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    Mosaic in the House of Dionysus
    House of DionysusLight house and open fields which may have more ruinsVilla of TheseusMosaic of Theseus, who was made famous for this quest in Crete, not CyprusVilla of TheseusHunting mosaic in House of DionysusMedieval fortress of PaphosMosaic of the Four Seasons in the House of DionysusMosaic of the triumph of DionysusMosaic telling the story of Dionysus giving wine to humansHigh detail mosaic depicting scenes of contests. Halos on Gods heads shows Christian influence.Paphos lighthouse1Toumpallos cave dwellingWalkthrough of Toumpallos cave dwelling

    Kato Pafos Archaeological Park, Cyprus

    April 15, 2023 in Cyprus ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Today we visited Archaeological Park of Kato Pafos (or Paphos, they seem to be fluid about the spelling of that "f" sound). The site is huge for an open air museum at about 50 acres. Big parts of it are still open fields that beg the question of what may still be yet to be uncovered.

    It seems the hallmark of this park is its well preserved mosaic floors. We've seen a lot of ancient mosaics on this trip, but these are the most beautiful and intricate we've seen. I feel like the pictures did not do them justice.

    The age of the site is generally between the 4th to 2nd century BC. Cyprus was quite prosperous at that time as it had large lines of copper when the rest of the nearby Mediterranean was going through the Bronze Age (copper is needed to make bronze). It started to become a major port and taxed the goods that came through it.    Read more