Despotiko is an uninhabited islet opposite Ag. Georgios, on the southwest coast of Antiparos, in which excavations were made in the Mantra area. On this islet, excavations have brought to light graves from the Proto-Cycladic and Cycladic periods. parts of an ancient temple from the classical times (dated to around 500 BC), marble parts of building complexes, figurines and other objects were also found.
In 1997 the excavation research brought to light a large part of the auxiliary spaces of a sanctuary. In particular, an elongated building complex consisting of five consecutive parallel rooms was revealed.. In the southern room of the archaic building A, under the floor, the most important movable finds were found which were probably placed under the slabs of the new floor of the room during the renovation of the temple in a second phase of the archaic period.
They are made from various materials of the Archaic period and are of Eastern Ionian, Rhodian, Cypriot and Egyptian origin. In the excavation area, many marble sculpture parts, two archaic kouro heads, the torso of a naked male statue, part of an inscribed archaic period enclosure, with the inscription "Mardis anethiken" have been found. A unique find is the large-sized figurine of a female deity in Daedalistic style, which dates back to around 680-660 BC. Another great find is the built marble square altar, dedicated to HESTIA ISTHMIAS of classical times, testimony to one of the worshiped deities. At the same time, he gives us the toponym of the cape where the sanctuary is located - ISTHMOS - and confirms the existence of an isthmus.
Sherds were found with the inscription "APOLLO" and "APTHME" or "APXHME" (6th-3rd century BC) which have led to the attribution of the sanctuary to Apollo, possibly alongside Artemis. After all, there are great similarities between the movable findings and the architectural elements of Despotikos with those of the sanctuary of Delios Apollo of Paros, which was also dedicated to Artemis.
As is known, the cult of Apollo was one of the most widespread in the Cyclades, with the sanctuary of Apollo in Delos. Traditionally there were a total of 22 secondary smaller and more modest sanctuaries. One of them was, as it seems, the sanctuary of Despotikos, which functioned from the 7th century. BC to the Roman years.
Despotiko is probably identified with the ancient Prepesinthos mentioned by Pliny and Strabo. The island was deserted in the 17th century due to pirate raids and is currently uninhabited.

Editor: Fotini Anastasopoulou