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Administrative Region : South Aegean
Regional unit : Paros

Antiparos (Αντίπαρος, ancient name: Oliaros) is a small inhabited island in the southern Aegean, at the heart of the Cyclades, which is less than one nautical mile (1.9 km) from Paros, the port to which it is connected with a local ferry. Saliagos island is the most ancient settlement in the Cyclades, and Despotiko, an uninhabited island in the southwest of Antiparos, is a place of great archaeological importance.


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The Community of Antiparos was founded in 1914 and was promoted to a municipality in 2010 with the implementation of the Law "Kallikrates", under the principle of "each island a municipality". It occupies an area of 34.8 square kilometers, including the island of Antiparos and Despotiko. It has, according to census 2001, 1.037 permanent residents and a density of 29 inhabitants per km². The island's economy is based on tourism, fishing, farming and less on agriculture in the plains. It is known for its distinctive Cycladic beauty with white houses, cobbled streets and beautiful flowers that thrive in the yards of the houses. It is a popular tourist resort in the summer for Greeks and European visitors, as well as land investors from the U.S.A.

The main settlement lies at the northeastern tip of the island with Pounda on the other side of the channel on Paros, where a ferry sails for Antiparos harbour. The historical center is located in the Venetian castle of Antiparos, which is connected through the shopping streets in the picturesque coastal street. Other settlements are the famous resort of St. George in the southwest edge, Soros and Kampos and popular beaches in the wider area of the center are Psaralyki, the Sifneiko, Ag Spiridon and the camping beach.The most popular beaches are:Soros,Glyfa,Apantima,Monastiria

Etymology

The ancient name of the island was "Oliaros", a word probably of Phoenician origin meaning "wooded mountain." Later the island was named "Antiparos" Situated within walking distance from Paros.
Geography and topography
eastern coast of Antiparos

The island of Antiparos is located 0.8 nautical miles (1.5 km) southwest of Paros, the ferry away from the port of Parikia 4.8 miles (7.7 km). The island of Paros separates the Strait of Antiparos, known as Amfigeio. The maximum length of the island is seven miles (11 km) from north to south, while the maximum width reaches 2.8 miles (4.5 km). The total area is estimated at 37–38 km. And the highest peak, St. Elias, in the middle of the island, is at 308 m. The capital is the namesake Community Antiparos old castle, which occupies the area of island and its archaeological Round islands and a throne.

Antiparos is a volcanic rock and dry climate with high moisture, and morphology favors the development of strong winds. The flowers thrive in the region are mainly bougainvillea that adorn the gardens, houses and shops. The morphology of Antiparos is characterized essentially flat, with many small hilly peaks, while the vegetation of the island is low.

The island of Antiparos is surrounded by many small uninhabited islands with great historical and archaeological interest, such as Tsimintiri the Round, the Double, snow, Revmatonisi, the Red and Black Tourlos. Particularly well known in the international community is the Master, an uninhabited island west of Antiparos, which in recent years carried out excavations of great archaeological finds of value.
History
The "Camara"

The story begins Antiparos from Neolithic When using the cave as katafygeio and continues until the Cycladic times when it became aware of a great cultural flowering. Archaeological findings indicate the worship of ancient Greek goddesses in temples, which operated until Roman times.

The island of Antiparos 1207 included the Duchy of Naxos's founder, the Venetian Marco Sanudo military. Since Antiparos provide permanent pins 30 to bunch in galleys of the Duchy [2]. From the 15th century began the tough test of the island by Greek and foreign pirates, who used it as a springboard to the bays of the "Straits of 14 feet, was called as it features the close of Antiparos until they reached the island since the influential Venetian House Loredano of which colonize the island of Antiparos and erected the castle, [3], which adorned the gate the arms until the 18th century when it collapsed. Then came the House of Pizanias until 1537, when it was captured by Barbarossa until the Turkish occupation and Regeneration, outside the period 1770 to 1774 when it was occupied by the Russians, which removed many of the magnificent stalactite cave Antiparos transferring to Russia the Hermitage.
The "Ksopyrga"

The major catastrophe was in on Antiparos Greek pirates in 1794, when Kefalonians and Mani arrived on the island and plundered, and kidnapping the daughter of the Venetian vice "gkratsioza Francisco", thus creating an unprecedented wave of anti-Hellenic time in Europe .

In 1770 Tornefort Antiparos numbered 78 houses about 200 residents.

During WWII, the southwestern tip of the island near the A ¨-George, behind the mountain of Antiparos, was used as a secret submarine base and after the war he returned to Antiparos tranquil pace, growing as village.

Antiparos was known to the wider Greek public in 1960 and through the Greek cinema, where workshops hosted by Finos Films in the heart of the movie "Madalena" by helping to enhance its natural beauty and historical landscape. Since then, the island became a popular tourist destination for Greek and foreign tourists in the summer and the economy of the town started oriented tourism development.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Antiparos has become a popular alternative holiday destination for Europeans nudist remote and sandy beaches, especially the widely known camping, while by the 1990s became aware of a gradual development due to its proximity to Paros by improving its infrastructure to accommodate the growing influx of tourists.
Archaeological finds
Exhibits at the local museum

The Isle of Despotiko identified with ancient Prepesintho, according to the extant writings of Strabo and Pliny. The first excavations at Despotiko made in 1889 by Christos Tsountas revealing Cycladic cemeteries. In 1959 Nikos Zafiropoulos began excavations at Zoumparia and Mantra, on the northeast coast, where they were architectural Doric temple from the ancient times, dating to 500 BC.

In 1997 began new excavations at Mantra, the archaeologist Yiannos heart, bringing to light much of the ancillary space a sanctuary. The findings of the excavation one elongated building, consisting of five consecutive parallel rooms. In the southern room identified important findings of archaic materials anatolikoionikis, Rhodian, Cypriot and Egyptian origin.

In place of the excavations found many marble sculptures States, two archaic kouros head, torso naked male statue, part of the Archaic period perirrantiriou inscribed with the inscription "Marda anethiken. Among the significant findings include the built-square marble altar dedicated to Hestia Isthmus of classical times and which is testimony to one of the deities worshiped in the Cyclades. The legend also indicates local name of the cape which is sacred "Isthmus" and confirm its existence. Investigations revealed an additional five buildings and the excavation continued until today.

These findings indicate a widespread cult of Apollo in the Cyclades, and was according to tradition, twenty simple shrines in the region, one of which was that of Despotiko, which survives intact from the 7th century BC when operated by the Roman times.
Architecture
Kastro architecture

Architecture, like all the Cycladic islands, requires strict regulations to preserve the uniformity of the Cyclades, which is composed of the typical white houses with blue doors and windows, yard and gardens decorated with bougainvillea and other flowers. Often these characteristics are consistent with the existence of stone or alleys of the neighborhood or the fences of the churchyard.

The castle was built in 1440 on the other seems to have a very specific and unique style of architecture. The houses form a compact complex with 24 two-storey houses in the castle, the 24-storey and 16 storey Xopyrgo the outer zone, and among the houses there are three churches and the old aqueduct. Again keep the architecture of white houses with blue windows and small yards from the back side of the castle.
Economy
Antiparos stores

The island economy is based largely on tourism, the income from visits to the Cave of Antiparos be a very big part of the budget of the municipality. Most people work shopping centers, restaurants and accommodation on the island during the tourist season from Easter to October, with the remainder funded by the Employment Service, or deal with technical and manual jobs. The island's economy is helping agriculture and animal husbandry, and fisheries.
Sights
The church of Saint John, "O Spiliotis"

In the center of the island on the outskirts of the terms of Antiparos is the famous cave of Antiparos, one of the most beautiful and mysterious caves in the world. The area of the cave used as a natural shelter in the Neolithic period onwards. The area was also used for pottery, but also for the worship of the goddess Artemis, while the entrance to the site and erected a plain magnificent church of Agios Ioannis Spiliotis.

Antiparos cave (Source)

Click image to enlarge

The Antiparos cavern

Signs and scratches on the stalactites and stalagmites attest to the passers, as the inscription on the altar of the generals of Alexander the Great and King Otto.
The cave of Antiparos

In 1673 the French archaeologist Marquis de Ntovantel, French ambassador in Istanbul has been living in cave for three days to five hundred companions and worked on the altar on Christmas Day. In 1775 went to the Marquis de cave Saver and later the first king of Greece, Otto.

During the German occupation destroyed part of the cave. One of the oldest references to the historic cave is that of the lyric poet Archilochus of Paros in the 7th century BC.

The cave is fully exploited in the second half of the 2000s with funds from the CSF by erecting barriers, to build adequate steps, installation of lighting, security cameras and loudspeakers to inform visitors.
Castle of Antiparos
the castle tower

The Venetian Castle of Antiparos is a typical example of the fortified settlements established in the Cyclades the period of Latin in 13th-16th century. Its construction dates to the mid 15th century when the Venetian Giovanni Loredano decided to marry Mary Sommaripa of Antiparos.

In the original version included the Castle's main tower and residential perimeter, the houses can be divided into one continuous block construction, providing both the defensive wall of a fortified settlement. The only entrance was at ground level house in the south wing.

Inside the main settlement developed platymetopes faces of three-storey houses in order, and each had a separate entrance orodos which lead to external staircase. In the course of the settlement was extended outside the south wing to form a rectangular ring called "Xopyrga" and within the original enclosure around the base of the circular tower.
Castle house blocks and the church of Christ

In modern times the original architectural style of the castle altered the religious element extensions of Christian places of worship, building the church of Christ and its use as a water tank tower. Instead, the homes remained at a satisfactory level of their original features, despite the collapse of the upper floors, and any intervention required permission from the archaeological department. Today most homes are developed in one with two floors and have a maximum ground-like trapdoor.

Integral part of the castle of Antiparos are small bats that come with dusk and iptantai around the tower to the east.
Infrastructure
Antiparos Municipality Hall

The hall of Antiparos lies with the Multi-alley clinic in a commercial road just before the castle, near the Plaza Roussos, and which took its name from the writer of her film "Madeleine." Any waste transported to the island a special place in Paros and sewerage and biological treatment have been included in the NSRF to sponsor the Egnatia Odos. The island has a modern road construction and rehabilitation of the coastal road and focus of artistic and politistimon events is the stone square of Agia Marina.

Under operating elementary school in the youth club for young people.
Church

Antiparos church belongs to the Bishopric Paronaxia.
References
Notes

J. P. de Tournefort, Relation d'un voyage au Levant (1717); English edition, 1718, vol. i. p. 146
Guide-books to Greece.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

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