The ancient city of Paphos, Cyprus, at the edge of the current city of Paphos, is called the city of mosaics. Not a bad thing to be known by. The ancient parts of the city are, collectively, a Unesco World Heritage site. They are spread over various parts of town, but for the most part, so indeed distinguish themselves with lots of excellent mosaics.
These five mosaics are in threee excavated homes of what obviously was the wealthy part of town. The House of Aion is the smallest of the three, but, for me, has the most delicate and expressive of the works. The Leda at her bath, who is about to meet Zeus in the form of a swan, is a marvel in its detail, which rivals that of a fresco. Unfortunately, the walls of all these homes are gone, so no frescoes to compare with.
The House of Theseus is a huge home, with over 40 rooms, but unfortunately many of the mosaics are covered for protection and you can only see them on the signs posted next to where they are buried in sand. I love though, that this Theseus and the Minotaur is exposed, and that the surrounding mosaic is in the form of a labyrinth.
The House of Dionysius is also large, with perhaps 20 rooms, and it has been totally enclosed with new modern walls and a roof, so all the mosaics are visible. They've built an elevated walkway throughout the new building over the ruins of the interior walls. So, you can see all the floors of the rooms and their mosaics.
As a bonus when walking around Paphos, you'll see vistas like this–a reminder of the constant sea wind that aided sailors for thousands of years.
Paphos is a Unesco World Heritage site in Cyprus. For a list of all Cyprus Unesco World Heritage sites, with links to posts about the ones we've visited, click here.
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So very beautiful!
Yes they are. And these are just a small sample. We saw another great Leda and the Swan today at the Sanctuary of Venus.
These look amazing. I have become fascinated with mosaics since I visited Ravenna which just blew me away. This makes me now want to go to Cyprus, as well as all the other places you have photographed.
Debra, you are the second person to mention Ravenna to me recently. I wanted to get there when we were in Italy, but we ran out of time. Next time.
Ravenna is a completely unexpected, even when you think you are ready for it. I have never seen mosaics like it–not Venice or Torcello or Istanbul. If you know Yeats’s poems about Byzantium, it was the Ravenna mosaics he was actually describing. He never saw Istanbul itself. and the mosaics in Hagia Sophia are crude compared to those of Ravenna.
I loved Paphos…great mosaics and a beautiful place to walk around!