Paros Island, the Cyclades.
Thomas Hope’s Anastasius, or Memoirs of a Greek, first published in 1819, is partly based on Nicholas Mavrogenis (see p. 34–35) of Paros and his world and times. The book caused a sensation when it was first published in London; Byron privately admitted that he wished he had been its author. A paperback edition was reissued in 2001, by Elibron Classics. Paros: History, Monuments etc. by Yannos Kourayos (Athens 2004) is an exemplary guide to the island’s antiquities—clear, authoritative and to the point. For the remarkable figure of the Marquis de Nointel and his Christmas mass in the Cave of Antiparos, see: Henri Omont, Relation de la visite du Marquis de Nointel à la grotte d’Antiparos (1673), Bulletin de géographie historique et descriptive, 1892 (4), pp. 4–33, and Albert Vandal, L’Odyssée d’un ambassadeur. Les voyages du Marquis deNointel (1670–1680), Paris, 1900. Theodore Bent, The Cyclades, or Life among the Insular Greeks (1885), reis sued 2002 by Archaeopress, Oxford in the ‘3rd Guides’ series, contains his descriptions of making the earliest excavations of prehistoric Cycladic remains on Antiparos.
Parikia and its immediatly vicinity
The island’s capital of Parikia, built over the city of Ancient Paros, spreads on the east side of a wide bay, protected by a hook of land which curves round to the north of it. In antiquity some of the hill-tops ranged around were crowned with sanctuaries and temples; to day whitewashed monasteries and churches have taken their place. The focus of the city, then as now, was a low hill by the shore just south of the port, from where habitation spread east into the shallow, fertile valley inland which possessed good water below the surface, accessible through wells. Ancient Paros was a particularly rich city—assessed by Athens to pay a tithe of 18 talents, proportionate to its wealth, into the treasury of the Delian League: this was bigger than any other Cycladic island and more than that paid by its prosperous neighbour and competitor in all things, Naxos , who at most paid only 15 talents. Modern Parikia also has an air of prosperity. Even though not as stunningly sited as some, it is still one of the loveliest towns in the Cyclades for the charm of its streets and the quality of its life. Two contiguous main streets traverse the length of the town: running north/ south, inland of the hill of kastro, is Market Street, often just referred to as ‘Agora’; the northern extension of this, Gravari Street, turns east from below the Kastro and goes as far as the church of the Panaghia Katapoliani, which marks the edge of the old town. Since this church is the island’s most significant monument, we begin with it, followed by the important Archaeological Museum which lies just to its east.
The island’s capital of Parikia, built over the city of Ancient Paros, spreads on the east side of a wide bay, protected by a hook of land which curves round to the north of it. In antiquity some of the hill-tops ranged around were crowned with sanctuaries and temples; to day whitewashed monasteries and churches have taken their place. The focus of the city, then as now, was a low hill by the shore just south of the port, from where habitation spread east into the shallow, fertile valley inland which possessed good water below the surface, accessible through wells. Ancient Paros was a particularly rich city—assessed by Athens to pay a tithe of 18 talents, proportionate to its wealth, into the treasury of the Delian League: this was bigger than any other Cycladic island and more than that paid by its prosperous neighbour and competitor in all things, Naxos , who at most paid only 15 talents. Modern Parikia also has an air of prosperity. Even though not as stunningly sited as some, it is still one of the loveliest towns in the Cyclades for the charm of its streets and the quality of its life. Two contiguous main streets traverse the length of the town: running north/ south, inland of the hill of kastro, is Market Street, often just referred to as ‘Agora’; the northern extension of this, Gravari Street, turns east from below the Kastro and goes as far as the church of the Panaghia Katapoliani, which marks the edge of the old town. Since this church is the island’s most significant monument, we begin with it, followed by the important Archaeological Museum which lies just to its east.
Travel Guide to Paros & Greece
