The many varied and colourful rock strata were formed in the Mesozoic Era, dating from the Triassic Period 230 million years ago to the Cretaceous Period 140 million years ago, and are part of the Attico-Cycladic Massif in the Cyclades Blueschist Belt.

Marble is a crystalline solid rock formed by the transformation of limestone producing the main constituents of true marble, calcite and dolomite, but a combination of other minerals, such as quartz and muscovite, also affect the physical properties and the colour.

Genuine marble is usually white to grey, but the presence of chromatic materials mixed in its structure creates a wide range of colours. Iron produces reddish, brown and beige colours; limonite and other argillaceous minerals, yellowish colours; graphite and other carbon compounds, grey to black colours; and chlorite and serpentine, greenish colours. Even plant based substances previously trapped underneath or inside the rock can contribute to the many varying colours in the marble.

The marble on the Greek island of Tinos has a characteristic green colour due to the presence of the mineral chlorite. The chlorite is thought to have formed during the metamorphism of the island's rocks, a process of high temperature and pressure that transforms rocks into new types of rocks such as marble.

Some of the most famous examples where Tinos green marble has been used are in The Panathenaic Stadium and The Temple of Poseidon in Greece, The Metropolitan Opera House in New York, Buckingham Palace in London and The Louvre Museum in Paris.