Νaxos’s prominent position in the Aegean Sea during Byzantine times (6th-15th centuries) is indicated by the large number of churches that date to this period and which is not rivaled by any other island in the region.
The number of churches with frescoes is estimated at around 120 — out of a probable initial total of about 200 — including those with iconography that has been found to have been whitewashed up to five times.
The Byzantine churches are dispersed throughout the island but with greater density in the valleys, such as in the Sagri area – where the early Byzantine fort of Apaliros has a commanding presence and the central basin of Tragea, where the mid-Byzantine Church of Panagia (Virgin Mary) Protothroni has been in uninterrupted service to this day.
The architecture of Naxos’s Byzantine churches comes in mainly three styles: the three-aisle basilica (to which most churches belong), the free cruciform (about 12) and the circumscribed cruciform (five or six of great importance).
There are also arched roof and mausoleum-type churches, single-aisle basilicas – with or without a dome – and a “three-in-one” architectural marvel with multiple domes, Panagia Drossiani in Tragea.
Many Byzantine churches lay abandoned for a long time and an inestimable number of frescoes are thought to have been lost due to dampness and erosion.
In the last 50 years or so, however, the archaeological service has carried out a vast amount of restoration and maintenance work.
The square, domed Church of Agios Ioannis Prodromos (St. John the Baptist), of the 11th-13th centuries, i ...
The square, domed Church of Agios Ioannis Prodromos (St. John the Baptist), of the 11th-13th centuries, is supported by four arches which place it in the so-called “mausoleum”-style category. It was l ...
Agia Kyriaki church is located roughly 3km from Apiranthos on Naxos. It dates back to the Iconoclastic pe ...
Agia Kyriaki church is located roughly 3km from Apiranthos on Naxos. It dates back to the Iconoclastic period of the 9th century, approximately, and constitutes one of the most significant Byzantine m ...
Agia Kyriaki church, located in Chora’s Nio Chorio quarter, is one of Naxos’s most commonly depicted monu ...
Agia Kyriaki church, located in Chora’s Nio Chorio quarter, is one of Naxos’s most commonly depicted monuments, both through paintings and photographs. During Ottoman times, Agia Kyriaki served as a m ...
Agia Marina is the main church in Koronos village on Naxos. The older of the two aisles, built before 120 ...
Agia Marina is the main church in Koronos village on Naxos. The older of the two aisles, built before 1200, was dedicated to Agios Ioannis (St. John) and the later one, dating to the 16th century, to ...
Agii Apostoli is a cruciform, domed Byzantine church of the 10th-11th centuries and of rare architectural ...
Agii Apostoli is a cruciform, domed Byzantine church of the 10th-11th centuries and of rare architectural style, being the only two-storey church found on Naxos. The top floor, which was probably a c ...
The temple of Saint Artemis at Stavros, between Tragia and Sagri, is a simple one-room church with a dome ...
The temple of Saint Artemis at Stavros, between Tragia and Sagri, is a simple one-room church with a dome in which the sanctuary holds the entire eastern antenna. ...
Agios Georgios on Naxos is a cross-shaped, domed Byzantine cemeterial church of which the exact date of c ...
Agios Georgios on Naxos is a cross-shaped, domed Byzantine cemeterial church of which the exact date of construction is unclear. The octagonal drum of its dome is unique amongst all the other Byzantin ...
Recent archaeological research in frescoes and inscriptions in the Church of Agios Georgios on Naxossugge ...
Recent archaeological research in frescoes and inscriptions in the Church of Agios Georgios on Naxossuggests it was built on the ruins of another, early Christian church that may have been the oldest ...
Agios Georgios Diassoritis on Naxos is a Byzantine church in the Tragea valley, located between Chalki an ...
Agios Georgios Diassoritis on Naxos is a Byzantine church in the Tragea valley, located between Chalki and Monitsia. It is a cruciform, domed church of the 10th-11th centuries, with many and rare fres ...
The double-aisled, arched church of Agios Thalleleos on Naxos seems to have been part of a monastery whic ...
The double-aisled, arched church of Agios Thalleleos on Naxos seems to have been part of a monastery which, together with those of Photodotis and Agia, is mentioned in a 1509 document ceding them to t ...
