A byzantine castle in the interior of Naxos island on a steep hill between the villages Sagri and Agiassos. It was the center of Byzantine Naxos until the 13th century, when the Venetians came to the island.

The Name of the Castle

Τhe name derives from apaliries, the name of an unusual bush that grows around the castle.

History

Though no record detailing the city’s founding exists, abundant ceramic remains and coins found here suggest it was established before the 7th century. The most probable chronology of the construction of the fortification is a bit later, maybe during the first years of the reign of the emperor Leo III (717-741).

The castle was the acropolis of the capital of the island in the Byzantine period which was located at the foot of the hill of Apaliros.

Apaliros was besieged for 40 days by the Venetian Marco Sanudo in 1207, in the aftermath of the Fall of Byzantium after the 4th Crusade (1204). The castle was the last defense of the Greeks of Naxos and when it fell, this was the beginning of the long occupation of Naxos (and of the rest of the Cyclades) by the Venetians, until 1537, when the Ottomans came.

Sanudo decided to build his castle in Chora, to be closer to the sea. So Apaliros was neglected and soon abandoned. According to one source, the castle was destroyed by Sanudo immediately after its capture to prevent other pirates or perhaps the Byzantines from using it as a stronghold against the Venetians.

Structure, Fortification & Buildings

The castle is built on a steep rocky hill.

It has an elongated layout on the North-South axis. Its area is 20,000 sq.m. and the perimeter of the walls is 745 meters.

The place has excellent natural protection and controls not only the plain but also the sea area between Naxos, Paros and Ios.

Today, a large part of the walls is preserved with towers and bastions, as well as the remains of about 250 houses, churches, bakery, olive mill, etc.

What is rare about this castle is the many water tanks (cisterns), which are the more visible constructions due to the extensive use of mortar in their construction. Water was obviously a problem for the castle (where there are no natural springs) and for this reason, a complex system of collecting and storing rainwater was in place.

There are two categories of cisterns:
a) 5 large cisterns of common use by the whole community that are not connected to a specific building.
b) 52 private cisterns integrated in houses, which are usually located in the basement of the building and are accessed internally from the upper floor.

Sources