Two of the oldest marble quarrying sites in historical times are located on Naxos. These are Melanes, in the interior of the island, and Apollonas, on its northeastern tip. Both sites preserve extensive traces of ancient quarrying, as well as semi-finished colossal statues in situ.
All three sculptures would have left the quarries roughly shaped, so that their final surface would not be damaged during transport; they would then have been worked on site at the location where they were intended to be erected. From the quarry they were lowered to their loading point on wooden sleds controlled by ropes that were gradually loosened, and sliding on a layer of marble chips (of which an abundance was produced in the rough working of the various objects). However, ultimately, due to some misfortune that damaged them, all three were abandoned in ancient times, unfinished, in the original positions of their rough processing, which is where visitors can now admire them.
The colossal statue at Apollonas
The quarries at Apollonas extend in a near semicircle, cut into the mountainside and within a close distance of the small bay, where the modern tourist village is. Typical traces of ancient quarrying are preserved around and above the colossal, half-finished statue located on site, up at the top of the hill. There is an inscription carved into the rocks there: ΟΡΟΣ ΧΩΡΙΟΥ ΙΕΡΟΥ ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΟΣ (late 5th to early 4th centuries BC).
The position of the inscription at the edge of the marble outcrop where the ancient quarries were located suggests that the entire area was regarded as sacred to Apollo, and therefore belonged to the god. A second hypothesis is that it may have been an open-air place of worship used by the quarrymen. In this case, it may be compared with the “Sanctuary of the Springs” at Flerio, in the quarries of Melanes, a monument of outstanding importance for the study of the origins of ancient architecture and sculpture. A third possible interpretation is that the inscription marked the extent of the land belonging to a sanctuary of Apollo, since it refers not to the boundary of a sanctuary but to the boundary of sacred land. If so, the quarry itself probably belonged to the sanctuary of Apollo, which either exploited it directly or leased it to private individuals. The ancient pier, remains of which survive in the nearby Bay of Apollonas, most likely served for the export of marble blocks from the quarries, whose installations have also been identified in the area, as well as for the transport of other goods. Extensive traces of quarrying are also visible on both slopes of the hill surrounding another bay, a short distance to the north, known as Aformos.
Both the modern tourist/fishing village where the ancient quarries are located, and the half-finished colossus, which still rests today in the place where it underwent the first rough carving after the marble block was separated from the parent rock, most likely owe their name to the aforementioned inscription (‘: ΟΡΟΣ ΧΩΡΙΟΥ ΙΕΡΟΥ ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΟΣ’).
The half-finished colossus is 10.45 m high and 2.63 m wide, dimensions that make it the largest known sculpture of the Archaic period. It is usually referred to as a ‘kouros’, but in reality, it is a clothed figure with a short beard and hair down to the shoulders, in an upright frontal position, with the left leg advanced and with both arms bent at waist height. Based on similar images, it can be assumed that the figure would hold a sceptre in its left hand and an object of symbolic value in its right, probably a vase.
Furthermore, the colossal size, which also implies its expensiveness, suggests it was a public commission rather than a private one. It is quite possible that it depicted a god, Apollo or Dionysus, both of whom were worshipped on Naxos.
If it was the god Dionysus, he would be holding Dionysian symbolic attributes, namely the kantharos in its right hand and possibly the thyrsus in its left hand, both of which would be made of bronze. In this case, it must have been ordered around 540 BC by the city of Naxos for the central sanctuary of the city’s patron god at Yria (its height is consistent with that of the fourth temple of Yria, constructed at the same time). If, however, it is assumed that it represented the god Apollo, then it was probably intended for the large-scale temple of Delian Apollo (Portara), which began to be built in 530 BC, but was never completed.
The fact is that the unfinished nature of the sculpture makes it difficult to date it. The body lacks any curves to it, even though the basic elements of the figure have already been determined: facial features, the profile of the short hair, footwear, etc. Certain typological elements, such as the way the himation is worn and the hair reaching to the nape of the neck, are characteristics of the late Archaic era.
It has been argued that the abandonment of the colossus in the quarry is due to a large crack that runs vertically through the left part of the statue from the head to the chest, although it is not possible to know exactly when this happened and it is not the only such fissure that exists in it. The reason for abandoning the sculpture could, however, be due to a historical event: in 500 BC the island managed to repel the Persian danger and perhaps then the city decided to make this magnificent offering to the god. However, in 490 BC the island was occupied by the Persians, resulting in its destruction and plundering and the enslavement of the inhabitants. Perhaps in the troubled times that followed, the grandiose plans and the most expensive offerings were abandoned, including the colossal statue to Apollo.
Whatever the reason for the abandonment of the sculpture, the fact that it was found in situ provides some very important archaeological information. First, for example, the cut made for its excision from the parent rock follows the outline of the figure. Also interesting is an engraved outline of the closed end of the god’s right hand marked with a double line. These elements indicate that the figure was sketched out on the rock before the quarrying of the volume necessary for the sculpting of the statue began in the marble. Secondly, that the determination of the proportions and basic forms of the statue were carried out in the quarry reveals that marble sculptors and stonemasons worked on site there until their sculptures were sufficiently advanced and the unnecessary mass/weight removed, making them lighter and easier to transport. Finally, both this and other semi-finished sculptures from the Archaic period known on Naxos, being each one preserved at different stages of work, allow scholars to follow the progress of an ancient sculptor step by step.
The Kouros of Farangi
The Kouros of Farangi, and the quarries round about it are much higher up on the hills south of Flerio (Melanes). They are accessible by a passage that starts from the Kouros of Flerio and can be followed by visitors thanks to its appropriate signage.
The Kouros has remained in its original position, on the ground, since the time of its manufacture (first half of the 6th century BC), when it was abandoned unfinished, probably due to an accident occurring in its movement from the quarry to its final destination where the last stage of its processing would have taken place. The accident must have been the breaking of the figure at its legs. This happened when its mass and weight – due to a miscalculation of the hardness of the ground in front of a high steep rock, which had been slightly worked to allow the work to slide more smoothly – was left unsupported between the head and the feet.
This is a nude male figure in an advanced stage of work: it is preserved from the head to the knee of the right leg, while the left leg is missing below a fracture running diagonally back from the middle of the thigh. The hair that fell either side of the head to the chest is at this stage of the work left as thin masses. The face has been completely detached, it is unknown when. The surviving length of the kouros is 3.83 m, and its total height would have been 5.50 m.
This statue, known to scholars at least since the end of the 19th century, was ‘rediscovered’ after a fire in 1990, which burned the shrubby vegetation in the quarry area, causing minor damage to its surface. The following year, Manolis Korres located two pieces of the right thigh in the surrounding stone walls (and glued them back to their original position). Later, he also found parts of the legs and the plinth of the statue, which after their restoration are exhibited next to the body of the statue.
The Kouros of Flerio
The closest to the sources of Flerio and the most easily accessible statue is the kouros of the same name (also called the ‘Greek’ by the locals). With the development of tourism, it has become one of the main attractions on the island
Its legs were again broken in an accident during its movement to lower down in the quarry. Under the statue, indeed, the layer of clay on which the sculpture was slid in its transfer can be seen. It is more complete than the kouros of Farangi: only the forward left leg is missing, broken off just above the ankle along with the corresponding piece of plinth; the right leg, broken off at the knee, is still preserved in one piece. This work was also colossal. Its full height is accurately estimated at 5.55 m.
The statue of Flerio was constructed in the same period as the kouros of Farangi, in the first half of the 6th century BC. It too shows all the characteristics expected of Naxian plastic art.
