3. Second SEE World
Heritage Youth Forum
in Serbia
Let us learn important information
about the ancient culture of
Paphos-Cyprus
4. An island full of ancient
monuments
Paphos has been inhabited since the
Neolithic period. It was a centre of the cult
of Aphrodite and of pre-Hellenic fertility
deities. Aphrodite's legendary birthplace
was on this island, where her temple was
erected by the Myceneans in the 12th
century B.C. The remains of villas,
palaces, theatres, fortresses and tombs
mean that the site is of exceptional
architectural and historic value. The
mosaics of Nea Paphos are among the
most beautiful in the world.
5. The Tombs of the Kings,
in Kato Paphos, is a
monumental structure
carved out of solid
rock with some tombs
decorated with Doric
pillars. Spread over a
vast area, these
impressive
underground tombs
date back to the 4th
century BC. High
officials rather than
kings were buried
here, but the
magnificence of the
tombs gave the
locality its name.
6.
7.
8.
9. The house of Dionysos..
The remains of this splendid Roman villa were discovered
near the harbour in 1962. The house has been given its
modern name because of the frequency with which the
god of wine, Dionysos, is depicted in its floor mosaics.
This site, like many others in Paphos, is included by
UNESCO in the “World Heritage” list. Built in the third
century, the villa had more than forty-four rooms, which
were built around a peristyle atrium. With a floor area of
two thousand square metres, this was almost certainly
the house of a very wealthy citizen. It was destroyed in
the fourth-century earthquakes. During the construction
of a roof over the mosaics in 1964, a broken amphora
was found in the villa. It contained 2,484 Ptolemaic
silver coins, the richest treasure ever found in Cyprus.
13. The ancient Amphitheatre..
As today's music
conservatories cultivate
and dramatic art, so the
ancient academies were
buildings where he
performs music games
and competitions diction.
The Odeon of Paphos,
built in the early first
century AD, seems
stopped operating during
the fourth century, when
Paphos was destroyed
by the earthquake of that
era.
14.
15. Church of Agia Paraskevi..
The church of Agia Paraskevi is located in the village
of Geroskipou. It is considered to be an extremely
significant example of Byzantine architecture dated
to the 9th century. It has not yet been established
whether the church stands on the ruins of an
ancient temple dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite.
According to tradition, the name Geroskipou
derives from the sacred gardens of the goddess,
which were located to the south of the village
towards the sea, at the point where the ancient
pilgrims began their journey to the sanctuary of
Palaipafos. It is quite possible that the church was
originally dedicated to Timios Stavros. Nowadays
however, it is dedicated to the Christian martyr Agia
16. A small domed
tetraconch is affixed
on the southeastern
end of the church.
The tetraconches
were widely used
during the Early
Christian period,
either as martyries or
as baptisteries.
Probably during the
19th century, the
church’s west wall
was demolished and
the church was
extended. The
original entrances to
the church were
probably located on
the west wall.
17. Some of the frescoes inside the
church
In the interior, the church
of Agia Paraskevi is
decorated with wall-
paintings dated to various
periods, from the 8th-9th,
10th, 12th up to the 15th
century. During the course
of cleaning and restoration
work on the surviving
frescoes by the
Department of Antiquities
in the period between
1974-1977, a monochrome
reddish cross of an earlier
type was revealed, painted
directly on the stone, on
the south wall of the north
aisle. This type of cross is
usually dated to the Early
18. SOURCES OF INFORMATION :
-GOOGLE
-WWW.PAPHOS2017.EU
-BOOKS ABOUT PAPHOS AND ALSO HISTORY BOOKS.
THANK YOU AND WE HOPE YOU ENJOY
THE SHOW.
Margarita Michael
