The scale
Ten and a half metres of marble lying on an open slope.
Olaf Tausch โ CC BY 3.0 ยท Zde โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท C messier โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท
**A colossal unfinished statue still lying in its quarry after 2,600 years** โ about **ten and a half metres** long, on a slope above the village of Apollonas in the far north of Naxos. It is still **attached to the rock** it was being cut from: lying on its back, its general form complete โ head, arms held to the body, legs โ but **rough and unpolished**, because the final finishing was done after transport. โ It was never moved: **the marble most likely cracked during the work**, so it was left where it lay โ and that is what preserved it. Who it represents is disputed: it was traditionally called **Apollo** (hence the village's name), but the beard suggests **Dionysus** is more likely. โ Its real value is that it **shows you sculpture halfway through**: a stage you see in no museum, because museums display only what was finished. โ Reaching it requires a short steep climb.
Ten and a half metres of marble lying on an open slope.
Chisel marks and a pre-polish stage no museum can show you.
The back remains attached to the quarry โ it was never detached.
Apollonas, 84300 Naxos, Greece
**Its being unfinished is precisely why it matters.** โ **What a kouros is**: an **Archaic** Greek statue of a standing nude young man, **arms at his sides**, left foot slightly forward, with a faint smile. They were set up in sanctuaries as dedications or over graves, and are among the best-known types of early Greek sculpture. โ **Why this one matters**: every kouros in a museum is **finished and polished** โ showing you the result and hiding the process. **This one stopped halfway**: you see the **chisel marks**, you see that the general form was cut **in the quarry before transport** (to reduce weight), and that **polishing and detail were left to the end**, after arrival. โ **So you are looking at a workshop, not a gallery.** โ **Naxos has a second kouros**, smaller, at **Flerio/Melanes** near town โ easier to reach, in a prettier setting (a green valley), **and more finished**. โ **If you have time for one**: Flerio is closer and more enjoyable; Apollonas is bigger and stranger.
**Not on its own โ but yes as part of an island loop.** โ **As a there-and-back trip for the statue**: an hour and a quarter each way on a very winding coast road, for **half an hour** at an unfinished statue with no explanation. That is frankly **a poor deal**, and many people come back feeling it. โ **As a loop**, it becomes excellent. **The order**: leave Naxos town north on the **west coast road** (the sea views are superb the whole way), stop at **Apollonas** for the statue, then a **fish lunch** in the village and a swim off its small beach, then **return through the interior** past **Koronos**, **Apeiranthos** and **Filoti** โ and you will have seen the whole island in a day. โ **Allow the full day** and do not try to compress it into half. โ **The alternative if you do not want the loop**: the **Flerio kouros**, only 10 km from town โ the same idea for ten minutes of driving.
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