Paraportiani: A Greek Orthodox Church in Mykonos
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.5
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Greece
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Ottoman
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Church
On this page6 sections
History
Construction in the Kastro
Paraportiani is a Greek Orthodox church in Greece, in Chora, Mykonos, built between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries in a Byzantine-Cycladic tradition. It stands in the Kastro district at the western end of the old port, beside the area known as Little Venice. The Kastro was a medieval fortified quarter whose walls and gates controlled access to the enclosed town and fort.
Construction began during the fifteenth century and was completed in the seventeenth century, during Ottoman rule over Greece. The church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the central figure of Christian devotion to Jesus’s mother and a principal subject of dedication in Eastern Orthodox churches. Its name means “Our Lady of the side gate” or “Our Lady of the secondary gate,” referring to the medieval city gate incorporated into its main entrance. After the church was built, the Greek population reportedly did not pay additional taxes.
Protection and Religious Association
Paraportiani is regarded as the oldest of Mykonos’s approximately 400 churches and has become one of the island’s principal symbols. It belongs to the Greek Orthodox Church and is associated with the Metropolis of Syros, Tinos, Andros, Kea, and Milos, an ecclesiastical district governed by a metropolitan bishop. The Greek state has protected the church as a historic monument since 1936, and it is also registered as an archaeological site in Greece.
Remains
Whitewashed Form and Setting
Paraportiani is a whitewashed Byzantine-Cycladic structure positioned directly beside the Aegean Sea. Cycladic architecture is the traditional style of the Cyclades, characterized here by white surfaces and restrained forms. The church’s exterior rises in two levels, with irregular joints, curved forms, and rounded wall surfaces created by the adjoining chapels.
Chapels and Upper Church
The building is an agglomeration of five chapels or churches. At ground level, four chapels are dedicated to Agios Efstathios, the Holy Savior, Agioi Anargyroi, and Agia Anastasia. These lower chapels were joined to create the base of a fifth chapel above them. Dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the upper chapel has a dome and an open-air bell tower. Historical inscriptions concerning the church’s name have also been preserved.
