Portara
Naxos, Greece
Once the ship reaches the port of Naxos the visitor sees Portara, which impresses with its size and construction. It is built on the islet of Bacchus or Palaces, next to the port, making the giant marble portal of the cella of archaic temple which was dedicated to the Dilio Apollo. Designed as a Temple Pavilion, but was never completed. The church began to build around 530 BC, age of the tyrant Lygmami. Portara is made of four marbles, that each one has 6 meters’ length and weighs 20 tons. The temple faces towards Delos and so it is compared with the Temple of Dilio Apollo there. In Christian times the Church was built on the ruins of an ancient temple, according to the custom of the Venetian era, many pieces of the temple were used for the construction of the Castle, while the Turkish occupation the destruction continued. The giant doorframe always stayed upright in the centuries and was known by the locals as Portara.
Once the ship reaches the port of Naxos the visitor sees Portara, which impresses with its size and construction. It is built on the islet of Bacchus or Palaces, next to the port, making the giant marble portal of the cella of archaic temple which was dedicated to the Dilio Apollo. Designed as a Temple Pavilion, but was never completed. The church began to build around 530 BC, age of the tyrant Lygmami. Portara is made of four marbles, that each one has 6 meters’ length and weighs 20 tons. The temple faces towards Delos and so it is compared with the Temple of Dilio Apollo there. In Christian times the Church was built on the ruins of an ancient temple, according to the custom of the Venetian era, many pieces of the temple were used for the construction of the Castle, while the Turkish occupation the destruction continued. The giant doorframe always stayed upright in the centuries and was known by the locals as Portara.
