The subversive sculptor of ”passion”

Skopas of Paros

Paros has been my favourite site of research and study since my student years, especially the years of doctoral studies at Cornell University, USA, an institution of renowned academic excellence. There, in the context of an in-depth study of ancient Greek classical sculpture, I had the opportunity to get to know Skopas, a cosmopolitan Parian sculptor of the 4th century B.C., lesser known to the general public compared to the other great figures of his time, Praxiteles and Lysippus.

2023-06-29T13:54:38+00:00By |ISSUES|Comments Off on The subversive sculptor of ”passion”

The bombing of Panagia Ekatontapyliani

Paros in world war II

As from April 1941 during the Second World War, and after the initial victories of the Greek army against the Italian troops on the Albanian front, Greece found itself under a triple military occupation: by Germany, Italy and Bulgaria.

2023-06-29T13:55:34+00:00By |ISSUES|Comments Off on The bombing of Panagia Ekatontapyliani

Toy boats

An old seaside toy turns into a custom and back into a toy!

During the interbellum, when the first tinplate containers became available in the market, the first handmade karava (toy boat) made its first appearance on the island. Some grandfather or parent must have crafted a small tin boat for his child out of the olive oil or feta tin container that was lying about in the house.

2023-06-29T14:39:00+00:00By |ISLAND, ISSUES, READ|Comments Off on Toy boats

The high art of the Greek tourist poster

From sightseeing to modern tourism

From the 1920s onwards, the tourism industry has gradually emerged as one of the most critical pillars of the Greek economy, as well as, by and large, a factor of change for the physiognomy of Greece. All along this journey, some of the most prominent Greek visual artists, photographers and graphic designers have shaped, to a large extent, the (timeless) image of the country to the world.

2023-06-29T14:00:03+00:00By |ISSUES|Comments Off on The high art of the Greek tourist poster

Paros of the 80s

A photographic reminiscence from Yiannis Vitzilaios's archive

An island in advanced adolescence, right in the prime of its youth. An island at its peak moment –this is what Paros was like back in the 1980s. A true destination of respite and relaxation in an era of unmitigated innocence depicted through the black and white allure of a photo collection.

2023-06-29T14:01:15+00:00By |ISLAND, ISSUES|Comments Off on Paros of the 80s

Paros today

Paros today

What’s Paros like today? What was it like in the 1950s and what did it look like until a few years ago when it started functioning as a gold mine, and invaders, miners, gold miners and a host of pirates sailed their way here? Once, we used to wait for the "Myrtidiotissa" (a large caique boat looking like a steamer in our eyes) to enter the port twice a week.

2023-06-29T14:39:32+00:00By |ISLAND, ISSUES, READ|Comments Off on Paros today

The shipwreck of «Superbe»

The monument of the French sailors

The last great naval combat waged with wooden sailboats, the naval battle of Navarino (1827), finalized the independence of Greece. The allies, the British, the French and the Russians, defeated the fleet of the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II, reinforced by Muhammad Ali Pasha of Egypt’s fleet.

2023-06-29T14:36:41+00:00By |ISSUES|Comments Off on The shipwreck of «Superbe»

On to Cap Korakas

Rocks chiseled by wind and water

It is a sunny and windless February morning. On Paros, an agricultural island by birth, Spring is making herself already felt. Our eyes are filled with the greenness of the new crops on the fields and the blueness of the archipelago that surrounds the land. A palette of cold colors, say the experts and the beaches are empty. Still, the brown earth and the stones that spring from her guts make up for the loss of warmth.

2022-07-03T10:11:19+00:00By |ACTIVITIES, ISSUES|Comments Off on On to Cap Korakas