Naxos is the largest island in the Cyclades. The expansive, rolling hinterland rises to a large mountain range bisecting the island. The high peaks and steep slopes of the uplands, fertile plains and insular landscape make for an environment of contrasts. Naxos is ideally suited for crop and livestock farming, the islanders’ main occupations, and is also rich in minerals and commercial shipping.

In the Early Bronze Age (3200-2000 BC) Naxos was one of the prominent commercial and cultural centres of Cycladic civilization. Archaeological excavations have brought to light an extensive network of settlements and cemeteries, revealing the density of habitation, while groups of Cycladic figurines prove the existence of workshops around the island. Evidence of the island’s organisation and prosperity lies in the wealth of information that can be used to reconstruct the image of sites such as the citadel on Korfari Amygdalies at Panormos, the settlement and cemeteries of Grotta at Aplomata and Kamini, the cemetery of Agioi Anargyroi, and the late Neolithic installation at Za cave. Together with the large number of marble finds, the high quality of Naxos marble and emery leave no doubt as to the island’s commercial and artistic significance in Cycladic Bronze Age culture.

Archaic period sanctuaries and sculptures stand as indisputable evidence that Naxos maintained its influential position in the Aegean in historic times. In 490 BC the island was razed by the Persians before aligning with Athens, either as a member of the First and Second Athenian Alliance or as a vassal. In the Hellenistic period Naxos was a member of the League of Islanders (2nd century BC.) and in 41 BC was incorporated into the Roman Province of the Islands in the Aegean (Provincia Insularum).

Information about the early Christian period on the island is provided by ecclesiastical texts. Naxos belonged to the Diocese of Rhodes; its first bishops were Auxentios and Barachos, who participated in the Ecumenical Councils of Serdica (343) and Chalcedon (451) respectively. There are a significant number of Byzantine churches on Naxos, the most typical form being the vaulted single-nave oblong basilica . Several of these were built over ancient temples. Panagia Drosiani at Moni and Panagia Protothroni at Halki stand out among early Christian churches, both of which retain the earliest layers of decorative frescoes from the 6th and 7th centuries. One particularly interesting feature of wall painting on the island is the high concentration of nonfigurative iconographic programs dating to the Iconoclast controversy (724-843). Directly linked to contemporary historical events, they are to be found in the churches of Panagia Protothroni, Agios Artemios, Agia Kyriaki, and Agios Ioannis (St. John) the Theologian.
 
In the 7^th century Naxos became the target of attacks by Saracen pirates, not least on account of its key location on the trade route connecting Constantinople to Alexandria. Arab interest in the island remained strong over the next centuries, leading to repeated raids by the Arab Emirate of Crete (824-961) in the 9th and 10th centuries. Furthermore, it seems that Naxos and other Aegean islands fell under Cretan Arab control in the mid-10th century.

The island’s trading status improved following the onset of the Crusades. Contemporary sources record stock farming and trade in its commodities as the Naxiots’ principal occupation. A chrysobull issued by Emperor Alexius III Angelus in 1198 included Naxos among the areas where the Venetians enjoyed tax exemptions and trade concessions. Throughout the Byzantine period the capital of the island was Apaliros Castle, to the south of Sangri.

After the fall of Constantinople to the Franks in 1204 and the treaty partitioning the Byzantine Empire (Partitio Terrarum Imperii Romaniae), Naxos initially became seat of the so-called Territory of the Dodecanese. A few years later, in 1207, Venetian nobleman Marco Sanudo and his men landed at Agiassos Bay and occupied the island. He proceeded to take another eighteen islands and establish the Duchy of the Aegean, designating Naxos as his headquarters. One of Sanudo’s first projects on the island was to build a wall around Chora (Naxos town), on the site of the ancient citadel, and then to transfer the capital there from Apaliros Castle. An attempt by Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus to retake the island in 1262 proved short-lived, as the next Venetian duke, Guglielmo Sanudo, recaptured Naxos and restored rule until about mid-16th century.  The period of Venetian domination ended in 1537, when Hayreddin Barbarossa, commander of the Ottoman fleet, conquered Naxos and made it tributary to the sultan.