This is a permanent request.. That the Holy Temples in Naxos are open. In fact, most of them have a particular archaeological interest, because they carry millennia of history, they do not act as a channel for continuing the history of the island.
However, to open the Temples, especially in the wider area of ​​the center of Naxos, if we are talking about cfor blacks, even for Tragaia there must be security personnel. And this is an important issue…
Today we received news that makes us happy… One of the most important churches in Naxos, this Agios Georgios in Melanes for another year it opens its doors …
When and what days and hours? Based on relevant information from Cultural Association of Melanes “Kouros the Greek”: “After informing him Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades / Department of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Antiquities and Museums the Byzantine church of Agios Georgios in Melanes is open to the public from June 1 to October 31, 2024 as follows:
Baths that became Temples
How important is the holy temple located in the butterfly valley and next to the waterfalls? According to Orinos Axotis website “In the wider area of ​​the Melano settlement in Naxos, along the river running east of the settlement, there is a church dedicated to St. George. The church is surrounded by interesting wall ruins. In the church, the 2nd EBA conducted a systematic search (cleaning the frescoes). From a careful examination of the visible surface of some stone structures and from other elements related to the writers of the impression period it was established that the naydrium was a retrofit of a Roman bath.
The find was confirmed by the excavations that followed. The monument illuminates the period of late antiquity in Naxos and combines the ancient and Byzantine worlds with a beautiful continuity. The inscription on the built-in architrave was copied in 1896 by Michael I. Marcopoli. It was then published in Syntagma of the Naxos inscriptions (1903) from a print by Michael Crispi”.
In fact, we are talking about a Temple built on top of the Roman baths of the time and the research of archaeologists revealed both important frescoes from the Byzantine period and also beautiful frescoes from the Roman period in Naxos. And it was built (as far as the baths) around 3the or 4the century AD while the church is from the 12thu perhaps century. In fact, it is also included in route No. 6 in terms of hiking tourism, namely: Melanes (Agioi Apostolii) – (Kourounochori) – Mylos – Flerio (sanctuary of springs, ancient quarries) – Ano Potamia – Mesi Potamia – Kato Potamia – Episkopi ( Agios Mamas) ) – Metropolis Archaeological Society and the related report by archaeologists Themistocles Billis & Maria Magnisalis