of a small hill, between the old settlements of Argiovessa and Vardakis.
Kalamitsia - Melanes
It is one of the oldest villages of the island, at a distance of 8km from the port of Naxos. Its name comes from the ancient times and proofs of the settlement’s long history are the ancient Sculpture Schools and the gigantic Kouros of Melanes (archaic marble statue) of 6th century B.C. In the region you can also meet the ancient Roman aqueduct of Flerio which used to supply with water the town of Naxos, Chora. Some of its parts are still visible and you can see them on the way to the port.
Kouros in Apollonas
In the northern part of the island, just before the junction to the pretty fishing village of Apollo (if you follow the coastal road from Chora to Apollo or shortly after the junction if you come from Apeiranthos) is another ancient quarry. At its entrance, it is lying on the ground, from which has never been moved, an unfinished statue of a Kouros, height 10.45 m, which dates to the early 6th BC century and probably is the personification of Dionysus.
Kouros in Flerio
The Naxian land is very rich in fine marble, which is currently the subject of intense exploitation. The marble is not only serving the needs of Naxos and of Greece, but it is exported to Europe and America. The same happened in antiquity. The Naxians began first the widespread use of this noble material in architecture and sculpture. The craftsmen, starting from the extensive quarries of surface area between Flerio of Melana and Potamia and working in Naxos island, in the Ionian city of Delos, in Athens, Boeotia and other more distant locations, pioneered during the 7th and the 6th century in the development of the Greek monumental marble architecture and sculpture.
To a large extent, on the hills of the region, rich relics of the ancient quarrying activity were preserved, which activity continued with less intensity and in the rest of antiquity. Quarrying traces observed on the rocks next to the unfinished statue.
Zas Cave - Filoi
The tallest mountain in the Cyclades, which reaches 1,000 metres, got its name by the god Zeus (Zas). On the western side of the mountain at an altitude of 600 metres is the largest cave on the island. The legend states that in this place the father of the ancient gods spent his childhood. As evidenced by the findings that came to light during the excavations, the cave is connected with the worship of Zeus from antiquity which had been inhabited since prehistoric times. Many of these are now exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Naxos. Source: www.greekguide.com
Apaliros Castle
A byzantine castle in the interior of Naxos island on a steep hill between the villages Sagri and Agiassos. It was the center of Byzantine Naxos until the 13th century, when the Venetians came to the island. Τhe name derives from apaliries, the name of an unusual bush that grows around the castle. The castle was the acropolis of the capital of the island in the Byzantine period which was located at the foot of the hill of Apaliros.
Apaliros was besieged for 40 days by the Venetian Marco Sanudo in 1207, in the aftermath of the Fall of Byzantium after the 4th Crusade (1204). The castle was the last defense of the Greeks of Naxos and when it fell, this was the beginning of the long occupation of Naxos (and of the rest of the Cyclades) by the Venetians, until 1537, when the Ottomans came.