Manto’s great-grandfather, Ioannis Mavrogenis, lived in the village of Marmara in Paros, and was father to Nikolaos Mavrogenis, Ruler of Moldovlachia (who built the three marble fountains along the main street of Parikia), and Dimitrios Mavrogenis, father of Nikolaos, who was Manto’s own father.
To honor their heroine, Parians named the island’s central square after her, where her bust now stands. Near the square is the house where she spent her last years.

On Lemnos, the traditional male costume is called “kechagias,” meaning an estate caretaker, which is built around a white vraka (breeches). The costume is worn by Sotiris Kalpakoglou.

On Karpathos of the Dodecanese Islands, young unmarried women wear a costume called “sakkofoustano” in major festive events. The costume is worn by Nektaria Malamatenios.

The medieval female costume of Paros, with the impressive headscarf and the silk dress, dating back to the 17th c. The costume is worn by Georgia Papaioannou. On Paros, as on almost all the Aegean islands, men customarily wore a blue, pale blue, black or white vraka (breeches)-based costume. The costume is worn by Vassilis Kortianos.

Traditional costumes
of the Aegean

Text: Ipapandi Roussou | Photos: Nikos Efstratiou
Sponsored by the travel agency ANEMOMYLOS TRAVEL

It has been 200 years since the Greeks revolted against the Ottoman Turks, marking the beginning of a series of joyful but, mainly, trying episodes in their history. In this great Struggle, Paros rose up in arms immediately and supplied its ships to the common cause.
The Greek War of Independence was proclaimed on the island in April 1821 at the port of Naoussa with the announcement of the revolutionary declaration by Panagiotis Dimitrakopoulos, a Friendly Society member. Paros contributed to the homeland’s cause through the great heroine of the island, Manto Mavrogenous, an emblematic female figure of her era, who gave everything for the Liberation Struggle.

The national costumes of the Revolution period
On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution, we are happy to present you national costumes of that time with an emphasis on the Aegean region. The costumes come from the collection of “Naoussa, Paros” Music and Dance Ensemble, which has been active since 1988 in Naoussa and participated in a number of events in Greece and abroad aiming to maintain and spread the island’s authentic music and dance tradition.

We warmly thank tourism agency Anemomylos travel for the sponsorship andthe Music and Dance Group of Naousa, Ipapandi Roussou and Lefteris Menegos as well as all the dancers that paricipated in the photography and wish that the dances start again soon!