Paros Page 6 See our Greece hotels for a complete look at accommodations available on this island.
Inhabited since prehistoric times, Paros had a Bronze Age installation on the hill above Paroikia. From the 8th Century BC until the Persian Wars it was active in trade, mainly because of the quarrying of marble.
Legend has
it that in in 326
AD St. Helen, mother of the Emperor Constantine was traveling from Rome
to the Holy Land by sea and put into Paros during a storm. She prayed
that if she was sucsessful in her pursuit of the true cross and was landed
safely in Jerusalem, to build a church on Paros. She was and her son dutifully
fulfilled her promise. However the Church of 100 Doors or the Ekatonapyliani
you see today is a reconstruction
built by the Emperor Justinian in the 6th C and again restored in 1960
to its current appearance. Attached to the church is the oldest baptistry
in all orthodoxy and a small Byzantine museum.
If you go in high season, make sure you have a room booked in advance! Click to see more pictures of Paros.
The Paros potters are worth a look, not only for their wonderful designs–ancient, traditional and contemporary–but also for those of you interested in creating art on a Greek island. Studio Yria has space for visiting artists some of whom have been Goldsmith Inke Lorenzen from Kiel Germany, marble carver Lambros Diamondopoulos from the neighboring island Tinos, American painter Jane Morris Pack, and New York painter Randy Bloom.
Why not enjoy Harry's Free Musical Compositions while you read this site? (opens seperately)
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