ANTIP'AROS (Oh. 'Ar-thrapoc, opposite Paros). Anciently called Olearos or Olia ros. One of the Cyclades Islands, cele brated for a stalaetit-ic cave. It is separated from Paros by a narrow' strait. It contains about $01) inhabitants, and forms a part of the eparehy of Naxos. Antipa mos is seven miles long by about three wide; it is scantily supplied with water, but the fiats in the north and west are tolerably fertile. Corn and wine are culti vated, and there is pasturage for large flocks of goats. The principal occupation of the inhab itants is fishing. From Kastron, the only village on the island. the distance to the grotto is about an hour and a half's ride. This wonderful cave is not mentioned by any Greek or Roman writer whose works arc extant, but must have been vis ited by the curiosity-hunters of antiquity, for the names of ancient tourists are inscribed about the entrance. It may well have been a place of wor ship. The entrance is near the top of a mountain
on the southern coast. From a small chamber a long and somewhat dangerous descent leads to the great cavern, 80 feet high, more than 300 feet long, and 100 feet broad, which contains remark able specimens of stalactitic formation. The cave was first made known to the modern world by M. de Nointel, French ambassador to the Porte, who, in 1673, spent three days in it and caused the Christmas mass to he celebrated on a natural altar. Views of the entrance and exterior are published in the Bulletin de gi'ographie histo•iyuc et descriptive (Paris, 1887-97 ) . Excavations by Messrs. Bent and Tsountas have brought to light a number of graves belonging to an early period in the "Island" civilization. Since 1872, profitable lead mines have been worked on the island. Consult Bent, The Cy clades (London, 1885).