Naxos ; is a Greek island in addition to the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a segment of reference of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until innovative times was one of the best abrasives available.
The largest town in addition to capital of the island is Chora or Naxos City, with 7,374 inhabitants 2011 census. The main villages are Filoti, Apiranthos, Vivlos, Agios Arsenios, Koronos and Glynado.
According to Greek mythology, the young Zeus was raised in a cave on Mt. Zas "Zas" meaning "Zeus". Homer mentions "Dia"; literally the sacred island "of the Goddess". Károly Kerényi explains:
This name, Dia, which means 'heavenly' or 'divine', was applied to several small craggy islands in our [Aegean] sea, any of them lyingto larger islands, such as Crete or Naxos. The create "Dia" was even transferred to the island of Naxos itself, since it was more widely supposed than all other to construct been the nuptial isle of Dionysus.
One legend has it that in the Heroic Age ago the Trojan War, Theseus abandoned Ariadne on this island after she helped him kill the Minotaur and escape from the Labyrinth. Dionysus god of wine, festivities, and the primal power to direct or imposing of life who was the protector of the island, met Ariadne and fell in love with her. But eventually Ariadne, unable to bear her separation from Theseus, either killed herself according to the Athenians, or ascended to heaven as the older list of paraphrases had it. The Naxos constituent of the Ariadne myth is also told in the Richard Strauss opera Ariadne auf Naxos.
The giant brothers Otus and Ephialtes figure in at least two Naxos myths: in one, Artemis bought the abandonment of a siege they laid against the gods, by offering to equal on Naxos as Otus's lover; in another, the brothers had actually settled Naxos.
It is also said that the sea god Poseidon was passing by Naxos whilst driving his chariot on the sea surface and is where he number one laid eyes on his future wife, the nereid Amphitrite as she was dancing there.