Naxos or Naxus was an ancient town of Crete

Crete

Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...

, according to the Scholiast (ad Pind. Isth. vi. 107) celebrated for its whetstone

Sharpening stone

Sharpening stones, water stones or whetstones are used to grind and hone the edges of steel tools and implements. Examples of items that may be sharpened with a sharpening stone include scissors, scythes, knives, razors and tools such as chisels, hand scrapers and plane blades...

s. Some classicists have doubted the existence of this city. The islands Crete and Naxos

Naxos (island)

Naxos is a Greek island, the largest island in the Cyclades island group in the Aegean. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture....

 were famed for their whetstones (Plin.

Pliny the Elder

Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...

 xxxvi. 22; xviii. 28), hence the confusion.

Modern scholarship and archaeology seem to confirm its existence. Naxos was located near the ancient city of Olous

Olous

Olous or Olus is an ancient, sunken city situated at the present day town of Elounda, Crete, Greece.-History:After continuing boundary disputes with the hillfort of Lato, the citizens of Olous eventually entered into a treaty with those of Lato...

, atop a mountain now called Oxa where ruins can still be found.