When I first set foot on the island of Despotiko back in 2004, I couldn’t possibly imagine what the place would look like today, twenty years later. At that time, the foundations of the temple and the ceremonial banqueting hall (hestiatorion) were barely discernible, and it was basically a desert island with the only living presence being a population of a few hundred goats and the shepherd's two watchdogs.
Located on a picturesque alley, next to Haroula’s tavern, is one of the nicest small museums of Paros.
In Aliki, in a beautiful garden there is a unique museum for anyone who wants to know the Cyclades and their history. A museum where you will find all the traditional arts applied and you will get a taste of the vanishing authentic Paros.
Following the finding of the first “ritual hestiatorion” at Despotiko, archaeologist Yannos Kourayos tells us about the fascination of bringing together the history’s mosaic pieces, about the dream for an open-air archaeological museum at the uninhabited island and about the information we retrieve from under the sacrificial animals.
Despotiko is a small island that lies west of Antiparos, across from Ag. Georgios and it’s only one out of 190 uninhabited islets and 30 major islands that form the Cyclades. This unique group of islands has given us some of the most exciting works of Greek art.
In the years preceding the outbreak of the Greek Revolution, travellers, philhellenes and archaeologists travelling to Paros were aware of the adits at Marathi. The artificial labyrinthine cave system, fascinated foreign travellers as they immersed themselves in the marble riverbed that had once given life to statues of gods and humans.
North of Parikia, on a hill with an amazing view, lie the ruins of the sanctuary of Delian Apollo and Artemis. In its initial form, the sanctuary was quite simple consisting basically of an enclosure wall around a rock and the altar for the sacrifices. From this plateau the faithful could see the sacred island of Delos waiting for the signal to start here too, the religious ceremonies in honour of Apollo.
One of the most striking features of the eastern coast of Paros is the hill of Kefalos with the monastery of Agios Antonios on its summit. Kefalos and his lower twin, Antikefalos, oversee the straits between Paros and Naxos while the white-washed monastery on the summit invites the visitor to climb up the hill.
Paros’ long and important history is widely recorded in monuments and paths, mansions and churches and of course in the museums of Paros with the Archaeological Museum in Parikia being the first and leading one. As you will see in the following brief presentation, in the museums of Paros you can admire ancient sculpture and pottery, byzantine icons, artifacts and documents from the Venetian rule as well as everyday-life items from Paros and the Aegean and get to know eminent personalities of the island. The smaller ones are open only in the summer. Check the opening hours and don't forget: the best way to discover Paros' museums and monuments is a tour with the licensed tourist guides of the island!
In a quiet and rather off the beaten track neighbourhood of Paroikia known as Tholakia, where tourists are rarely seen, there’s a house different from them all.
