Naxos is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. Naxos was the center of archaic Cycladic culture, and, according to Greek mythology, a young Zeus was rasied on the island, while it was the nuptial isle of Dionysus. According to the legends of the pre-Trojan War "Heroic Age", Theseus abandoned Ariadne on Naxos after killing the Minotaur and escaping from the Labyrinth, and Dionysus fell in love with her. However, she was then said to have either killed herself or ascended into heaven due to her unbearable heartbreak. During the 8th and 7th centuries BC, Naxos dominated commerce in the Cyclades, and it joined the Athenian-led Delian League during the Greco-Persian Wars; the Persian attack on Naxos in 502 BC was the spark that led to the Ionian Revolt, which, in turn, led to the Greco-Persian Wars. In 476 BC, Naxos was the first member state to attempt to leave the Delian League, but Athens responded by forcibly removing the island's navy and demanding tributes of gold instead of military aid from the island. During the Peloponnesian War, Naxos was ruled by the Spartan-allied oligarch Myrrine, and it fought against the Athenian-allied archon Silanos of neighboring Paros as the result of a long dispute over the marble trade. During the Byzantine era, the island suffered from Saracen raids, especially during the Emirate of Crete's reign of terror from 824 to 961. In 1205-1207, in the aftermath of the Sack of Constantinople, the Venetian Marco Sanudo conquered the Cyclades from a group of Genoese pirates, and it remained under Venetian rule until 1566. Refugees from Antalya and Alanya fled to Naxos after the Seljuk conquest of the two cities in the 13th century, and, in the 14th century, the Aydinids raided Naxos. In 1341, 6,000 Naxians were enslaved in a Turkish slave raid. In 1566, the Ottoman Empire conquered the island, and it remained under Turkish control until 1821, when, during the Greek War of Independence, the islands revolted. In 1832, they formally became part of the Greek state. In 2011, Naxos had a population of 18,904 people.
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