High on the list of top Greek holiday destinations, Paros Ιsland welcomes its visitors at the centre of the Cyclades Islands and invites them to explore its beauty, the lovely beaches with crystal-clear waters and some pretty impressive landscapes.
Paros was famous in antiquity for its white marble quarries; the so-called ‘Parian marble’ was highly sought-after for its top quality, for use in architecture and sculpture. Some of the masterpieces of ancient Greek sculpture were made with this pure white, translucent material. The statues of Hermes by Praxiteles, Venus de Milo (i.e. Aphrodite of Milos), Nike [Winged Victory] of Samothrace, Nike of Paionios, and the Caryatids, i.e. the famous daughters [korai] of the Erechtheion, Acropolis, Athens are some of the most popular monuments made with this marble.
Some of the best known sculptors, painters and poets of ancient Greece come from Paros. The island has been an administrative and commercial hub in the Aegean Sea. Over the course of history it was conquered by the Romans, Byzantines, Franks, Venetians and Ottomans. It has known periods of great prosperity, as shown by the artifacts in its archaeological sites, which you can visit across the island.