Naxos Island Greece History

The history of Naxos is full of legends, myths and  historic events as it is one of the few Greek islands that has been continuously inhabited since the pre historic times.

According to the ancient myths, Zeus, the father of the Gods may had been born in Crete, but was raised in Naxos thus giving his name to the tallest mountain of the island, Zas (1004 m.). Also the island has been connected to the story of Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos of Crete. According to the myth, Theseas abandoned Ariadne at the port of Naxos, after she had helped him kill the Minotaurus in Crete. The God of wine and life, Dionysus fell in love with her and took her as his wife; however, Ariadne could not cope with Theseas’ treason and plummeted into her death, by falling into the sea.

The first inhabitants of Naxos originated from Thrace and it is believed that they were the ones who brought the worship of God Dionysus to the island. Later on, the island was also inhabited by the tribe of Kares, whose leader Naxos was the one to give the island its name.
Naxos has been one of the most important centers of the Cycladic civilization. During the 6th and 7th century B.C. the island became a major nautical empire, developing areas such as commerce and art, and becoming one of the wealthiest areas in Greece.  During this same period, Naxos was one of the greatest sculpture centers in the Hellenic area, as the many remarkable findings prove until today.

During the Persian wars, Naxos, as a member of the Athenian Alliance suffered a great deal of devastation whereas it later became part of the Empire of Alexander the Great, and subsequently part of the Roman and Byzantine Empires. Just like most of the Cycladic Islands, Naxos and its residents suffered from the continuous pirate raids, which eventually drove the coastal residents to reside to the inland regions.

In 1207 the Venetian Duke Marco Sanudo takes over the island and a new era starts, as Naxos becomes a mighty Ducat and incorporates all of the Cycladic islands, under Sanoudos’ domination. It was during this era that the main town of the island (Hora) got its impressive castle and many of the island’s towers, were also built. The Venetian occupation lasted until 1537, when the island was taken over by Barbarossa and Naxos became a part of the Ottoman Empire.
In May, 1821 the island was freed from the Turks and just like all the Cycladic islands, it became part of the newly formed Greek state with the signing of the protocol of February 3rd 1830.