[Visited: August 2020]
- On our way west from Larnaca, we make a short stop at Aphrodite's Rock, the legendary birthplace of the beloved Aphrodite, goddess of love, beauty, and sexuality. Called Venus by the Romans, she was supposedly born of foam right here at this rock. It is an appropriate introduction to Paphos, a city whose name supposedly derives from Aphrodite, when king Pygmalion had the statue Galatea, which Aphrodite brought to life, and with whom Pygmalion had a son, Paphos. The city then erected a temple in her honour. Currently a lively coastal town, mostly for holiday makers, Paphos was the capital of Cyprus from the 2nd century BCE until the 4th century CE, after which it suffered destruction and abandonment. It only rose in importance after the coup and subsequent Turkish invasion of 1974, but excavations of Nea Paphos (New Paphos, which succeeded the city of Palaeopaphos, or Kouklia, in the 3rd century BCE) had already started by that time. What better place to start exploring Paphos than here, at the Paphos Archaeological Park.
- It is a hot summer day in Covid times, and we decide to wait for more clement temperatures, and forgiving light, to head to the park. We need to wear our mask to buy the ticket, but much of the site is outdoor and we can freely roam around the ruins. A Polish team started working here in 1965, and has already been able to pull out a lot of worthy historic finds, like coins from the Philippus and Alexander the Great times, as well as the remains of buildings which must have been luxurious villas around 2000 years ago. While the ruins only give an idea of the size of what the buildings once must have been, it is the mosaics found in several of the Roman villas that are the attraction of this site. Our first stop is the House of Aion, which has only been partially excavated so far. A new structure protects its prize: 4th century CE mosaics which are considered one of the most outstanding of ancient Roman art. They look like paintings, with subtle hues depicting legendary scenes of Greek mythology. We see the Birth of Dionysos, the beauty contest between Cassopeia and the nereids, a music contest between Marsyas and Apollo, and Dionysos touring the world.
- Not far from here, we find a circular mosaic depicting Theseus and the Minotaur, close to a row of columns which once were part of a large building, now called the House of Theseus after the mosaics. There is another mosaic in which we see the first bath of Achilles. We walk further north, to the House of Orpheus, but unfortunately, the mosaics here are currently under a cover of sand. A sea-breeze cools us off on our walk to the House of Dionysos, the central building which has the biggest collection of mosaics. Indeed, we are overwhelmed. A central court, the core of the house before it was destroyed by an earthquake, is surrounded by several large halls. All of them are covered in mosaics: a true paradise for mosaic lovers like me. We see a mosaic made of black and white pebbles, depicting Scylla, and then various others - testing my memory of Greek mythology. The classic, and sad, love story of Thisbe and Pyramos, the rape of Ganymede by Zeus disguised as an eagle, but also mosaics with hunting scenes, geometric patterns, animals, the four seasons. The most prominent figure here is the god of wine, Dionysos, and because of his frequent appearance in different mosaics, the house was named after him. After this mosaic delight, we walk past the small theatre, the agora, to the Saranda Kolones castle which, as the name implies, once had forty columns, of which only a few remain standing now. The sun is setting, just as it has for so many centuries, over the ruins of Nea Paphos as we exit, which undoubtedly has more riches still hidden in her grounds.
