Cape Papas Lighthouse

The archaeological site of Nas is located in northwestern Ikaria, at the point where the Halaris River flows into the Aegean. Here are the ruins of the ancient sanctuary of Artemis Tauropolos, known as the “Tauropolion,” built in the 6th century BC and one of the island’s most important places of worship. The goddess’s name, Tauropolos or Taurobolos, indicates her role as a force of fertility but also decay in nature. Inside the sanctuary stood a statue of Artemis, which has not survived. The temple was destroyed in the 18th–19th centuries, when its building materials were used to build churches. Today only ruins remain, mainly the floor and the foundations of the sanctuary.