Parian Marble and Marathi Marble Quarries

The Marathi Marble Quarries is where the famous Parian marble has been produced for centuries.

The Parian marble in Paros has a unique characteristic: it is white and transparent up to 3.5 cm. Many masterpieces have been made by using Marathi marble quarries, including The Aphrodite of Milos, Hermes of Praxiteles, Victory of Samothrace and many temples of Delos Island.

Two of the ancient tunnels are located just to your left as you enter the quarry site but unless you are a trained cave explorer it’s not advisable to try to enter because the tunnels are deep.

Marathi is located only 7 km from the capital, Parikia. Here you can find the ancient marble quarries, the statues of Nymph and the entrance to one of the caves.

The buildings of the company of Marble were found in 1878. The quarry is in fact a band of hills and the first caverns were created by continuously excavating the first hill. Then nature did its job and the effect of water, earthquakes and landslips created the natural caverns. Hence on the top of the hill, nature created the Cavern of Antiparos and the Cavern of Demonon, where you can find the monastery of Saint George.

In ancient times the quarry didn’t exist and the artists of the Cycladic culture used rudimentary tools to find good pieces of marble for their sculptures.

The last time the quarry was used was to extract marble for Napoleon’s tomb. To get to the quarry just take the bus to Marathi and then follow the signposts to the quarry.

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