The so-called Portara is what remains of the monumental entrance of an Archaic temple dedicated to Apollo.
Located on the islet of Palatia, connected to the port of Chora (the main town of Naxos) by an artificial causeway, it was intended to be a peripteral building, approximately 59 x 28 meters (about 193 x 92 feet) in size. However, construction was prematurely interrupted, likely by the end of Lygdamis’s tyranny (around 506 BCE), possibly due to political or economic reasons.
The only surviving structure still standing is the imposing entrance lintel, composed of four blocks of local marble and approximately 6 meters (about 20 feet) tall, known as the Portara. This element, likely the temple’s rear entrance, is oriented towards Delos, the center of the Apollonian cult.
Each individual block is estimated to weigh more than 20 tonnes (about 22 US tons).