Paros - Travel Guide to the Greek Island

Hello Steemians - Welcome to Paros.

The ferries arrive on Paros at Parikia, a town of bright, white houses with dark blue windows and doors, of narrow streets, and of shady courtyards, all under a blue sky. The most important tourist sight in Parikia is the church known as Ekatondapyliani - “The One Hundred Gated”. The first church on this site, called Katopoliani - “facing the town” - was founded in 326 CE by St Helen, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great. However, most of what’s visible today dates from two centuries later and the time of Justinian. From a historical perspective, this church is the most important in the Aegean and should not be missed, even by the most casual observer.

The early Christian complex of the Ekatondapyliani comprises a large basilica dedicated to the Dormition of our Lady, the elegant chapel of Aghios Nikolaos to the northeast and the ceremonial Baptistery to the south and all are found within a walled compound. This enclosure also contains The Byzantine Museum, places to eat, and areas where people attending weddings and funerals can relax before their service.

Entering the church, the marble pillars soaring to the ceiling in the nave immediately catch your eye. Worshippers are busy moving around the various icons within the church, kissing them, hanging votive offerings in front of them, and praying in front of them. The votive offerings depict the subject of what the worshipper is hoping to receive help about, so people with an injured arm or leg leave a votive depicting an arm or a leg whereas people seeking a house leave a votive depicting a house.

Other offerings depict ears, eyes, and attractive humans of both sexes. These votives are coloured bronze, silver, and gold and were obviously bought at the same shop. I wondered whether the person choosing the colour of the metal genuinely felt that buying a gold-coloured votive instead of a bronze-coloured votive would make the slightest difference to the saint shown in the icon?

Without any warning or fanfare, a coffin was brought into the church and placed on a table. The top was removed and taken outside. With the body facing forwards, the most important icon in the church was placed to the left of the coffin and four chairs placed to the right.

Twenty mourners, dressed in dark clothing without being formal, came into the church. Five priests, in full Orthodox regalia, appeared from behind the altar. Three casually-dressed singers, forming the choir, stood in front of microphones that had magically appeared from behind a column. A man holding an ornamental Greek cross stood at the front of the coffin and four female mourners seated themselves in the four chairs - they were the dead man’s immediate family. The male mourners, one wearing a T-shirt with the word “Affliction” emblazoned on the back, stood behind the coffin near the entrance.

The service began with the most senior priest intoning a prayer. The three men in the choir responded. There was no music and no sounds other than soaring voices as the service progressed. The middle one of the five priests, the one with a ponytail, walked around the coffin in an anti-clockwise direction, dispensing incense by swinging his thurible to 90 degrees as he went. Once this circle was completed, he raised the thurible seven times towards the mourners.

The service lasted 30 minutes. At the end, the five priests, in order of seniority, kissed the icon and then kissed the deceased on the forehead. They were followed by the immediate family and then the mourners who all performed the same ritual. Once this was over, the coffin’s top was brought back into the church, and the coffin was escorted out by priests and mourners for burial.

The Byzantine Museum allows the visitor to not only see the collection of icons and orthodox religious items, which is an education in itself, but also to look at the upper floor of the church and the neighbouring baptistry.

Of the paintings on display, the oldest is the Holy Doors dating back to the 15th Century, depicting the Annunciation and the apostles Peter and Paul. Most of the icons are Cretan in origin. The outstanding works are a painting of St Spyridon sitting on a throne, a crucifixion, and a portrait of St George, all dating to the 15th and 16th Centuries. There are some outstanding examples of silverwork, including a silver tray dating back to 1665, a communion chalice of 1780, and a thurible made in 1754.

The orthodox vestments on display include a patriarchal sakkos (a tunic with wide sleeves, and a distinctive pattern of trim. It reaches below the knees and is fastened up the sides with buttons or tied with ribbons), an omophor (a band worn by Eastern Orthodox bishops around the neck and shoulders, decorated with the Christian Cross), and an epigonation (a rhombic vestment usually of stiff material worn by a bishop or certain other ecclesiastical dignitaries on the right hip as a sign of authority and rank).

The baptistery building is termed Paleochristian and was built in the fourth century AD, meaning it’s almost certainly part of the original church built by St Helen. This building contains a marble, cross-shaped font and fragments of mosaic flooring.

The upper floor of the church is stark and completely without decoration. It’s well-lit and full of elegant arches. The views down into some of the side chapels are interesting as they allow you to see behind the facade of some of the religious finery. Some of the crosses are held together by pieces of wood that have been nailed into place in an inelegant manner when part of the cross has broken off or become weak. From the front, the cross looks beautiful, but the view behind shows 8 or 9 small of pieces of wood keeping everything together.

The old town of Parikia is a joy to look around. Some of the houses have bougainvillea flowing over them, contrasting with the white of the walls, and the blue of the balustrades and doors. An abrupt intrusion into this perfection is the east wall of the Kastro, the last surviving remnant of this castle dating from 1260. Most of the stones used in the construction were taken from a nearby temple dedicated to Athena. There’s also an ancient cemetery to find by the water’s edge.

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