Join Thor and me as we tackle another twisty, steep coastal road to visit a Venetian tower and the archaic Dionysos Kouros.
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.
Time for breezy fresh air, but we’ll finish our museum tour in a later post. With valiant Thor at the wheel, we drove along the rugged north coast in search of the giant, unfinished kouros lying in an ancient marble quarry. You may recall from our previous visit to Naxos that we found two of the smaller, unfinished kouros statues farther inland. These statues typically represent naked youths standing in a set pose, like this larger-than-life-size example in the Athens museum.
However, our “quarry” this day had a different style. Buckle up for the drive! The persistent winds were still stirring the sea as we started out along rocky coves and steep hillsides, some of them terraced, dotted with the usual small, whitewashed chapels.
Thor started gripping the steering wheel more tightly as we climbed higher along sheer dropoffs over the sea.
We were both glad to park along the shoulder for a break to explore the Tower of Agia, one of many Venetian guard towers on the island, built in the 1600s. When pirates or other attackers were spotted approaching the island, a fire would be lit atop the nearest tower, and then other towers would also light fires, passing the alarm along so residents could move into protected fortresses. Close by the tower of Agia was a monastery of the Holy Virgin. Women who had taken certain vows would honor them by walking barefoot across the rocky terrain from the village of Apollonas 6 kilometers away.
A path led us from the road to the tower. Thor, as usual, had to duck.
I love the old olive trees that are real survivors in the islands.
The peeling facade of the tower revealed the rock walls.
An adjoining building housed what appeared to be an antique olive press and grinding stones.
As we continued our drive, the landscape opened up over the rough sea.
We found the ancient quarry, and the giant unfinished statue 35 feet long and weighing 30 tons, as ominous rain clouds started closing in.
The roughed-out statue was carved in place, a common practice in the open marble quarries of the Archaic period around the 7th century B.C. No one is sure why it remained unfinished — perhaps because it had cracks, or because it was too heavy to move. It’s easy to see that it was not intended as the typical kouros pose, as the figure has one arm extended and is bearded.
We are siding firmly with the locals, and some archaeologists, who conclude that this is a statue of the island’s patron god Dionysos, whose mature images are bearded. Others argue that it was intended as a statue of Apollo, but he was never depicted with a beard. (A similar disagreement, as I mentioned earlier, surrounds the ancient Portara in Naxos Town, and which god it was intended to honor.) Since my novel-in-progress carries themes of Ariadne and Dionysos on this island, I choose Dionysos for inspiration. At any rate, this sign seems to clinch it, as far as the locals are concerned:
We hope he enjoys his view over the sea!
Next week: We’ll continue our drive with a visit to the village of Apollonas below the quarry, and on to a high mountain village as we wend our way inland.
*****
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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