GLINADO: A FARMING VILLAGE AND THE SANCTUARY OF DIONYSUS

Glinado (also spelled Glynado) is the kind of Naxos village that is easy to drive through and rewarding to stop in. It sits on a hillside at an elevation of roughly 100 metres, six to eight kilometres from Chora depending on the route and the source, looking out across the Livadi plain, the largest and greenest valley in the south-west of the island. The 2021 census counted 743 residents in the community, though older guides give about 500 for the village itself. Its fields have grown potatoes for generations; its churches carry dates from the 17th century; and in the marshy ground just below it lies one of the most important ancient sites on Naxos — the sanctuary of Dionysus at Yria, where the god of the island was worshipped for well over a thousand years.

Setting: Farmland, Reeds and Sunsets

Glinado is described as a farming village established around 1650, and it is one of the villages around the Livadi valley that are collectively known as the Livadochoria (sources differ slightly on exactly which settlements are counted). The valley runs from the coast up into the hills, and what strikes visitors first is the way it is kept: properties are divided and sheltered by lines of tall reeds, which break the wind and give shade in summer. The village itself is a modest cluster of flat-roofed, island-style houses with panoramic views, and its western exposure makes it a good place to watch the sun go down over the fields. It has a few tavernas, rooms to let and a small number of hotels, and it works as a handy local shopping stop on the main road that links Chora with the other villages of the south-west.

The Sanctuary of Dionysus at Yria

The reason to include Glinado in any serious Naxos itinerary lies below the village, in the plain at Yria (also written Iria), a few kilometres south-west of Chora. According to the Greek archaeological service, this was a site of worship with an uninterrupted life from the 14th century BC to the Roman era. It was the main cult place of Dionysus on an island that took him as its patron, and the myth of Ariadne — abandoned by Theseus and found by the god — is set on this island.

The story the stones tell is one of architectural invention. Worship was at first conducted in the open air, and from the Geometric period a series of buildings rose on the same spot with the same orientation. Most accounts count four main temples, though some count five. The earliest, around 800 BC, was a single room of wood and mud brick; later buildings, from the 8th and 7th centuries BC, grew larger and more monumental; and the last and grandest, begun around 580–570 BC, is the temple whose remains stand today. It is described by the Greek authorities as the oldest stone temple of the Ionic order in the Greek world, which is why Yria is often called the cradle of Ionic architecture. The building was later converted into a Christian basilica in the 5th or 6th century AD, and when frequent floods forced its abandonment, worship moved to the neighbouring church of Agios Georgios. The marshy ground that made the site difficult in antiquity is also what preserved so much of it.

The site was excavated and presented to the public between the 1980s and the 1990s by the University of Athens together with the Technical University of Munich. It has a small on-site museum collection with architectural fragments and votive offerings. Listings give free admission and morning-to-mid-afternoon hours, closed on Mondays, but these change, so check locally. One further detail, offered as a possibility rather than a fact: one guide suggests that the colossal unfinished statue of Dionysus lying in its quarry at Apollonas, in the north of the island, may have been intended for this sanctuary.

Old Churches and Village Feasts

The oldest sight in the immediate area is the church of Agii Saranta (the Forty Saints), about 500 metres before the village. It is a single-aisled, vaulted church that once belonged to the Xiropotamos monastery of Mount Athos, and the date over its door, 1638, is earlier than the village itself. In the village, the old parish church of the Transfiguration of Christ (“Christos”) has two aisles, with lintels dated 1654 for the north aisle and 1740 for the south; another source gives 1680 for the church, which probably reflects the way such churches were built in stages. Numbered marble flagstones in its courtyard have been found to cover the graves of villagers from all three neighbouring settlements. The church celebrates on 6 August, with live music and dancing in the square and the tavernas from the evening before. The more recent church of Agios Nikodimos at the entrance to the village was built in 1990 and celebrates on 13 and 14 July.

Walks Through the Fields

The lanes and tracks around the village are good walking country, with old chapels, a windmill, a tower and a number of abandoned hamlets among the fields. Local walking suggestions mention the church of Panagia Brostini, the Karegla windmill at Tzintili, the chapel of Tzannakou and a route through the deserted settlements of Louloudou and Tzitzamou. Wear sturdy shoes, as paths are rough and unmarked in places, and carry water.

Visiting Glinado Today

Glinado lies on the main road from Chora to the Livadi villages and the south-west coast, so it is simple to reach by car, and there are regular KTEL buses (check the seasonal timetable). Allow an hour in the village itself and another hour or two for Yria; combine the two with a late-afternoon walk if you can. The village stays quiet most of the year and fills with music only on feast days, so for the best atmosphere, time a visit for 13–14 July or 5–6 August.

Nearby: Galanado, Chora and the Beaches

The nearest village is Galanado, with its Venetian tower and twin chapel, and Chora, with its Portara and Old Market, is a short drive to the north (see our guide to Naxos Town). The popular beaches of Agios Prokopios and Agia Anna are close by on the south-west coast, which makes Glinado an easy half-day before an afternoon swim. For the mountains, continue to Filoti and Apeiranthos.

Glinado is not a showpiece. It is a working village in a green plain, with reeds, potatoes, a few fine old churches and a view of the sunset. But walk down from its square into the fields and you reach a place where people worshipped the same god for well over a thousand years, and where the Greek temple was first imagined in stone. That is a lot to find at the end of a farm track.