Apollo Temple, Portara

The Portara is the monumental marble gateway of an unfinished Temple of Apollo on the islet of Palatia in Naxos harbour, begun in 530 BC by the tyrant Lygdamis. Intended to rival the temples of Olympian Zeus in Athens and Hera on Samos, the planned structure would have measured 59 by 28 m with a peristyle of 6 by 12 columns. Construction halted when Lygdamis was overthrown by a Spartan intervention in 524 BC. The massive marble lintel stones, too heavy to move, have stood in place for over 2,500 years as Naxos's most iconic landmark.