Editing Paros (section)

==Parikia==
{{main|Parikia}}
{{wide image|Paros Panorama.png|800px|align-cap=center|Panoramic view over the bay of Parikia}}
The capital, [[Parikia]] (Greek: παροικία), situated on a bay on the north-west side of the island, occupies the site of the ancient capital Paros.<ref name=EB1911/> Parikía harbour is a major hub for [[Aegean islands]] ferries and [[catamarans]], with several sailings each day for Piraeus, the port of Athens, [[Heraklion]], the capital of [[Crete]], and other islands such as [[Naxos Island|Naxos]], [[Ios Island|Ios]], [[Mykonos]], and [[Santorini]].

[[File:EKPYL 2900.jpg|thumb|[[Panagia Ekatontapiliani]] in Parikia]]
[[File:Paros Parikia Hafen 05.jpg|thumb|Parikia, Paros]]

In Parikia town, houses are built and decorated in the traditional Cycladic style, with flat roofs, [[whitewash]] walls and blue-painted doors and window frames and shutters. Shadowed by luxuriant vines, and surrounded by gardens of oranges and [[pomegranate]]s,<ref name=EB1911/> the houses give the town a picturesque aspect. Above the central stretch of the seafront road, are the remains of a medieval castle, built almost entirely of the marble remains<ref name=EB1911/> of an ancient temple dedicated to [[Apollo]]. Similar traces of antiquity, in the shape of [[bas-reliefs]], inscriptions, columns, and so on, are numerous. On a hillside in the southern outskirts of Parikia on the left of the Parikia – Alyki road are the remains of a temple dedicated to [[Asclepius]]. In addition, close to the modern harbour, the remains of an ancient cemetery are visible, having been discovered recently during non-archaeological excavations.

Back from the port, around 400&nbsp;m left of Parikia's main square, is the town's principal church, the [[Panagia Ekatontapiliani]], literally meaning "church of the hundred doors". Its oldest features almost certainly predate the adoption of Christianity as the [[state religion]] of the [[Roman Empire]] in 391. It is said to have been founded by the mother of the [[Roman Emperor]] [[Constantine I|Constantine the Great]] (ruled 306&ndash;337), [[Helena of Constantinople|Saint Helen]], during her pilgrimage to the [[Holy Land]]. There are two adjoining chapels, one of very early form, and also a [[baptistery]] with a cruciform font.<ref name=EB1911/>

The [[Archaeological Museum of Paros]] is located in Parikia town,a small but interesting museum housing some of the many finds from sites in Paros. The best pieces, however, are in the [[Athens National Archaeological Museum]]. The Paros museum contains a fragment of the [[Parian Chronicle]], a remarkable chronology of ancient Greece. Inscribed in marble, its entries give time elapsed between key events from the most distant past (1500 BC) down to 264 BC.<ref>Inscriptiones Graecae XII.100 seqq.</ref>