Museums & Collections in Naxos Island
Collection of Hellenic Currencies of Nikolas Moustakis
The Collection of Hellenic Currencies of Nikolas Moustakis is a good reason for a stop at Filoti. Within showcases, specially designed, the path of modern Greek history (and not only) of coins is shown.
In Apeiranthos:
Archaeological Museum
The museum houses finds of the prehistoric ages (pottery, Cycladic idols, Earthen pots, e.t.c.), which were brought to light by excavations made in different locations on the island. The most important finds- due to their rareness - are the dark coloured plaques with a striking decorations from the "korfi t'Antoniou", a small altar on the southeast shore of the island.
Geological Museum
The geological museum with a collection of more than 2000 rare exhibits (samples of minerals, rocks, metals and relics), is situated in the main road of the village. The emery has a prominent position in the museum, while there are displayed metals from other Cycladic island as well us from other regions of the planet as, like rocks from Mt. Etna and Mt. Vesuvius.
The Folk Art Museum
It is about a typical reconstitution of the interior of a common house in Apeiranthos, located in the central square of the village. The museum houses traditional weavings, tools, cooking utensils and bedroom furniture.
Natural History Museum
The museum was inaugurated in 1996 and has two different halls, one devoted to the see and one to the land. The first one includes among other things a large natural aquarium as well as a super collection of clams which were found in the hydrological basin of the "Perachoritis" torrent, while there are also displayed samples of Naxos' fauna, mainly bonds of various mammals.
Visual Arts Museum
The cultural centre of Apeiranthos houses a collection of works of sculpture, paintings, pottery and engravings. Most of these works are made by local artist.
In Sangri:
Gyroulas Archaeological Museum
In the archaeological sight of the ancient temple of goddess Dimitra in Sangri, you will see a very important museum which houses finds that give evidence to the holiness of the place as well as the architectural parts of the monuments which were not included in the reconstruction of the temple.
The museum is divided into two halls. The first hall in devoted to the usage of the sanctuary from the 8th to the 3rd century BC. Among other exhibits, the most important are: the restored pediment and part of the inner colonnade as well as the roof of the antique temple. The Kouros (meaning ‘'handsome man'') sculptures and the votives with inscription which were offered to the gods are of the same importance.
The second hall is devoted to the old Christian Basilica, the temple that was built at the same place in the 6th century BC and was surrounded by a monastery. The museum displays the inner parts of the temple, pieces from the pulpit as well as a marble window. In addition, among the exhibits you will see remnants of the pottery workshop i.e. patterns and oil lamps.