PAROS or PARO, an island in the Aegean sea, 37° N. lat. and 25° 1o' E. long., one of the largest of the Cyclades, with a population of 7,725. It lies to the west of Naxos, from which it is separated by a channel about 6 m. broad. Its greatest length from north-east to south-west is 13 m., and its greatest breadth 10 miles. It is formed of a single mountain about 2,5oo ft. high, sloping evenly down on all sides to a maritime plain, which is broadest on the north-east and south-west sides. The island is composed of marble, though gneiss and mica-schist are to be found in a few places. The capital, Paroekia or Parikia (Italian, Parechia), on a bay on the north-west of the island, occupies the site of the ancient capital. Its harbour admits small vessels; but the entrance is dangerous.
By the sea is a mediaeval castle built almost entirely of ancient remains. Similar traces of antiquity are numerous in the town, and on a terrace to the south is a precinct of Asclepius.
Outside the town is the church of Katapoliani `Excivrov_ rcurvXtav7)) "of the hundred gates," said to have been founded by the empress Helena ; one of the two adjoining churches is of very early form, and there is a baptistry with a cruciform font.
On the north side of the island is the bay of Naoussa (Naussa) or Agoussa, a safe roomy harbour; in ancient times closed by a chain or boom. Another good harbour is that of Drios on the south-east, where the Turkish fleet used to anchor on its annual voyage through the Aegean. The three villages of Tragoulas, Marmora and Kepidi (pronounced Tschipidi), in an open plain on the eastern side of the island, rich in remains of antiquity, probably occupy the site of an ancient town.
Parian marble, white and semi-transparent, with coarse grain and beautiful texture, was the chief source of wealth to the island. The quarries lie on the northern side of Mt. Marpessa (afterwards Capresso). The marble, exported from the 6th century B.c., and used by Praxiteles and other sculptors, came from subterranean quarries driven horizontally or descending into the rock; being won by lamplight it had the name Lychnites, Lychneus (from lychnos, a lamp), or Lygdos (Plin. H. N. xxxvi. 5, 14; Plato, Eryxias, 400 D; Athen. v. 2050; Diod. Sic. 2, 52). Several of these tunnels are still to be seen. At the entrance to one of them is a bas-relief dedicated to Pan and the Nymphs. Attempts to work the marble have been made in modern times.
the former, founded in the or i8th Olympiad, the poet Archi lochus, native of Paros, is said to have taken part. As late as 385 B.C. the Parians, in conjunction with Dionysius of Syracuse, founded a colony on the Illyrian island of Pharos. In the 6th cen tury Parians were invited by MiletuS to reform its constitution. Shortly before the Persian War Paros seems to have been a de pendency of Naxos. In the Persian War Paros joined the Persians and sent a trireme to Marathon. In retaliation, its city was be sieged by an Athenian fleet under Miltiades, who demanded a fine of roo talents. But the town offered a vigorous resistance, and the Athenians were obliged to withdraw. Paros also sided with Xerxes against Greece, but after the battle of Artemisium its contingent remained in Cythnos. For this unpatriotic conduct Themistocles exacted a heavy fine (Herod. viii. 112). In the Delian League Paros paid the highest tribute of all the islands-3o talents. Little is known of the constitution of Paros. In 410 B.C. the Athenian general Theramenes found an oligarchy at Paros and restored the democracy (Diod. Sic. xiii. 47). Paros joined the Athenian confederacy of 378 B.C., but withdrew about 357 B.C. along with Chios. Later, the island lost political importance, pass ing with other Cycladic islands to the Ptolemies of Egypt, and thence to Roman rule. When the Latins made themselves masters of Constantinople, Paros, like the rest, became subject to Venice. In 1537 it was conquered by the Turks. It now belongs to Greece and forms a province with Naxos.
Among the most interesting discoveries made in the island is the Parian Chronicle (q.v.).