Athens: History & Highlights

About the destination: Naxos (/ˈnæksɒs, -soʊs/; Greek: Νάξος, pronounced [ˈnaksos]) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern time was one of the best abrasives available. The largest town and capital of the island is Chora or Naxos City, with 6,533 inhabitants (2001 census). The main villages are Filoti, Apiranthos, Vivlos, Agios Arsenios, Koronos and Glynado. According to Greek mythology, the young Zeus was raised in a cave on Mt. Zas ("Zas" meaning "Zeus"). Homer mentions "Dia"; literally the sacred island "of the Goddess". Károly Kerényi explains: This name, Dia, which means 'heavenly' or 'divine', was applied to several small craggy islands in our [Aegean] sea, all of them lying close to larger islands, such as Crete or Naxos. The name "Dia" was even transferred to the island of Naxos itself, since it was more widely supposed than any other to have been the nuptial isle of Dionysus. One legend has it that in the Heroic Age before the Trojan War, Theseus abandoned Ariadne on this island after she helped him kill the Minotaur and escape from the Labyrinth. Dionysus (god of wine, festivities, and the primal energy of life) who was the protector of the island, met Ariadne and fell in love with her. But eventually Ariadne, unable to bear her separation from Theseus, either killed herself (according to the Athenians), or ascended to heaven (as the older versions had it). The Naxos portion of the Ariadne myth is also told in the Richard Strauss opera Ariadne auf Naxos. The giant brothers Otus and Ephialtes figure in at least two Naxos myths: in one, Artemis bought the abandonment of a siege they laid against the gods, by offering to live on Naxos as Otus's lover; in another, the brothers had actually settled Naxos.

About the destination: Mykonos is a popular tourist destination in the Greek islands of the Cyclades group, situated in the middle of the Aegean Sea. In the 1960s, Mykonos became a bohemian mecca and is now one of the glitziest holiday resorts in the country that happily flaunts its sizzling style and reputation. This central Cyclade was for years the premier Mediterranean resort for gay travellers, though recently Mykonos has tried to reinvent itself for a more varied clientele, though nightlife is still very gay-friendly, it is a paradise for any reveller with loud and long nights. Chora or Mykonos town is the main town on the island. It is filled with narrow, winding streets, whitewashed buildings with blue trim, nice restaurants, clothing and jewellery shops, a fish market and a vegetable market. It is one of the most cosmopolitan and crowded towns of the Aegean. Besides Chora, there is only one other town on the island, Ano Mera. Ano Mera is quiter and less touristy. While you are here, visit the Monastery of Panagia Tourliani, a traditional Greek Orthodox Church which has a beautiful iconostas. The island is dry and barren, but there are some fine, sandy beaches, the two most well-known being Paradise and Super Paradise, but there are many other beaches you can seek out around the island. From the charming port, catch a boat out to the beaches or out to Delos, and you will be travelling from the present into the ancient past, from one set of myths to another.