Paphos Archaeological Park (Paphos)

 archaeological site, open air museum, UNESCO World Heritage Site, archaeology museum, fenced area, Ancient Greece

Open daily:
winter (16th September – 15th April) 8.30–17.00
summer (16th April – 15th September) 8.30–19.30
Entrance: €4.50

These sumptuous Roman mosaics are some of the finest to have been discovered in the ancient world. They decorated the homes of the imperial Roman commanders who governed Cyprus 2000 years ago and tell the stories of key mythological episodes including Dionysus' gift of wine to man.


The Roman mosaics were stumbled upon by a ploughing farmer back in 1961. Following the extensive excavations by Polish and Cypriot archaeologists, three separate Roman villas have now been unearthed and are open to the public. They are the highlight of any visit to Pafos.

Mosaics in the House of Dionysus show the God of wine, Dionysus, giving the secret of viticulture to Ikarios, the King of Athens. This is one of the earliest depictions of drunks ever found and the two peasants lie prostrate beside an empty amphora of wine in the final panel.

Though almost without exception flawlessly executed, the mosaic artists did make mistakes occasionally and spotting them is a good game. Have a look at the mosaic depicting Zeus metamorphosed as an eagle abducting the Phyrgian youth, Ganymede. The artist made the frame containing the picture too small and Zeus's right wing is truncated.

The second villa to see is the House of Aion where a mosaic of the birth of Dionysus from the 5th century reveals how closely the early Christian artists drew on classical scenes to inspire their work. The personification of the Gods, Theogonia, is even wearing a halo!

The final villa excavated, the House of Theseus, must have been an enormous complex and well demonstrates the wealth and splendour of the Roman occupation of the Cypriot capital which formed such a crucial crossroads between the East and the Western dominions. Don't miss the particularly fine rendering of Theseus' fight with the Minotaur in the Labyrinth.

Another highlight of a visit to the Archaeological Park is the abundance of wild flowers growing here during the winter and spring months. Look out for wild artichoke plants, anemones, mustard seed flowers and even some of Cyprus' 55 species of orchid

www.heritagedaily.com/2021/07/archaeologists-discover-a...