St. Paraskevi (2nd cent.)
The
name Paraskevi means Friday and the saint was named so simply because she
was born on this day of the week. St. Paraskevi was a Roman Maiden who was
martyred for her faith in the 2nd century.
Not much is known about her but in icons she is depicted as a young woman
with a wooden cross in one hand, which symbolises her martyrdom, and a pair
of eyes in the other.
The
eyes signify that she is the protector of the eyes and Greeks go to her for
any sort of eye problems:
it is believed that St. Paraskevi was some kind of healer, perhaps even a
doctor, and that she had the ability to cure blindness.
St. Paraskevi is the patron saint of Alonissos and Evia and both islands house beautiful eyes in her honour. On Skiathos the small Church of St. Paraskevi stands not far from the beach that also carries her name: Agia Paraskevi.
She is celebrated on July 26.