The island of Tinos in Greece has been well known for centuries for its marble and art form of marble sculpture. Greek sculptors, regarded as the best in antiquity, favored marble's softness when creating fine, precise sculptures of either gods or humans.
Many have described Pyrgos as an "open-air marble museum" because of the marble art sculptures created there. A long-held legend has it that the people of Tinos were first taught the craft of sculpture by Phidias when his ship was forced to shelter in Tinos by strong winds while on its way to Delos. Regardless of whether this is true or not, Tinos is famous for producing dove-white marble and dark Verde marble.
A marble craftsperson possesses empirical knowledge of the composition and structure of rock that contains marble, its properties, and how to manipulate marble veins. There are a variety of motifs, patterns, and symbols associated with the industry, including cypresses, flowers, birds, and ships.
There are a number of motifs engraved on everyday marble vessels and fanlights, as well as on buildings, road signs, churches, and cemeteries, which all symbolize a shared symbolic system of religious, magical, and oral traditions. These symbols ensure propitiation and deflect evil influences.
Sometimes crafters form teams to handle large projects, and sometimes individual masters work alone to complete small commissions. Transmission has been around for several years. Apprentices usually start with menial tasks, such as cleaning the workshop and arranging the master's tools, then move on to learning the craft and drawing.
In Pyrgos, a marble carver is found in almost every family. The expertise of marble carving has been handed down from generation to generation. Master craftspersons usually supervise and mentor one or two apprentices, usually family members. Once they have completed their training and have earned the title of master craftsperson, apprentices receive a chest containing a set of tools.
Women now represent almost one-quarter of marble craftsmen, a significant shift from the tradition of marble craftsmanship, which had historically been dominated by men.
To this day, the traditional art of marble working is mainly performed by artisans trained on the island of Tinos. In the 1950s, these artisans reconstructed the Stoa of Attalos, and their sons then came to the Acropolis in 1970 and worked on the Erechtheion. Now, according to Lena Lambrinou of the Acropolis Restoration Service (YSMA), the third generation of these artisans is working on the Parthenon.