Axos: Antiquity, Church Art and Woodcarving

Axos brings together a range of cultural themes: ancient city history, early Christian architectural remains, church paintings and woodcarving. These traces belong to different periods. If you would like to focus your stay on culture, you can use these themes as a guide and consider whether history, religious art or sculpture interests you most.

Ancient Oaxos and Early Christian Traces

The ancient city of Oaxos, also called Axos, flourished in the 7th and 6th centuries BC. In the 4th century BC, Oaxos minted silver coins; during the Hellenistic period, the city was the seat of the Cretan Council. These details point to different aspects of its history: an early period of prosperity, coin minting and a political role in a later era. Axos was also a bishopric during the Early Byzantine period.

The surviving traces in Axos include visible remains of the ancient city walls and the remains of an aqueduct. Several churches also preserve early Christian architectural elements made of marble. These traces can be distinguished from the later church buildings and add several layers of history to the area. If you like to place historic sites in their chronological context, Axos offers concrete points of reference, without blending ancient, early Christian and later art into a single chapter.

Frescoes and Architectural Forms in Two Churches

The Holy Church of Agios Ioannis Prodromos has well-preserved 14th-century frescoes. They depict scenes from the life of John the Baptist. The present-day church was built on the site of a Proto-Byzantine church; parts of the arch and the mosaic floor from the earlier building have survived. Here, medieval wall paintings and earlier architectural remains stand side by side as distinct traces of the past.

The Holy Church of Agia Irini preserves fresco fragments depicting scenes from the Christological cycle and individual saints. Its architecture provides another distinctive feature: the church consists of a single-aisled, vaulted space with a dome and a narthex added on the west side. “Single-aisled” describes a main space without multiple aisles; the narthex is the entrance area at the front. This allows you to distinguish between the surviving images and the layout when exploring the building.

Woodcarvings in the Museum

The Museum of Woodcarving Georgios Koutandou in Axos displays sculptures featuring traditional folk forms, depictions of nature, and religious and social themes. The permanent exhibition consists mainly of life-size wooden sculptures. One work is titled “The Eagle and the Office” and is approximately six metres long. Its approximate length makes it a striking example in the exhibition; at the same time, the exhibition’s range of themes extends beyond a single subject.

The artist’s workshop is in the same building as the museum. This adds another connection to Axos’s cultural landscape: woodcarving can be seen both in the permanent exhibition described here and in the workshop located in the museum building. Together with the churches and ancient remains, it forms a distinct point of interest alongside the city’s history.

Axos as a Place to Search for Your Stay

If you would like to shape your holiday around history, church art and woodcarving, these themes can guide your search for a holiday rental in Axos. Consider whether you are most interested in the ancient city, frescoes and architecture, or wooden sculptures. The different themes also offer several topics to explore on a trip with varied interests: they range from coins and ancient building remains to religious images and folk forms.

Discover more destinations: Aggeliana, Agios Pavlos, Vederi, Pikris, Aghia Triada, Keramota, Chromonastiri, Gallos.

For the wider travel overview: Rethymno.