Join Thor and me as we arrive by ferry on Naxos, home of the god Dionysos and his mortal bride Ariadne.
NOTE: Since our recent trip to Greece to research more settings for my novel-in-progress, THE ARIADNE DISCONNECT, Thor and I knew we had to return to this magical region. My first entry in this new blog series posted here on Saturday, 10/20/2018. It gives an overview of our rambles from Athens to seven islands in the Dodecanese and Cyclades groups, ending our ferry-hopping pilgrimage on the anciently sacred island of Delos.
Thor and I had to tear ourselves away from the green sweetness of Kos, the healing island (see previous blog posts), but were excited to return to Naxos in the Cyclades islands. We felt we hadn’t had time the previous year to see all that we wanted to, and I needed to do more research for critical scenes in my novel underway. Nothing like boots (or sandals) on the ground to really soak in the scents, sights, sounds, and general feel of a place. It was a fun ride on the SeaJets ferry, with lots of wind and rough seas persisting, possibly the lingering effects of the unusual Cyclone Zorba that hit when we arrived in the islands.
Waves were really crashing against the unprotected shoreline away from the main Kos Town jetty and harbor:
Naxos has been inhabited since around 4000 B.C., and a tiny islet connected to the town harbor has probably been a center of worship since before the Bronze Age. What can’t be missed is the monolithic Archaic Portara that presides over the settlement and presents a gateway to the sea:
Six meters high, it was built of Naxian marble by the Tyrant Lygdamis to celebrate the dominance of the island in regional trading. Unfortunately, war broke out, and the proposed temple was never completed. Scholars are divided over the divinity to be honored: Apollo, or the island’s patron god Dionysos. I vote for Dionysos, as it makes more sense given that Naxos was his home during most of each year’s cycle, according to myth. (He presided over mainland Delphi during the winter.)
Regardless of which god claims the site, the Portara is a truly impressive structure even in its rough-hewn state. Thor and I felt it had an almost Egyptian feel to its monumental presence, very different from most of the temple sites and columns we’ve seen elsewhere in Greece. But that may be due to its unfinished shape. You can still see the knobs that provided handles for moving it into place, which would have been removed in the finishing stages.
A causeway connects the islet to the harbor, which was a wet walk that day with the wind lashing waves over the walkway.
A modern statue, a female figure partially emerging from the stone, graces the entrance to the causeway. Perhaps it’s Ariadne, waiting for Dionysos. Tradition has it that the Cretan princess was abandoned here on the islet by the Athenian Theseus, after she’d helped him escape the labyrinth and monstrous Minotaur back on Crete. Grieving, she was found here by Dionysos, who fell in love with the beautiful mortal and married her. Apparently they had several children and lived a happy life on Naxos, perhaps aided by the grape vines and wine that were the god’s gifts to humanity.
The island went through the usual series of occupations, including the Venetian influence of the winding cobbled lanes and buildings climbing the hill above the harbor. The latest occupation is by tourists wandering the shops and tavernas along the harbor and climbing into the labyrinth uphill.
As always, there are small shrines along the way.
And, of course, never a shortage of wandering cats to guide us along:
Next week: the Venetian tower at the top of the hill, part of the original castle now housing a museum of Cycladic history and art.
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You will find The Rambling Writer’s blog posts here every Saturday. Sara’s latest novel from Book View Cafe is available in print and ebook: The Ariadne Connection. It’s a near-future thriller set in the Greek islands. “Technology triggers a deadly new plague. Can a healer find the cure?” The novel has received the Chanticleer Global Thriller Grand Prize and the Cygnus Award for Speculative Fiction. Sara has recently returned from another research trip in Greece and is back at work on the sequel, The Ariadne Disconnect. Sign up for her quarterly email newsletter at www.sarastamey.com
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