Like the rest of Cyclades, the local and original Cycladic civilization developed in Naxos Island as early as 3,000 BC. Naxos was one of the major centres of the Cycladic culture. Around 3000BC, the main settlements appear to have been near Hora, on the hill of Kastro and at Grotta. The island was later colonised […]
After slaying the Minotaur, the Athenian hero Theseus and Ariadne, the Cretan princess who loved him, stopped to rest at Naxos on their way to Athens. Yet the next morning, while Ariadne slept, Theseus set sail and abandoned her. This, even in the eyes of the Athenians, was dishonorable, especially since Theseus had promised to […]
Naxos makes history in 1207 when the Venetian Marco Sanudo captured the island’s chief Byzantine castle, T’aparilou, and declared himself Duke of Naxos, ruler over all the adventures who had grabbed the Aegean Islands after the conquest in Constantinopole. When Venice refused to grant Sanudo the independent status he desired, he broke away in 1210 […]
