
Tinos is also known as "the island of Artists ". It is
indeed the place where most of the establishers of modern
sculpture and painting come from. According to tradition,
Phidias was of Tinian origin. More specifically, it is
said that his father, who had been born in the village
of Pyrgos, was a sailor aboard the trireme of Panætios
and married a woman from Athens. Another version says
that Phidias himself taught the people of Tinos the art
of marble sculpture. This happened when the boat carrying
him to exile on Delos ran aground in the area of Kionia.

Today, great artists worthily continue the tradition, such as the sculptors:
Lazaros Lameras, Nikolaos Paraskevas, Stratis Philippotis, Praxitelis Tzanoulinos,
Petros Delatolas, Ioannis Kirarinis etc, the painters: Christos Santamouris,
Panayiotis Metaxas, Nikolaos Pokamisas, Nikolaos Gahitis etc., the weaver Eleftherios
Kritikos and so on. Also, great contemporary actors, musicians and dancers hail
from the island, like Anna Fonsou (actress), Nikos Skalkotas (composer) etc.
|