Naxos (Sicily)

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Ancient wall in Naxos

Naxos ( Greek Νάξος ) was the first Greek colony in Sicily .

location

The ancient city extends on the Schiso peninsula. The area is bordered by the Venera River and the bay. The peninsula forms a natural harbor for ships drifting away from the Calabrian currents. Today the place Giardini-Naxos is located in the same place near Taormina in the metropolitan city of Messina .

history

Náxos was founded in 735 BC. Chr. - 734 BC BC probably founded by residents of the city of Chalkis under the leadership of Theocles; however, the name of the colony also points to the Cycladic island of Naxos . Thucydides reports of the erection of an altar dedicated to Apollon Archegétes . The altar has not yet been found.

The city itself founded new colonies again, 730 BC. BC Katane and Leontinoi , probably also 728 BC BC Zankle ( Messina ). Later she was subjugated by Hippocrates of Gela and fought in 415 BC. Chr. On the side of Athens . After the city was destroyed in 403 BC Chr. By Dionysius came v 358th To a settlement of the surviving inhabitants in Tauromenion .

The excavations

The excavations are separated from the sea by a wall built in the 19th century. As a result, you lose sight of the old city and the location by the sea. Here too, the city layout shows a regular structure. In the excavation site there are foundations of houses that are identical to the houses of Megara Hyblaea . The 5 m wide main streets are crossed every 39 m by streets at right angles. There are bases at the intersections, but their purpose is unknown. A city wall was built in the 6th century BC, remains of which are still preserved today.

The museum

The small museum shows finds from Náxos. Among other things, fragments of vases and decorations are on display. You can see the strong ties to Evia in the exhibits .

literature

  • Maria Costanza Lentini: Le origine di Naxos. Nuovi dati sulla fondazione. In: Lieve Donnellan, Valentino Nizzo, Gert-Jan Burgers (eds.): Contexts of early colonization (= Papers of the Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome. Volume 64). Palombi, Rome 2016, pp. 311–322.
  • Lieve Donnellan: Oikist and Archegetes in Context: Representing the Foundation of Sicilian Naxos. In: Naoise MacSweeney (Ed.): Foundation Myths in Ancient Societies: Dialogues and Discourses . University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia 2015 pp. 41-70.
  • Maria Costanza Lentini (ed.): Naxos di Sicilia. L 'abitato coloniale e l' arsenale navale. Scavi 2003-2006. Sicania, Messina 2009.
  • Giulia Falco, Eckart Olshausen : Naxos 2. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 8 ,, Metzler, Stuttgart 1996-2015, ISBN 3-476-01470-3 , Col. 767 f.

Coordinates: 37 ° 49 ′ 30 ″  N , 15 ° 16 ′ 10 ″  E