Archaeological Museum of Paros
The museum was founded in 1960 in order for it to house antiquities which until then were kept in the cells of the Katapoliani monastery.
The museum contains the following collections:
- Hall A: Sculptures of the Ancient and Classical Periods.
- Hall B: Small ceramic and sculpted artifacts dating from the Neolithic, Proto-Cycladic, Mycenaean, Geometric, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman periods.
- Atrium: Sculptures, architectural elements, internment urns/sarcophagi and mosaic floor from the Roman Period.
Some of the most significant exhibits are:
- A 6th century BC Gorgon sculpture approximately 1,35m high, in nearly perfect condition. The sculpture was the central feature of a temple. Found in 1993, during excavations of an ancient public building.
- Two marble relief sculptures from a monument to Archilohos, late 6th century BC: One shows Archilohos lying in state, the other a bull being ravaged by a lion. Both pieces were found incorporated in the flooring of the courtyard of Ekatontapyliani.
- A colossal marble statue of Artemis (490-480 BC) from the Deleon Temple on Paros, 2,74m (including plinth). It is a votive sculpture in the fashion of the Archaic “Kores” wearing a tunic.
- Neolithic feminine idol sitting cross legged with her hands under her breasts (height of the remains 0,055m). Found on the island of Saliagkos, between Paros and Antiparos.
- A “Parian chronicle epigraph” containing historic, religious and philological information ranging from prehistoric years up until 264 BC. One of the plaques is exhibited here on Paros and the two other remaining in Oxford.
