Grotta's Archaeological site

The north side of the island which all the time from the blowing air of North is waving gives coolness and health to the residents. This side keeps many secrets of the Naxian civilization from the prohistorical years until today.
Years after years exploring, people discovered old houses in different layers from the 4th century B.C. until Mycenaic years and progeometrical years. The footpaths of these ancient monuments keep going in the beginning of the sea and until now showing clearly enough from the water.
Special architects said that, first opinion, this side slow down or second, the water covered this monument because of the overheeling of Mediterrenean Sea that is already proved from the scientists Inside in the same place discovered marble decorations and statues of Stadium in the Romaic and Helenistic years.
In the East side close to the main church Mitropolis discovered the last one corner of the ancient market.
This side took the name from the caves, under the mountain and the water get in side them in the heart of the little mountain.
This little mountain, close to the beach, totally finished the ancient history with many discoveries which was ancient samples of a civilization many years ago.
Some samples are sea buries, gold jewels, interested graphic shows on stones, useful items for battles, lions from layers of gold, bones, lower from the mountain discovered ancient buildings which one of them has an excellent mosaic in a very good situation. At the top of this mountain there is a monument at the name of a soldier who fell at the Battle with German.

Portara

is known as Palace, the small island with the huge gate, which pay the attention to all visitors for the first moment. There are so many questions about that ancient monument. German Velter solved some of these questions with his discoveries who did about 1924 and 1925 when he was student.
According to his discoveries in 1924, he found that the west side of the gate was the Temple of Apollo. It was starting built from the tyrant Leegdami (523- 506 b.c) but he didn’t finished. The Gate consists of three huge marbles. The fourth, in the base, cut during the Middle Ages and created a Door of Christianic Church. The Height is 34,92m and the width is 13,77m.
The marbles transferred from the quarries of village Flerio – Melanes.
The topical legend said that the Palace is the myth of Ariadne because according to the myth she fell in the sea when she abandoned from Theseus in Naxos Island.
The view from all the directions of the height of Palace is magically beautifull. The islands of Dilos, Mykonos, Syros, Tinos, you can see clearly in the horizontal, even the neighboring Paros which took place all the sunsets in a fantastic show.
In the deep ocean to the south side appeared the islands of Irakleia, Ios, Sikinos, Folegandros and Santorini.

The castle area

At the top of the hill there is an impressive monument which was built during the long Venetian rule (1204-1537). It is the natural acropolis of Hora where in the Venetian years must have been fortresses where had been built from Marcus Sanoudos at 1207. He created the Castle area which was consisted of 7 towers, but our days there is only one.
The other towers sold out from rich famous families and became houses.
The main Castle had 3 doors: at the beginning of the tower, the Entrance, which is still there, the exit door and the last one at the east side.
During invasion from pirates first of all closed the doors of simple settlements and then in case of an emergency surrounding in the Castle. The last defence was the main tower of Castle.
The location of Castle is still keep many of the characteristics from that epoch. Houses with large entrance room, some of them keep the type of palace duke like the houses of Dellaroca Grek etc. Labyrinth small roads is still keep painting every year from those who have stay.

The most interesting worth seeing sights in the Castle area are:
The Venetian Castle
The Catholic Metropolitan Temple
The Catholic Temple of Saint Antonio (Kappukinon)
The Catholic Temple of Virgin Mary Santa Kapella Kazatza
The Archaeological Museum
The Catholic Monastery of Ursulin (greek-french High School female)
The Catholic Temple of virgin Mary Lourdes
The Christian Church of Virgin Mary Theoskepasti
The Central Aqueduct

A medieval town in the heart of the Aegean is still keep its original form and inhabited continuously since 1207.

Dimitra's Temple

The great significance of this find is that it is a rare example of a marble temple of which more than 50 % of the ancient building material is preserved. This, together with its early date and the site chosen for the building, provides an endless source of information about ancient architecture.
The temple gives unique information about the construction of the marble roof, the early forms of the Ionic order, and about the curves and optical corrections similar to those observable in the Parthenon, but here a century earlier.
The temple is one of the few buildings of the ancient world that are preserved so fully and it is thus a visual source of information for the wider public. The temple at Sagri greatly complements the archaeological presentation of Iria: it is better and more fully preserved, and its forms, while monumental, are the simpler forms of a "rural" region by comparison to the more "urban" architecture of Iria.
Finally, it provides evidence for the creative evolution of Ionic architecture.
The temple of Gyroulas is the sacrifice place, designed expressly for the celebration of the mysteries. Well preserved also is a phase of its Christian period, when it was converted into a basilica.

Iria - Dionysus sanctuary

IRIA
A sacred place of the Aegean with uninterrupted life and function from the 14th century B.C. up to our times. It is the cradle of the Ionic order of the monumental Greek architecture. The sancturay of Iria has been located (1982), investigated (1986-1996) and presented to the public (1992-1996) by the University of Athens in collaboration with the Polytechnical School of Munich, with the financial support of both Univesities as well as the Ministry of Culture (research) and the Ministry of Aegean (presentation).
The religious function of the Iria sanctuary at Livadi, Naxos, dates back, to prehistoric times (1300 B.C.) and the use of the site for religious purposes continues until today. Its importance is attested not only by splendid architectural findations, but also by the numerous votive offerings dedicated to the deity worshipped in the sanctuary during all its long history, but especially during the earlier periods.
The importance of the buildings discovered at Iria is so great that scientific discussion on the subject has taken a central place in international archaeological bibliography and in handbooks on ancient architecture.
The worship of the site has had a brilliantly testified and uninterrupted sequence (worship of Dionysos in antiquity and of the relative St. George later on). This sequence supports in a vivid way all other evidence that bears witness to a cultural continuity at Naxos, since 1500 B.C.

Kouros (Flerio)

At Flerio, near the village of Melanes, in an idylliac location, near in the edge of a beautiful garden is laid a complete ancient statue belonging to
the 7th century b.c. with height 6.4 metres. It was found in the base of a stone fence.
He is from the first popular statue (kouros) in that epoch, who show the movement with his leg and the upper in his breast. One of his legs is broken.
We don’t know if he was half finished or abandoned there from his technician because he found “water” inside the marble.

Kouros (Apollonas)

The village of Apollon with the nice beach, the clean and clear water, in combination with the full of green there is a settlement about 150 residents with their small traditional houses.
Apollonas is a beautiful fishermen’s village on the north-eastern coast of Naxos, with an area where ancient marble quarries have been found. Near the village, at the entrance to an ancient quarry, there is an unfinished statue (a kouros) lying on the ground (10.45m. in leght). It stands in the spot where it was being carved, from where it has never been moved. It dates to the beginning of the 6th century BC.
Believed that display the God of Apollo, some other searches reported that is probably a sculpture of the god Dionysus. Finally year after year found an ancient inscription said that it was a Temple and belonged to God of Apollo.

Plaka's tower

It is an ancient Greek tower, situated on the dirt road, which connects the village Tripodes to Plaka beach.

Himarros tower

This tower is one of the most famous ancient monuments on the island and is situated towards the northeastern side of the
island, about half way between Zas, Naxos' highest mountain, and the sea. Himarros tower is an imposing, marble, circular
fortress, belonging to the Hellenistic period (4-3 centuries BC).

Apano Kastro (Upper castle)

It is situated on the top of a mountain in the area of Tragea. Apano Kastro (Castle) was in use during several
historical periods, from ancient times up to the Venetian rule. There are paths, which lead to the castle from the villages Tsikalario and Potamia.

The monastery of Fotodotis (Light giver)

It is situated next to the village of Danakos. According to a legend it was built by a princesse during the byzantine years

The church of Protothroni Virgin

The church of Protothroni Virgin (9th-10th cent.) in the village Halki is the biggest Byzantine church in Naxos,
with important wall paintings. Mass has been held here since Early Christian times until today.

The church of Drosiani Virgin

Just below Moni is one of the Balkans most important churches, Panagia Drosiani, which has faint, rare Byzantine frescoes from the 7th and 8th centuries. Its name means Our Lady of Refreshment, because once during a severe drought, when all the churches took their icons down to the sea to pray for rain, only the icon of this church got results.
The fading frescoes are visible in layers: to the right when you enter are the oldest -- one shows St. George with the Dragon Slayer astride his horse, along with a small boy, an image one usually see only in Cyprus and Crete. According to the legend, the saint saved the child and there met and slew the giant dragon that had terrorized the town. Opposite him was Saint Dimitrios, shown killing barbarians.
The church had made up of three chapels -- the middle one has a space for the faithful to worship at the altar, rather than in the nave, as became common in later centuries. Next to that was a very small secret school during the revolution. It is open mornings and then again late at night, in deserted winter, the bell was rung if it wasn’t open.

The monastery of Virgin Mary (Ypsilotera)

A monastery-tower dedicated to the Virgin Mary built in 1600, situated on the road, which leads from the village Galini to the coast of Amitis.

Monastery of Agia

In Agia, about 6 klm. from the village Apollonas, in a strategic spot near to the most northerly point of
the island is the Tower of Agia. Not far from the tower amongst plane trees and running water is the old
monastery of the Holy Virgin with its miraculous icon, which according to tradition, was found in the sea.