Naxos

A Greek island in the southern Aegean Sea.

Naxos is the largest island in the Kyklades (Cyclades) Group; 169 square miles (438 square kilometers) in size; also known as Dia.

Naxos was the island where Theseus deserted Ariadne and she met the god of wine, Dionysus; Ariadne either fell in love with Dionysus or she threw herself from the cliffs of Palatia into the sea.

Marble for the statues which decorated the sacred island of Delos were quarried on Naxos.

The island became the crux of the armed conflict known as the Ionian Revolt when the Persians tried to invade the island and gain a staging area for the conquest of the other islands of the Kyklades and, eventually, mainland Greece; after a four month siege, the Persians withdrew from Naxos without any significant gains.

Later, circa 490 BCE, the troops of king Darius invaded Naxos but the people ran rather than resist the massive Persian force; all those who were captured were enslaved.

Approximate east longitude 25.35 and north latitude 37.02.

• Odyssey, book 11, line 321
• Histories, book 1, chapter 64; book 5, chapters 28-33; book 6, chapter 96; book 7, chapter 154
• Hymn to Dionysus, line 2
• Hymn to Apollon, line 44