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Paros is in 37° N. lat, and 25° 10' E. long. Its greatest length from N.E. to S.W. is 13 m., and its greatest breadth 10 m. It is formed of a single mountain about 2500 ft. high, sloping evenly down on all sides to a maritime plain, which is broadest on the north-east and south-west sides. The island is composed of marble, though gneiss and mica- schist are to be found in a few places. The capital, Paroekia or Parikia (Italian, Parechia), situated on a bay on the north-west side of the island, occupies the site of the ancient capital Paros. Its harbour admits small vessels; the entrance is dangerous on account of rocks. Houses built in the Italian style with terraced roofs, shadowed by luxuriant vines, and surrounded by gardens of oranges and pomegranates, give to the town a picturesque and pleasing aspect. Here on a rock beside the sea are the remains of a medieval castle built almost entirely of ancient marble remains. Similar traces of antiquityAntiquity means "ancient times", and may be used of any period before the Middle Ages. Most commonly it means the classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, but may also be used of ancient Egypt, ancient Mesopotamia or other early civilizations of the Near E in the shape of bas-reliefs, inscriptionInscriptions are words or letters written, engraved, painted, or otherwise traced on a surface and can appear in contexts both small and monumental. Coin texts and monumental carvings on buildings are both included by historians as types of inscriptions.s, columns, &c,, are numerous in the town, and on a terrace to the south of it is a precinct of AsclepiusAsclepius was the god of medicine and healing in ancient Greek mythology, according to which he was born a mortal but was given immortality as the constellation Ophiuchus after his death. His name means "cut up". In Roman mythology he was called Aesculapi. Outside the town is the church of Katapoliani , said to have been founded by the empress HelenaHelena can refer to: Saint Helena (Island in the Atlantic Ocean) Helena, mother of Constantine the Great (also known as Helena of Constantinople, a Saint in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christianity) such cities as: Helena, Alabama Helena, Arkansas sit; there are two adjoining churches, one of very early form, and also a baptistery with a cruciform font.
On the north side of the island is the bay of Naoussa (Naussa) or Agoussa, forming a safe and roomy harbour. In ancient times it was closed by a chain or boom. Another good harbour is that of Drios on the south-east side, where the TurkishTurkey (officially the Republic of Turkey Turkish Turkiye is a country located in Southwest Asia with a small part in southeastern Europe. Until 1922 the country was the center of the Ottoman Empire. The Anatolian peninsula, between the Black Sea and the fleet used to anchor on its annual voyage through the Aegean. The three villages of Tragoulas, Marmora and Kepidi (pronounced Tschipidi), situated on an open plain on the eastern side of the island, and rich in remains of antiquity, probably occupy the site of an ancient town. They are known together as the “villages of Kephalos,” from the steep and lofty headland of Kephalos. On this headland stands an abandoned monasteryA monastery is the habitation of monks. Originally: a hermit's cell. Christian monasteries are also called abbey, priory, charterhouse, friary, and preceptory The habitation of nuns is also called a convent. The communal life of a monastery is called ceno of St Anthony, amidst the ruins of a medieval castle, which belonged to the Venetian family of the Venieri , and was gallantly though fruitlessly defended against the Turkish general Barbarossa in 1537.
Parian marble , which is white and semi-transparent, with a coarse grain and a very beautiful texture, was the chief source of wealth to the island. The celebrated marble quarries lie on the northern side of the mountain anciently known as Marpessa (afterwards Capresso), a little below a former convent of St Mina . The marble, which was exported from the 6th century BC, and used by Praxiteles and other great Greek sculptors, was obtained by means of subterranean quarries driven horizontally or at a descending angle into the rock, and the marble thus quarried by lamplight got the name of Lychnites, Lychneus (from lvchnos, a lamp), or Lygdos (Pun. H. N. xxxvi. 5, 14; Plato, Eryxias, 400 D; Athen. v. 2050; Diod. Sic. 2, 52). Several of these tunnels are still to be seen. At the entrance to one of them is a bas-relief dedicated to Pan and the Nymphs. Several attempts to work the marble have been made in modern times, but it has not been exported in any great quantities.