The Marvellous Paphos Mosaics!

An amazing collection of mosaics lies within Paphos Archaeological Park. The mosaics were unravelled by accident back in 1962 by a local farmer who was busy ploughing his field.

The mosaic floors decorate aristocratic a number of Roman villas, but the most renowned and well-preserved are found within the House of Dionysus. The House of Dionysus was named after the many mosaics that feature the God of Wine, Dionysus.

Besides the mosaics aesthetics and artistry, they each narrate a story based of Greek mythology. Upon entering the House of Dionysus culture enthusiasts are presented with a mosaic featuring a monster named Scylla. This mosaic was excavated in 1977 and is based on an ancient Greek myth.

Visitors are usually amazed with the mosaic depicting the myth of Narcissus as well as the Four Seasons. The latter illustrates the four seasons where Summer is wearing ears made of corn and is holding a sickle, while Autumn is wearing a crown made of wheat and leaves, Spring is shown holding a shepherd’s stick and is wearing a crown made of flowers while finally, Winter is depicted as a grey-haired man with a beard.

One of the most wonderful mosaics found in the House of Dionysus is the one depicting Phedra and Hippolytos that narrates the strange love of a stepmother towards her stepson.

The Rape of Ganymede is also a fascinating mosaic featuring the pretty young shepherd, Ganymede who served wine to the Greek gods. Apparently, the artist who created this mosaic did not calculate the dimensions of the floor because the wings of the eagle seem to have been cropped.  Another amazing mosaic floor is the one based on Shakespeare’s Pyramus and Thisbe lovers.

The 2^nd-century House of Theseus was named after a mosaic illustrating Theseus battling with the Minotaur. The Roman villa is spread over an area of 9600 square metres, of which approximately 1400 square metres of mosaic floors have been unravelled. Besides the mosaic of Theseus and the Minotaur, visitors will also marvel at various other mosaic floors such as those illustrating Poseidon and Achilles.

The House of Aion is also home to marvellous 4^th-century mosaic floors. The scenes are depicted in five different panels. The House of Aion was named after Aion, a pagan god, which is shown in the mosaics.  Even though, most of the mosaic is somewhat damaged, the name and face of Aion is clear.

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