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NAXOS (Ancient city) SICILY
Naxus (Nachos: Eth. Nachios: Capo di Schiso). An ancient city of Sicily,
on the E. coast of the island between Catana and Messana. It was situated on a
low point of land at the mouth of the river Acesines (Alcantara), and at the foot
of the hill on which was afterwards built the city of Tauromenium. All ancient
writers agree in representing Naxos as the most ancient of all the Greek colonies
in Sicily; it was founded the year before Syracuse, or B.C. 735, by a body of
colonists from Chalcis in Euboea, with whom there was mingled, according to Ephorus,
a certain number of Ionians. The same writer represented Theocles, or Thucles,
the leader of the colony and founder of the city, as an Athenian by birth; but
Thucydides takes no notice of this, and describes the city as a purely Chalcidic
colony; and it seems certain that in later times it was generally so regarded.
(Thuc. vi. 3; Ephor. ap. Strab. vi. p. 267; Scymn. Ch. 270-277; Diod. xiv. 88.
Concerning the date of its foundation see Clinton, F. H. vol. i. p. 164; Euseb.
Chron. ad 01. 11. 1.) The memory of Naxos as the earliest of all the Greek settlements
in Sicily was preserved by the dedication of an altar outside the town to Apollo
Archegetes, the divine patron under whose authority the colony had sailed; and
it was a custom (still retained long after the destruction of Naxos itself) that
all Theori or envoys proceeding on sacred missions to Greece, or returning from
thence to Sicily, should offer sacrifice on this altar. (Thuc. l. c.; Appian,
B.C. v. 109.) It is singular that none of the writers above cited allude to the
origin of the name of Naxos; but there can be little doubt that this was derived,
as stated by Hellanicus (ap. Steph. B. s. v. Chalkis), from the presence among
the original settlers of a body of colonists from the island of that name.
The new colony must have been speedily joined by fresh settlers from
Greece, as within six years after its first establishment the Chalcidians at Naxos
were able to send out a fresh colony, which founded the city of Leontini, B.C.
730; and this was speedily followed by that of Catana. Theocles himself became
the Oekist, or recognised founder, of the former, and Euarchus, probably a Chalcidic
citizen, of the latter. (Thuc. l. c.; Scymn. Ch. 283-286; Strab. vi. p. 268.)
Strabo and Scymnus Chius both represent Zancle also as a colony from Naxos, but
no allusion to this is found in Thucydides. But, as it was certainly a Chalcidic
colony, it is probable that some settlers from Naxos joined those from the parent
country. (Strab. vi. p. 268; Scymn. Ch. 286; Thuc. vi. 4.) Callipolis also, a
city of uncertain site, and which ceased to exist at an early period, was a colony
of Naxos. (Strab. vi. p. 272; Scymn. Ch. l. c.) But notwithstanding these evidences
of its early prosperity, we have very little information as to the early history
of Naxos; and the first facts transmitted to us concerning it relate to disasters
that it sustained. Thus Herodotus tells us that it was one of the cities which
was besieged and taken by Hippocrates, despot of Gela, about B.C. 498-491 (Herod.
vii. 154); and his expressions would lead us to infer that it was reduced by him
under permanent subjection. It appears to have afterwards successively passed
under the authority of Gelon of Syracuse, and his brother Hieron, as we find it
subject to the latter in B.C. 476. At that time Hieron, with a view to strengthen
his own power, removed the inhabitants of Naxos at the same time with those of
Catana, and settled them together at Leontini, while he repeopled the two cities
with fresh colonists from other quarters (Diod. xi. 49). The name of Naxos is
not specifically mentioned during the revolutions that ensued in Sicily after
the death of Hieron; but there seems no doubt that the city was restored to the
old Chalcidic citizens at the same time as these were reinstated at Catana, B.C.
461 (Id. xi. 76); and hence we find, during the ensuing period, the three Chalcidic
cities, Naxos, Leontini, and Catana, generally united by the bonds of amity, and
maintaining a close alliance, as opposed to Syracuse and the other Doric cities
of Sicily. (Id. xiii. 56, xiv. 14; Thuc. iii. 86, iv. 25.) Thus, in B.C. 427,
when the Leontini were hard pressed by their neighbours of Syracuse, their Chalcidic
brethren afforded them all the assistance in their power (Thuc. iii. 86); and
when the first Athenian expedition arrived in Sicily under Laches and Charoeades,
the Naxians immediately joined their alliance. With them, as well as with the
Rhegians on the opposite side of the straits, it is probable that enmity to their
neighbours at Messana was a strong motive in inducing them to join the Athenians;
and during the hostilities that ensued, the Messanians having on one occasion,
in B.C. 425, made a sudden attack upon Naxos both by land and sea, the Naxians
vigorously repulsed them, and in their turn inflicted heavy loss on the assailants.
(Id. iv. 25.)
On occasion of the great Athenian expedition to Sicily (B.C. 415),
the Naxians from the first espoused their alliance, even while their kindred cities
of Rhegium and Catana held aloof; and not only furnished them with supplies, but
received them freely into their city (Diod. xiii. 4; Thuc. vi. 50). Hence it was
at Naxos that the Athenian fleet first touched after crossing the straits; and
at a later period the Naxians and Catanaeans are enumerated by Thucydides as the
only Greek cities in Sicily which sided with the Athenians. (Thuc. vii. 57.) After
the failure of this expedition the Chalcidic cities were naturally involved for
a time in hostilities with Syracuse; but these were suspended in B.C. 409, by
the danger which seemed to threaten all the Greek cities alike from the Carthaginians.
(Diod. xiii. 56.) Their position on this occasion preserved the Naxians from the
fate which befell Agrigentum, Gela, and Camarina; but they did not long enjoy
this immunity. In B.C. 403, Dionysius of Syracuse, deeming himself secure from
the power of Carthage as well as from domestic sedition, determined to turn his
arms against the Chalcidic cities of Sicily; and having made himself master of
Naxos by the treachery of their general Procles, he sold all the inhabitants as
slaves and destroyed both the walls and buildings of the city, while he bestowed
its territory upon the neighbouring Siculi. (Diod. xiv. 14, 15, 66, 68.)
It is certain that Naxos never recovered this blow, nor rose again
to be a place of any consideration: but it is not easy to trace precisely the
events which followed. It appears, however, that the Siculi, to whom the Naxian
territory was assigned, soon after formed a new settlement on the hill called
Mount Taurus, which rises immediately above the site of Naxos, and that this gradually
grew up into a considerable town, which assumed the name of Tauromenium. (Diod.
xiv. 58, 59.) This took place about B.C. 396; and we find the Siculi still in
possession of this stronghold some years later. (Ib. 88.) Meanwhile the exiled
and fugitive inhabitants of Naxos and Catana formed, as usual in such cases, a
considerable body, who as far as' possible kept together. An attempt was made
in B.C. 394 by the Rhegians to settle them again in a body at Mylae, but without
success; for they were speedily expelled by the Messanians, and from this time
appear to have been dispersed in various parts of Sicily. (Diod. xiv. 87.) At
length, in B.C. 358, Andromachus, the father of the historian Timaeus, is said
to have collected together again the Naxian exiles from all parts of the island,
and established them on the hill of Tauromenium, which thus rose to be a Greek
city, and became the successor of the ancient Naxos. (Diod. xvi. 7.) Hence Pliny
speaks of Tauromenium as having been formerly called Naxos, an expression which
is not strictly correct. (Plin. iii. 8. s. 14.) The site of Naxos itself seems
to have been never again inhabited; but the altar and shrine of Apollo Archegetes
continued to mark the spot where it had stood, and are mentioned in the war between
Octavian and Sextus Pompey in Sicily, B.C. 36. (Appian, B.C. v. 109.)
There are no remains of the ancient city now extant, but the site
is clearly marked. It occupied a low but rocky headland, now called the Capo di
Schiso, formed by an ancient stream of lava, immediately to the N. of the Alcantara,
one of the most considerable streams in this part of Sicily. A small bay to the
N. affords good anchorage, and separates it from the foot of the bold and lofty
hill, still occupied by the town of Taormina; but the situation was not one which
enjoyed any peculiar natural advantages.
The coins of Naxos, which are of fine workmanship, may almost all
be referred to the period from B.C. 460 to B.C. 403, which was probably the most
flourishing in the history of the city.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
A Greek city on the eastern coast of Sicily, founded B.C. 735 by the Chalcidians of Euboea, and the first Greek colony established in the island. In B.C. 403 the town was destroyed by Dionysius of Syracuse; but nearly fifty years afterwards (358) the remaining Naxians scattered over Sicily, were collected by Andromachus, and a new city was founded on Mount Taurus, to which the name of Tauromenium was given.
This text is cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
TAVROMENION (Ancient city) SICILY
Now Taormina; a city on the eastern coast of Sicily, situated on Mount Taurus, from which it derived its name, and founded B.C. 358 by Andromachus with the remains of the inhabitants of Naxos. For the remains of the great stone theatre at this place, see Theatrum.
NAXOS (Ancient city) SICILY
The first colony founded by the Greeks in Sicily, in 734-33 B.C. according
to Thucydides (6.3). The site, in the district of Giardini, is on a level area
of lava flow from the Moio volcano between the mouth of the Santa Venera stream
(SW) and a small bay NE which was favorable as a landing. The area, closed in
by the ridges of Monte Tauro, where Taormina is situated, is ca. 1 km from the
Alcantara river, which must have constituted the only important means of communication
with the inland areas.
The site appears to have been inhabited from prehistoric times. Remains
of neolithic huts have been isolated as has a flourishing settlement of the Bronze
Age (with pottery in the style of Thapsos). For the period immediately preceding
colonization, traces of the presence of the Sikels have been found who, according
to Strabo, were in the area when the Greeks arrived. The founders of Naxos were
primarily Chalkidians, but Ionians were also involved, and their leader was Thoukles.
Notices regarding life in the colony in the 7th and 6th c. B.C. are
sparse. The only notable episode in this period is the foundation of Kallipolis.
At the beginning of the 5th c. B.C., Naxos, together with other Chalkidian cities,
was attacked by Hippokrates of Gela and the citizens expelled. Only after 460
B.C. did life in the city begin again. In the war between Syracuse and Athens,
Naxos was on the side of Athens. Some years after the defeat of Athens, Dionysios
of Syracuse took the city (404-403 B.C.) through a ruse, according to Polyainos
(5.2.5), destroyed it, and gave its territory to the Sikels, while the citizenry
was dispersed (Diod. 14.87). In the second half of the 4th c. B.C., a new city
arose over the destroyed one and coined its own money. Recently, some of its tombs
have been discovered. A small nucleus of homes must have survived around the bay
down to the Roman and Byzantine periods.
In addition to large sections of the perimeter of the walls, excavations
have brought to light elements of the urban plan from the archaic and Classical
periods. To date, two phases have been recognized: one dating to the 7th-6th c.,
and the second corresponding to the reconstruction of 460 B.C. There is particular
interest in the first phase of the settlement for the study of Greek city planning,
since it is part of a colonial foundation which precedes the work of Hippodamos
of Miletos. Some quarters have been partially explored including the N sector,
a group of dwellings N of the W sacred precinct, and the E sector.
The sacred precinct in the extreme SW corner of the city near the
Santa Venera has been uncovered almost entirely. This is perhaps the temenos epithalassion
of Aphrodite mentioned by our sources (App. Bell. Civ. 5.109). There is also a
trapezoidal enclosure built in two periods (between the end of the 7th c. and
the middle of the 6th c. B.C.). It contains the foundations of two buildings:
Temple A, the oldest (about 600 B.C.) and Temple B (525 B.C.). There are also
a square altar with three steps and two kilns for architectural terracottas and
pottery of the same date as Temple A.
The walls which enclose the temenos are imposing and were constructed
of lava rock of quite accurate polygonal workmanship, comparable to the walls
at Delphi and at Smyrna. They constitute one of the the most interesting examples
of such workmanship in the W Mediterranean area. That technique, in fact, is rarely
encountered in this area in the archaic period (cf. the examples at Velia and
at Lipari).
To the two sacred buildings have been attributed two architectural
terracotta friezes of which numerous examples are extant collected in a storeroom
near the N wall of the temenos (wall E). The most recent series, belonging to
Temple B, is composed of simas and chests with molded and painted decorations.
There is a frieze of lotus and palm leaves, evidently based on Ionic models.
The series of Silenos antefixes must have adorned smaller buildings
and are of various types, from one very old example with a counterpart in Samian
models dating to the second half of the 6th c. to more recent ones from the mid
5th c. B.C. The materials found in the sacred precinct comprise terracotta figurines
(usually standing female figures with a dove or flower on the breast), various
types of pottery, and numerous spear and sword points. These materials were found
deposited in trenches or in thysiai, together with the bones of sacrificed animals,
often near stones which were set upright and used as stelai. These thysiai were
set out around the altar.
The potters' quarter has been extensively explored. It was situated
on the edge of the city, in the N sector in the vicinity of Colle Salluzzo. There
is also a complex of three kilns, two circular and one square, which were active
in the 6th and 5th c. B.C. Remains of buildings have been brought to light which
were used for the working of pottery and as depositories for equipment, among
which the molds for Sileni antefixes and for figurines have been discovered. The
site of the altar of Apollo Archagetes is not known, but it was nearby that the
Greeks united before their expeditions and, according to Thucydides (6.3), it
was outside the city.
In the necropolis a group of tombs dating to the 6th-5th c. B.C. have
been recovered W of the Santa Venera, ca. 600 m from the river, while 4th c. tombs
have come to light in the immediate environs of the river as well as over the
slopes of the hill on which the modern cemetery is located.
The renowned coinage of Naxos (6th-5th c. B.C.) shows consistently
the head of a bearded Dionysos in profile, crowned with ivy and grape clusters
hanging from vine shoots. Later, other subjects were substituted, such as the
crouching Silenos raising a kantharos on high.
Naxos produced pottery of distinctive character particularly in the
8th c. and 7th c. B.C. It is distinguished from the other Sicilian shops (those
at Syracuse and at Megara Hyblaia) by decorative motifs which nearly always recall
the influence of Euboean-Cycladic pottery.
The initial dig in the archaeological zone has already been opened
to the public and the site will, as time goes on, extend over a large part of
the city. Today, it includes the Sanctuary of Aphrodite, the W stretch of the
city walls, and the quarter of the vase makers in the district of Salluzzo. An
Antiquarium situated on Punta di Schiso is now being built.
P. Pelagatti, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains 56 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
TAVROMENION (Ancient city) SICILY
A city on the slopes of Mt. Tauro, 250 m above the sea, on the road
from Messina to Katane. Of the early Sikel habitation little is known; only the
necropolis, on the hillside above the city, has been excavated. The Greek city
was founded in 358 B.C. by descendants of the Naxians, whose city on the shore
below had been destroyed by Dionysios of Syracuse in 403.
The Greek agora corresponds roughly to the modern Piazza Vittorio
Emanuele; its W edge may have been delimited by a Doric peristyle temple, one
corner of which can be seen behind the church of S. Caterina. The foundations
of a large building have lately been excavated behind the Caserma of the Carabinieri;
this structure probably defined the N side of the agora. Outside the adjacent
Messina gate are traces of the city wall, which appears to have followed the lines
of the extant mediaeval walls. The nearby church of S. Pancrazio is founded on
the ruins of a temple in antis, probably dedicated to Zeus Serapis. The scanty
remains possibly of a third temple can be seen above and to the E of the theater;
they underlie the upper portico of the theater structure. An important building
of the Greek period has recently come to light in Via Bagnoli Croce below the
theater: situated on a sloping terrace, it has a central peristyle, behind which
are rooms on at least three sides. On the N is a larger room at a higher level;
fragments of inscribed wall plaster suggest that this room was a library. The
entire complex may then be identified as the gymnasium, the existence of which
had been known from inscriptions.
Tauromenion flourished during the Roman domination, especially after
the founding of a colony by Augustus in 30 B.C. The agora was retained as a forum.
Behind the Greek building that delimited the N side of the agora were the municipal
baths, a part of which has recently been excavated. Three large rooms of brick-faced
concrete formed the S exposure of the building; these were heated, two with hypocausts.
Other rooms to the N are incorporated in modern houses; parts of these can be
seen in the extant walls known as the Zecca. Abutting on the temple at the W side
of the forum is a small odeion, dated like the baths to the Imperial period. The
scaena, directly in front of the peristyle temple, was decorated with niches;
the entire structure had a wooden roof. About 100 m E of the forum is the theater,
cut into the slopes of one of the city's acropoleis. It was constructed of brick
and concrete in the 2d c. A.D. An earlier Greek theater was probably on the same
site; to it may belong some inscribed seats and masonry walls, used as foundations
for the Roman stage building. The scaenae frons, inaccurately restored, was articulated
by two superimposed colonnades and pierced by three arches; the latter are open,
representing a concession to the splendid site with its superb view of Aetna and
the sea. The upper cavea was crowned with a vaulted colonnade. At a later period
the theater was transformed into an arena. Below the forum of the city is the
handsome brick wall known as the Naumachia. Decorated with alternating niches
and false windows, this structure had a purely functional role; it formed the
outer wall of a large two-aisled cistern, now mostly destroyed; and it served
to terrace the steep hillside. Other large vaulted cisterns have survived in Vicolo
Floresta and in Contrada Giafari above the town, indicating the existence of a
complex system for the collection and distribution of water. Important local inscriptions,
works of sculpture, mosaics, and other antiquities are kept in the small antiquarium
above the theater, in anticipation of the completion of the Museo della Badia.
M. Bell, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains 95 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
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