Paros Creatives

Landscape, climate, local products, restrictions and difficulties became foundational aspects of people’s lives on these islands. The leading position of Paros in flora and fauna biodiversity in the Mediterranean Sea is informed by strong sunlight along with the salty breeze and the powerful winds, which are the major constituent elements of the Cycladic microclimate. On each island, the lack of rain balances with the aroma of herbs, vines and olives growing in the Greek islands. In addition, inhabitants of the islands achieve characteristic formations of the land, the dry stones and terraces. This is our wildly beautiful landscape paired with the human effort to transform the barren slopes into arable lands. They are true works of art harmoniously linked to the environment, to the point that they appear to be the result of a natural process rather than human intervention.

Cycladic topos inscribes our human presence and creates a unique palimpsest made of memories. Similarly, the earth keeps and combines in different layers the various eras of the islands. These layers are visible in a variety of aspects : a small chapel built upon the ruins of an ancient idolatrous temple, a female name  that comes directly from the cult of nature and a  pagan  past (Maroulia, Chrysallis, Margarita) and elements that connect today and yesterday in a continuous timeline.

Within this scenery myths were created, tales and local dialects formed. Women developed ways to live in harmony with nature: mothers raised their children and became the voice that expressed their fears, hopes and joy through lullabies, stories and song. Women helped to lay the foundations of the local dialect that reflected the struggle to live symphonically in this difficult terrain. They influenced the ways of thinking and feeling, along with the imagination of the islanders. In so doing, they imbued the character of the Cycladic civilisation.

Women in this topos developed and sustained a wisdom about the properties  of herbs, the art of making baskets and fabrics, the cultivation of cheese and wine, mastering the art of living alongside and within nature. In this civilisation nature, the divine and human beings are united.

We rediscover the main values that lead the history of the Cycladic islands to an original way of life that today is in danger of extinction. Values like simplicity, bareness, creativity, obedience to the rules of nature, kindness. We recall these values as a new perspective, a renewed attitude toward life in order to recover our peace of mind and meaningful existence. In the Cyclades, sounds, smells, sea and wind are a constant stimulation of the senses that set the stage for the need for contact with the outdoors, a contact that ensures inner harmony. The word topos points out the significance of considering this meaning as a means of resistance to the globalisation of our lifestyle and widespread urbanisation.

Topos also consists of the sense of collectivity where people live together and they primarily care about public welfare. This perception promotes an ethical point that moves beyond human-centredness; to include all plants and animals in the ecosystem. Domination and conquest are declined. Women represent respect for life in this existence. In this ethic, the traditional hierarchy based on gender separation is no longer valid. Today topos is a connection with reality which originates from a powerful place and is crucial because this connection offers a bond and a feeling of safety that protect against the virtual and often uncertain reality that we currently live in.

Their teachings are not their only gifts. Plants feed us, clothe us, give us shelter, heal us. They are the other half of our lungs. They sustain us. And, although this dichotomy, “they” and “us”, does not help us recover our lost unity with the world, it does help us realise how much we depend on them.

Cycladic plants have wisely adapted to the rough terrain shaped by geological time but also to the semi-arid climate of the islands. Sculpted by the wind, soaked in salt and sun, bracing themselves from drought, overgrazing, fire. Human-driven environmental and climate change are visibly impacting the unique and extremely fragile island ecosystem of the Cyclades. This is not the first time this has happened: whenever humans inhabited the islands, probably for the last 10,000 years, and, proportionally to their numbers and their means, exploited natural resources to sustain their population. Trees became ships and fuel, or were burnt down by invaders with the aim to subdue the inhabitants. In times of scarcity, every inch of land was cultivated or grazed following the seasonal cycles. The Cycladic landscape, ‘topos’, is the map and the chronicle of this interaction between humans and the rest of nature, changing and evolving as are human needs, norms and habits over time.

The valley of Marathi, the location of the ancient marble quarries, like many archaeological sites in Greece, is a magical place. Many would argue that such places have special energy because of their glorious past. I think that part of the magic owes to the fact that they are not frequented by many people, building and many other destructive human activities are prohibited, and, for a brief moment in time, nature is given a little space and is left alone to thrive. And she is giving back, generously, beauty, joy, life. This is why we come back to her, choosing this beauty and this joy and this life, again and again, emphatically and stubbornly.