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Pafos Archaeological Site
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES
Nea Pafos (New Pafos) is, ironically, the name given to the sprawling Pafos Archaeolo-
gical Site, to the west of Kato Pafos. Nea Pafos was the ancient city of Pafos, founded in
the late 4th century BC and originally encircled by massive walls. Despite being ceded to
the Romans in 58 BC, it remained the centre of all political and administrative life in
Cyprus. It is most famed today for its mesmerising collection of intricate and colourful
mosaics based on ancient Greek myths.
Palea Pafos (Old Pafos) was in fact Kouklia, southeast of today's Pafos and the site of
the Sanctuary of Aphrodite. At the time of Nea Pafos, Cyprus was part of the kingdom of
the Ptolemies, the Greco-Macedonian rulers of Egypt whose capital was Alexandria. The
city became an important strategic outpost for the Ptolemies, and the settlement grew con-
siderably over the next seven centuries.
The city originally occupied an area of about 950,000 sq metres and reached its zenith
during the 2nd or 3rd century AD. It was during this time that the city's most opulent pub-
lic buildings were constructed, including those that house the famous Pafos mosaics.
Nea Pafos went into decline following an earthquake in the 4th century that badly dam-
aged the city. Subsequently, Salamis in the east became the new capital of Cyprus, and
Nea Pafos was relegated to the status of a mere bishopric. Arab raids in the 7th century set
the seal on the city's demise and neither Lusignan settlement (1192-1489) nor Venetian
and Ottoman colonisation revived Nea Pafos' fortunes.
The archaeological site is still being excavated since it is widely believed that there are
many treasures still to be discovered. The following sections detail the major sights.
Pafos Mosaics
This superb collection of mosaics is located in the southern sector of the archaeological
site, immediately to the south of the Agora. Discovered by accident in 1962 by a farmer
ploughing his field, these exquisite mosaics decorated the extensive floor area of a large,
wealthy residence from the Roman period. Subsequently named the
House of Dionysus
(because of the number of mosaics featuring Dionysus, the god of wine), this complex is
the largest and best known of the mosaic houses.
The most wonderful thing about the mosaics is that, apart from their artistic and aes-
thetic merits, each tells a story, mostly based on ancient Greek myths.
