One of the most significant historical sites of Naxos Island are the three Kouroi, as the unfinished statues of young men are called, left on the very place where artists began to sculpt them. All the three statues come fro mthe archaic period (7-6 century BC). Two of them are located in Flerio near the village of Melanes, about 9 km from Chora, while the third and the largest is situated near the village of Apollonas, 35 km from Chora.

The statues express the idea people used to have about deities. The gods were human but still bigger than man. That is why scholars thinks these statues represent the most important gods of the island.

The Kouros near Apollonas from the 6th century is probably the most impressive one. Based on what we can see, the statue was supposed to be 10 m high, representing the god of wine, Dionysus. It lies close to the entrance of an old quarry close to the village. Both the size and shape of the statue can only be seen from a certain distance - at a close look, one could think it is just a large piece of marble. Scientists think the statue was left unfinished when fissures appeared in the marble, not allowing to complete it as it had been planned.