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Naxos, Greece: Martha Luehrmann steps into the Aegean The Aegean Sea is named for Aegis, the father of Theseus. Ionian Greeks came to settle Naxos in the 10th c BC. In the 7th & 6th c BC Naxos prospered, and Naxions dedicated many statues and sphinx. There was a slow decline in the 5th c BC, and Naxos became more of an area of exile from the mainland. There are many Venetian remains dating from the 13th c AD, when a Venetian was Duke of Naxos. There are no city walls, but houses form an outside wall, with a few gates that they could close in times of trouble. The corners of houses are rounded at street corners, to allow donkeys to pass more easily. Houses are piled on each other. In Naxos, land was passed through the female line. You could only own the land your house was on. You could own vertically, and inherit it, but not horizontally unless it was built upon, so houses are vertical and are built one on top of the other. The Duke and the rich nobilities lived on the heights of the town, while the poor lived lower down. The high lands were guarded by towers. Martha put her feet in the Aegean, and got some lovely rocks and shells, including a rock with a perfect “e”-shaped worm or snail track.. The Aegean here is very clear!