How the legendary marble quarries of Paros are being revived

Marble quarries of Paros, Greece. Photo: Vicky Kyriakopoulou / Paros Ancient Marble Quarries Park AMKE

The ancients are reborn marble mines of Paroswhere the legendary was mined Parian marble – material for “Hermes Praxiteles” and “Aphrodite de Milo”. After decades of neglect, local activists have achieved recognition of the cultural significance of the unique “translucent” stone.

How the forgotten mines of Paros are being revived

For many years ancient marble quarries of Paros remained abandoned. The sign for “Ancient quarries” did not lead to a protected monument, but to nowhere. The situation changed only after 2022, when the organization Paros Ancient Marble Quarries Park AMKE began a large-scale project to preserve and restore the deposit.

This is where the marble for the masterpieces of antiquity came from – “Hermes Praxiteles”, “Aphrodite de Milo”, “Nike of Samothrace”“Victory of Paeonius” in Olympia, the mausoleum in Halicarnassus and the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus. Today the goal of the project is to recognize the Parian Marble Park as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

“Visitors, fascinated by the legend of the Parian marble, come from all countries, but are faced with neglect and lack of protection,” says Vlasis Sfiroreas, one of the initiators of the project.

Hermes of Praxiteles and marble that “breathes” light

“Hermes of Praxiteles.” Photo: Roccuz, CC BY-SA 2.5 it / Wikipedia.

The fame of the quarries of Paros is based on the extraction of unique marble lychnitis – a snow-white, fine-grained stone with rare light transmission. Thanks to this, sculptures made from it seemed to “come to life.” For comparison: lichnite transmits light to a depth of up to 3.5 cmwhile Carrara marble is 2.5 cm, and Pendelikon marble is only 1.5 cm. The best layers, up to three meters thick, alternate with bluish rocks and are found in the Marafi Valley.

There was also a second grade – the so-called “white stone”. It was rougher and was used primarily for temples and buildings.

How mining began

According to archaeological data, organized mining began around 7th century BC in the lower gallery, when the natural flows of Scarpatiotis exposed veins of lychnite. At first, marble was mined on the surface, but as the deposits were depleted, craftsmen went deeper into the mountain, creating underground adits. The work was dangerous: picks, wedges, chisels, levers were used – and both slaves and free artisans worked here.

Gold of ancient art

Although Parian marble was used already in the 4th millennium BC, it was in the 7th century BC. underground mines opened Marathi. By the 5th century, Paros had become rich in the stone trade: luminous lychnite became a symbol of perfection for the ancient world. It was called the “marble of the gods” – the material from which immortality was carved.

Source: AMNA / Paros Ancient Marble Quarries Park

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