History: The epochs

The history of the Cyclades and of Naxos in particular is exceptionally interesting. The first humans reached the Cyclades already in the Palaeolithic age.

On the hill of Stelída south of Chóra, a large number of chert stone tools have been discovered that can be dated to the Mesolithic and even the Palaeolithic period.

On Naxos the most important Neolithic finds were made in the excavations in the Cave on Mount Zeus, which was used by the inhabitants of the island from the Neolithic age to the Classical period.

In the third millennium BC a remarkable culture developed on the Cyclades, the so-called Cycladic culture, which had an important centre on Naxos. It was one of the first cultures in Europe to take the step into the Bronze age.

Around 2000 BC, the characteristic Cycladic culture came to an end and the Minoans took over in the Aegean. A clear Minoan influence can also be seen on Naxos during this time.

Many finds from the Mycenaean period have been discovered on Naxos, although our picture is far from complete. Quite early, in the 15th century BC, the first larger city of the island was built in the Chóra of Naxos over the older settlement remains.

The most common artifacts of the Geometric epoch that have been preserved, on Naxos as well as elsewhere, are ceramics. The pottery of the Geometric epoch is easily recognizable by its characteristic painting with non-figurative motifs, lines and geometric patterns.

During the Archaic epoch, Naxos achieved dominance over the Cyclades, and numerous temples, sanctuaries, statues and other remains bear witness to the island’s significant and rapid development in that time.

About 500 BC, at the beginning of the Classical period, the aristocracy of Naxos was expelled by the people and a democracy was established. The Naxian nobles fled to Miletus on the coast of Asia Minor and persuaded its governor Histiaios, who stood under Persian supremacy, to start a campaign against their island.

Despite the many wars and conflicts of the Hellenistic period, the island of Naxos attained a notable prosperity during this period – in contrast to the preceding Classical epoch, a number of elaborate buildings have survived from the Hellenistic period.

During the Roman epoch Naxos belonged to the province of Asia. From the year 42 BC on the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire were taken over by the general Marcus Antonius, who had himself worshipped as “New Dionysos”.

According to tradition, Naxos was converted to Christianity by disciples of St John in the 3rd century AD. The importance of the island during the Byzantine period is evidenced by the large number of remarkable, often richly decorated churches that have been preserved on the island.

In 1207 the Venetian crusader Marco Sanudo sailed with his fleet to the Cyclades and conquered the south-eastern islands. Naxos was at that time in the hands of Genoese pirates, who retreated together with the Greek population to the Byzantine fortress of Apalírou.

In 1566, the last Venetian Duke of Naxos, Jakob Crispi, was deposed and imprisoned by the Turks, to whom he had become a tributary since the raids by the Turkish naval admiral Barbarossa in 1537. The Turkish Sultan Selim II appointed a Jew from Portugal named Joseph Nasi as Duke of the Aegean.