Naxos is the largest island in the Cyclades. It's said to be the greenest, too, though that is not saying a whole lot. Naxos Town, the largest town on the island, makes a good first impression. The waterfront is pretty and looks to have plenty of cafes and amusements.
After checking in to our hotel we ate dinner then walked to the massive marble doorway called the Portara, entrance to an unfinished Temple to Apollo.
The tyrant Lygdamis ruled Naxos during the third quarter of the 6th Century BC. He had an ambitious building program. In 530 BC he began work on a huge Temple of Apollo. The Temple was never completed. In 524 BC, Lygdamis' rule over Naxos was ended when he was overthrown by the Spartan army. His construction project came to a halt. The Portara, the lintel of the temple, is all that stands of the temple today.
