Kato Pafos Archaeological Park
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The most accessible, exciting and inspiring archaeological site on the island, the ruins at Kato Pafos were first unearthed as recently as 1962, shedding dramatic new light on Cyprus under the Roman Empire. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the remains discovered here span more than 2,000 years. The lavish mosaics found on the floors of four Roman villas indicate that this was a place of ostentatious wealth in its glory days. Some display saucy scenes of deities and mortals carousing – an indication, perhaps, that Cyprus was as much a pleasure seeker’s island then as it is now.
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1. House of Aion
1. House of AionThe god Dionysus features largely in the mosaics in this villa, unearthed in 1983 and dating from the 4th century AD. Other scenes show the god Apollo, the legendary royal beauty Cassiopeia, and the god Aion, after whom the building is named.
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2. Villa of Theseus
2. Villa of TheseusThis villa’s mosaics are based on a heroic theme: a club-wielding Theseus prepares to take on the Minotaur, watched by Ariadne, while Achilles, champion of the siege of Troy, is shown as an infant.
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3. House of Orpheus
3. House of OrpheusAnother of the villas is still undergoing excavation. A scene of the tragic musician Orpheus pacifying a menagerie of savage beasts is the highlight of the mosaics.
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4. House of Dionysus
4. House of DionysusNamed after its mosaics of Dionysus, the god of wine, this is the largest of the four opulent villas found at Kato Pafos.
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5. Roman Odeon
5. Roman OdeonThe partly restored Roman theatre, with its 11 tiers of seats, stands on a hillside overlooking the rest of the site. Built in the early 2nd century AD, it was levelled by an earthquake three centuries later.
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6. Asklipion
The Asklipion was sacred to Asklipios, god of medicine. Its priests were renowned for their healing skills, and it was a hospital as well as a temple of worship.
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7. Roman Walls
Long ramparts and a moat protected Kato Pafos during its heyday as one of the wealthiest cities in Cyprus under the Romans.
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8. Agora
The marketplace was the hub of the ancient city’s social, political and commercial life and was originally surrounded by a grand colonnade of granite columns.
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9. Saranda Kolones
9. Saranda KolonesThis stronghold was erected by the 13th-century Lusignan kings on the remnants of a Byzantine castle. Its massive, battered walls and honeycomb of vaults and dungeons are surrounded by a dry moat.
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10. Hellenistic Theatre
Overlooking Kato Pafos from the south slope of Fabrica Hill, this semi-circular theatre has seven rows of stone benches, cut into the rock of the hillside.
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