The most famous variety of statuary marble is the
Pentelic marble of Greece, found in the quarries of
Mount Pentelikon in Attica. Pentelic marble was used
by the great sculptors of ancient Greece, including
Phidias and Praxiteles, and it was used to make the
Elgin marbles. Parian marble, also used by ancient
Greek sculptors and architects, was quarried chiefly
at Mount Parpessa on the Grecian island of Paros.
Carrara marble, which occurs abundantly in the Apuan
Alps of Italy and is quarried in the region of
Carrara, Massa, and Serravezza was used in Rome for
architectural purposes in the time of Augustus, the
first emperor, but the finer varieties of sculptural
marble were later discovered. The greatest works of
Michelangelo are made of this marble, and it is used
extensively by present-day sculptors.