History and Cultures
It is full of...
rich and interesting history
Paros has a very rich and interesting History.
It is full of picturesque churches, chapels and monasteries, windmills, and you stumble across historical remains wherever you go, some of them of great significance in Greek History. Paros has been inhabited since the inhabited since the Early Cycladic period 3200-2700 B.C.), In Paros, important archaic burial grounds have been discovered in Abyssos and Kampos, while another archaic cemetery, recently unearthed in Parikia itself, is now being opened to the public.In the Archaeological Museum of Parikia you can admire finds dating from the Early In the earliest antiquity Paros used to be called Minoa, from the first settlers that came from the Minoan Crete. Later it was occupied by Arcadians, led by Parios son of Parrasios, who gave the island its definitive name. After the Arcadians, Paros was inhabited by Ionians. It was during their time that Paros started flourishing and even founded a colony on the island of Thassos.Paros was the birthplace of several poets and artists. Paros was renowned for its marble and some of the greatest structures in the Hellenic world originated form these marbles.
Agias Trias Cathedral
in Lefkes.
Ancient Cemetery
in Parikia, approx. 400 m from the port heading left of approx. 700 BC.
Archaeological Museum
in Parikia, just behind the Church of Ekatontapliani. A fragment of the 3rd-century Parian Chronicle is the most important exhibit - next to many other interesting findings
Churches in Naoussa
Several important churches of ~ 15th century in Naoussa, including Catholic Church.
Marble Quarries at "Marathi" on the way to Lefkes
Abandoned but interesting to visit. This is where the marble came from in the ancient times that was considered the world's best.
Venetian Castle
in the little harbour of Naoussa.
An amphitheatre
in Lefkes, plus an interesting library.
Ancient Wall
just beneath the Kastro (Parikia)
Church of Ekatontapiliani
("Our Lady of Hundred Doors") in Parikia just 200 m from the port. The most imposing church in the Cyclades and one of the most important in Greece, approx. 1.600 years old. On the 15th of August its nameday (a public holiday) is celebrated with a lot of festivities. Actually they are three churches in one, and legends rank about the fact that only 99 doors have been counted. According to one tradition, the church was built by St. Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, and recent finds seem to support this. Others say that Katapoliani, as the locals call it, was built during the reign of Emperor Justinian, though there was a pre-existing church which in turn was constructed on the site of an ancient gymnasium or theatre.
Museum of Popular Civilization
in Lefkes.
Venetian "Kastro"
in the old quarter and at the highest point of Parikia from the 13th century.