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Natures

Here you find all of the 400 or so articles dealing with the nature of Naxos, organised chronologically with the latest articles at the top.

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Dionysus and the island of Naxos

The following text is a revised and supplemented extract from my book “Zwei Türen hat das Leben” (=”The two doors of Life”). The origin of the cult of Dionysus The philhellenic historians of the last…

Naxos under the Venetians

IIn 1204, during the 4th Crusade, the Franks and Venetians conquered Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, because the Emperor of Byzantium, who had called them to support him agains h…

The Chora

Unfortunately there is yet no translation available for this page as well as for descriptions of the hiking tours you find under the links below. Maybe try to translate the page with Google translat…

The Portara and the Temple of Apollon in the Chora

The best known symbol of the island of Naxos is the gigantic ancient portal of the Temple of Apollo in Naxos-Town, the Portára. It stands conspiciously on a small island “Palátia” that is connected b…

Agia Kyriaki near Apiranthos

A particularly interesting Byzantine monument is the small church of Ágia Kyriakí north of Apiranthos. It dates from the 9th century AD, the time of the iconoclasm. Fortunately, in recent years the b…

The Kouroi of Flerio near Melanes

Close to the village of Mélanes lies a hill with marble of high quality that has been quarried since antiquity. The marble was used for the construction of buildings as well as for statues. Not too f…

The sanctuary at Flerio near Melanes

Near the well-known Koúros of Flerió (Mélanes) an ancient sanctuary has been excavated, in which the patron gods of the marble quarry and the nearby springs were worshiped. It is one of the oldest sa…

Zum Wehrkloster Fotodotis und nach Danakos

Die Rundwanderung über das Kloster Fotodótis und das kleine Bergdorf Danakós startet auf dem Pass, den man überquert, wenn man von Filóti kommend nach Danakós fährt. Genau auf dem Pass liegt die klei…

“Aphrodite von Azalas” vom Schweizer Bildhauer René Küng

Das Jahr 2009 hat für uns noch etwas ganz Unerwartetes gebracht: Der Schweizer Bildhauer René Küng hat hier in Azalas ein Kunstwerk angefertigt und aufgestellt, die Marmorskulptur “Aphrodite von Azal…

Zum Argokili

Von unseren Ferienhäusern aus kann man über einen alten kleinen Pfad zur Hochebene von Atsipápi laufen. Hier liegt in einer Entfernung von etwa 5 Kilometern von Azalás die bedeutendste Wallfahrtskirc…

Agios Nikolaos at the Troullo near Komiaki

20. November 2009

The small but intersting Byzantine church of Agios Nikolaos Troullos is located below the road from Skadhó to Komiakí, the northernmost of the mountain villages of Naxos. Komiakí lies on the edge of…

The Byzantine fortress of Apalirou

10. November 2009

The most important Byzantine fortress of Naxos is located in the southwest of the island between the small village of Sangrí and the bay of Agiassós. The large castle complex occupies the top of the…

The Temple of Dionysus in Iria near the Chora

2. November 2009

The area around the capital of the island of Naxos, Chóra, has been inhabited for millennia. Excavations show that from the Early Bronze Age (Cycladic culture) on a significant settlement (excavation…

The Byzantine fortress on Mount Kalogeros

31. October 2009

Near Apóllonas on the northern tip of Naxos, the remains of a small Byzantine fortress lie on the 350 metre high mount Kalógeros. View of the Kalogeros from the harbour of Apollonas; the fortress li…

Seafaring and trade in the Cycladic culture

28. October 2009

The earliest evidence of human presence on the Cyclades are the Paleo(!)- and Mesolithic chert tools on Naxos and the Mesolithic finds of obsidian from the island of Milos on the mainland and on othe…

Contacts to the neighbouring peoples

28. October 2009

As an island people the inhabitants of the Cyclades always had close contacts to their neighbours. The islands were probably settled by a people from the East, from the Levant and Asia Minor. Since t…

The idols and the religion of the Cycladic culture

28. October 2009

The Cycladic idols The most famous artefacts of the Cycladic culture are doubtless the marble idols. These unique works of art testify in an especially impressive way to the craftsmanship and artisti…

Crafts in the Cycladic culture

28. October 2009

In the Early Bronze age, crafts and techniques already known from the Neolithic age such as pottery, sculpture, metalworking and shipbuilding developed to a significantly higher level. Individual peo…

Metal crafts in the Cycladic culture

28. October 2009

Even in the late Stone age, people occasionally used metal to make simple tools or jewelry. These were mostly made of metals, which could be found in a pure form in nature, not as an ore, like silver…

Cemeteries and burials in the Cycladic culture

28. October 2009

Already during the Stone age people started to bury their dead. The oldest known graves are dated to an age of 40,000 years. The first known cemeteries are about 12,000 years old. On the Cyclades as…

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