“This island has sweetness, a lot of silence, the faces of people was innocent... and the sea peacefull”

Nikos Kazantzakis (“Report to Greco”, original title “Anafora ston Greko”)

Naxos Town

It is the capital of the island, also called Hora by the local inhabitants, as it usually happens when referring to the capital of most of the Aegean islands. It is located in the north-western part of the island, exactly where the ancient settlement used to be.

Naxos is traditionally the island of Dionysus, that was here raised by the local nymphes. Legends also wants it that the Athenian hero Theseus, on his way back from Crete, abandoned Arianne here, Minos King of Crete’s daughter, after she had helped him defeating the Minotaur. That’s the way Dionysus met Arianne and fell in love with her. Unfortunately, Arianne was overwhelmed with the sad feeling of being abandoned and betrayed by Theseus, thus deciding to kill herself, jumping from the higher cliff of the Island of Bacchus, the Palatia. This is the story that would inspire the great German musician and conductor Richard Strauss to write his “Arianne of Naxos” in 1912.

The main historical sites in Hora are the ruins of the ancient Temple of Apollo, with only its huge door left, named Portara. It is situated on the islet of Palatia, exactly north of the port, which is linked to the main island since 1919; the remains of the Mycenaean settlement at Grotta, in the northern part of town, opposite Naxos Cathedral; moreover, on the hill, the Castro with its venetian church, the Archeological Museum, with the second largest collection of Cycladic objects (after Athens Museum); the Orsoline School and the ruins of Marco Sanudo’s Castle, opposite the Catholic Cathedral and the Crispi Tower with the family emblem.