18 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The 11-meter giant statue of the island of Naxos “Dionysus of Apollonas”

One of the two ancient marble quarries, thought to have begun the sculpture, the greatest art of antiquity, is located near the coastal settlement of Apollonas of Naxos, the largest of the Cyclades group of islands in the Southern Aegean.

Naxos has a great wealth of monuments from various eras that attest to the cultural changes that occurred in the Aegean over the centuries due to its geology, history, size, and location.

The road from Hora to the northern village of Apollonas is 37 kilometers long. A little above the village of Apollonas, there is the Apollon quarry, one of the rare stone quarries whose name has been known since ancient times.

On the hill and slopes of the former quarry, one can still see the enormous but unfinished 11-meter statue (Kouros) of Dionysus, as well as numerous fragments of other unfinished statues, architectural building pieces, chisel marks, and carved surfaces.

The Kouros is an extraordinarily large statue: thus even slightly larger than the Colossus of Delos, a statue representing the god Apollo, the largest marble statue ever erected in Greece, which also came from Naxos.

Photo: Wikipedia

A monumental statue that descriptions do not do justice to, because it is more than important, more than majestic.

It’s almost unimaginable that, on an island in the middle of the Aegean, at a spot next to a touristic seaside village, a supine statue 10.7 meters long and weighing 80 tons has survived for 27 centuries, in the very same ancient quarry where it was originally created. The Kouros of Apollonas, also called the Colossus of Dionysus is a sight that everyone should see at least once.

The top of the hill above the quarry features an inscription that reads “ΟΡΟΣ ΙΕΡΟΝ ΧΩΡΙΟΥ ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΟΣ” (“Holy Mountain of Apollo”). It dates to the 7th-6th century BC and probably belongs to a sanctuary of the god that existed there.

Because it was near the town of Apollonas, the statue was previously thought to be an Apollo statue. Because of its proximity to the Apollo sanctuary, Bondelmonte referred to it as a “statue Apollonis” in the fifteenth century. In 1840, Ludwig Ross referred to it as the Statue of Apollo. Although Wilhelm von Massow identified the statue as Dionysos in 1932, the name stuck for a long time. It is now classified as a kouros.

Colossus of Dionysus.

Most kouros statues depict naked young men with their arms at their sides. It is clear, however, that the Kouros of Apollonas was to be a depiction of an older man with a beard, with his right arm stretched out in front of him.

The figure is roughly carved, but the body, head with beard and ears, and beginning of the hair are all discernible. The stonemasons have cut the arms as rudimentary rectangles, and the shaping of the feet has begun; they are set on a 50 cm high plinth.

The archaic kouroi have usually been interpreted as depictions of Apollo. On account of its beard, the Kouros of Apollonas has instead been interpreted as the Greek god Dionysus.

Archaeologists believe that those statues were predestined to hold on to a temple roof, but their ancient sculptors abandoned them due to faults in the marble and stone used. The paradox in the case of this particular Kouros is that it did not come off after it was made, although there are no obvious defects in its construction.

It is a monument of immense value, because it is located in its natural environment and not in some museum, a fact which helps the viewer better appreciate the culture that developed on the islands during antiquity.

Related Articles

The sword, thought to be a replica, turned out to be an authentic 3000-year-old Bronze Age sword

22 January 2023

22 January 2023

A sword in Chicago’s Field Museum that was previously thought to be a replica has been revealed to be an...

Traces of 9300-year-old settlement unearthed near Volcanic Cappadocia in central Turkey

28 August 2022

28 August 2022

During the most recent excavations at Sırçalıtepe Mound (Sırçalıtepe Höyük) in Türkiye’s central Niğde province, archaeologists discovered traces of a...

Archaeologists discovered on Tunisian coast three shipwrecks, one of which 2,000 years old

8 June 2023

8 June 2023

A team of archaeologists from eight countries—Algeria, Croatia, Egypt, France, Italy, Morocco, Spain, and Tunisia bordering the Mediterranean Sea has...

Metal signature of Roman 19th Legion identified at Teutoburg battle site that shook Rome in AD9

5 December 2022

5 December 2022

Researchers in Germany have identified the metallurgic signature of the Roman 19th Legion in artifacts recovered from the Battle of...

Whispers of Time: Exploring the Enigmatic Bronze Age Towers of Oman

24 February 2025

24 February 2025

The ancient Bronze Age towers scattered across Oman, dating back nearly 5,000 years, have long been a subject of curiosity...

Ancient Library With Unparalleled Architecture Found in Stratonikeia, Marble City of Gladiators

24 June 2025

24 June 2025

An ancient marvel, unique in design and history, is being unearthed in the heart of southwest Türkiye. Archaeologists working in...

Magical Roman Phallus Wind Chime Unearthed in Serbia

15 November 2023

15 November 2023

Archaeologists have unearthed a Roman phallus wind chime known as a tintinnabulum, during excavations at the ancient city of Viminacium...

Evidence of Medieval Scotland in Inverness revealed by building work

19 June 2021

19 June 2021

Archaeologists in Scotland have discovered medieval remains during excavations for construction work, and they are exposing mysteries about the industrial...

6,500-Year-Old Neolithic Circular Enclosures Discovered in Rechnitz, Austria

10 September 2025

10 September 2025

Rechnitz, Burgenland (southeastern Austria, near the Hungarian border) – Archaeologists have uncovered extraordinary traces of Neolithic life dating back more...

A Sunken Port Beneath the Red Sea May Have Reshaped the Map of Human Migration Out of Africa 20,000 Years Ago

26 July 2025

26 July 2025

New research suggests an ancient trade hub lies beneath Egypt’s Red Sea coast—offering clues to how early civilizations connected Africa...

Burial of Ascetic Monk in Chains Reveals Surprising Identity: A Woman in Byzantine Jerusalem

15 February 2025

15 February 2025

A recent archaeological discovery near Jerusalem has challenged long-held beliefs about ascetic practices in the Byzantine era, revealing the remains...

Negev desert archaeological site offers important clues about modern human origin

22 June 2021

22 June 2021

The archaeological excavation site at Boker Tachtit in Israel’s central Negev desert offers evidence to one of human history’s most...

Terracotta Figurines of the ancient cult of the goddess Cybele discovered in Pompeii Domus

26 December 2023

26 December 2023

Archaeologists unearthed 13 terracotta figurines during recent excavations in the Domus adjacent to the “House of Leda and the Swan”...

Historic bath set to turn into gastronomy gallery

4 May 2024

4 May 2024

Built between 1520 and 1540 in the Sur district of the eastern province of Diyarbakır, the historic Çardaklı Hamam is...

The Lord’s Prayer Carved in Stone with Scandinavian Runes and a Picture of a Boat Discovered in Ontario, Canada

17 June 2025

17 June 2025

Hidden deep in the northern Ontario wilderness, an extraordinary archeological discovery has puzzled researchers and captured the imagination of history...