Naxos Island has long history which includes the Venetian occupation, Byzantine period, Hellenistic period, Archaic period and goes back to Neolithic period. Naxos has history and culture. Churches with byzantine frescoes, ruins of neolithic settlements, ancient temples, Frank castles, Venetian castles, palaces are all evidence of past glories.
The island was first inhabited in the Neolithic period with significant signs of occupation in the 4th millennium. In some accounts, the island gained its name from Naxos, the king of the Carians who settled on the island. From the 3rd millennium the Cyclades displayed a distinct culture of their own – epitomised by the distinct Cycladic sculpture which had a penchant for minimalist standing figures carved from marble. From the middle Bronze Age, Naxos and the Cyclades were influenced by the Minoan civilization based on Crete and the later mainland-based Mycenaean civilization – evidenced in both architecture and art. The most important settlement at this time was Grotta, located on the western coast.
Timeline
- 3,000 BC – Cycladic Civilization
- 1,600 BC – 1,200 BC – Naxos influenced by Mycenaean Civilization
- 7th Century BC – Development of sea trade
- 523 BC century BC – Tyrant Lygdamis took over the leadership of the island
- 490 BC – The island devastated by Persians
- 338 BC – 326 AD – Roman occupation
- 362 – 1207 AD – Byzantine Empire
- 1207 – Venetian Marco Sanudo captured Naxos
- 1564 – Turkish Occupation
- 1830 – Naxos Island joins the Greek Nation