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Paphos Archaeological Park
Kato Pafos, near the harbour  
Tel. 26306217
Open daily:
November-March: 08.00-17.00
June-August: 08.00-19.30
April, May, September, October: 08.00-18.00

The inclusion of the Kato Pafos archaeological site in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1980 was the starting point for the creation of a General Plan whose aim would be primarily to protect and maintain the archaeological remains, as well as to promote them and provide comprehensive information to visitors. Kato Pafos archaeological Park includes sites and monuments from prehistoric times to the Middle Ages, while most remains date to the Roman period. The marvellous mosaic floors of four Roman villas from the impressive epicentre of the finds. The complex includes other important monuments, such as the Asklipieion, the Odeion, the Agora, the "Saranta Kolones" (Forty Columns) Fortress, the "Limeniotissa" Ruins of early Christian Basilica and the "Tombs of the Kings".

Medieval Castle of Paphos

Harbour, Kato Paphos
Open Daily:
08.00-17.00 (November-March)
08.00-18.00 (April, May, September, October)
08.00-19.30 (June-August)
 
Pafos castle was originally a Byzantine fort built to protect the harbour. It was rebuilt by the Lusignans in the 13th century, dismantled by the Venetians in 1570 during the Ottoman invasion and rebuilt by the Ottomans after they captured the island in the 16th century. Originally, this role was served by the Saranta Kolones fort, the ruins of which lie a few hundred meters to the north. During its long history, the Pafos Castle was used, as well as for protection, as prison cells, and even as a storage area for salt when the island was a British colony. In 1935 it was declared an ancient monument and today is considered as one of the hallmarks of the Pafos region.
Many cultural events take place in the square just in front of the castle, while during September each year the Pafos Aphrodite Festival which presents a different opera every year staged here by world famous artists with the castle building usually acting as part of the scenery.

Ancient theatre in Pafos

The theatre at Pafos in western Cyprus lies in the north-eastern corner of the ancient town, diagonally opposite the harbour. It seems to have been built early in the life of the town, in the last years of the fourth century BC.
It seems to show close links with the architecture of Alexandria, as one would expect given that Pafos was the Ptolemaic capital of the island, and there is every chance that it reflects the style of the theatre of Alexandria, which is no longer preserved.
It seems to show several features that are important to the evolution of ancient theatre design, not least its semicircular form.
The theatre is only partially built into a hill and the rest was built up with an artificial earthen embankment on which stone seating was placed. To the south of the theatre a paved road was constructed parallel to the stage building in the third century AD. Excavations through part of it have revealed a series of closely-dated deposits which are proving to have far-reaching importance for the chronology of pottery and glass of the 3rd and 4th centuries.
In the 13th-15th centuries AD there was a sizeable farmstead over the area of the stage-building, and it is part of important medieval activity in Pafos, in the period of the Crusaders.

The Tombs of the Kings

The Tombs of the Kings are an early necropolis in Paphos dating from 300 BC. The burial niches were looted of all artifacts long ago, but a powerful sense of stillness and mystery remains.

History

The name of the site is misleading—there's no evidence of any royalty buried here. Rather, the site was the final resting place of about 100 Ptolemaic aristocrats who lived and died in Paphos beginning in the 3rd century BC.

Early antiquarians dubbed the site the "Tombs of the Kings" due to the impressiveness of the tombs, and the name has stuck.

The catacombs were later used by early Christians, and one of the tombs was turned into a chapel. In the Middle Ages, some tombs were used as makeshift dwellings or as workplaces—pottery was made in tomb 3.

The site was systematically looted of artifacts long before excavations began in 1977. Investigations continue today under the Cyprus Department of Antiquities.

What to see

The tombs are impressive, carved out of solid rock, some featuring Doric pillars and frescoed walls. The design is heavily indebted to Macedonian prototypes, passed on from Alexander's armies to the Ptolemies.

Eight complexes have been singled out and numbered for visitors, with 3, 4, and 8 being the most elaborate.

Some tombs are reached via stairs that lead into sunken rectangular courts surrounded by Doric columns carved from the rock. Originally the tombs were covered with stucco and the walls were decorated with frescoes.

Beyond the colonnades, passages lead to rooms with niches (loculi) for individual corpses. Bodies were buried with costly grave goods, including jewelry and cosmetic boxes.

As was common in the classical world, on the anniversaries of death loved ones would hold a ceremonial meal (nekrodhipno) at the tomb, with the leftovers deposited near the body.

One tomb has a large rectangular stone block in the center of the atrium and loculi ornamented around the sides. Archaeologists have excavated 18 burials from the Hellenistic period in this tomb, three of which had not been robbed due to collapsed material in front of them. Two of them contained an ointment container, a myrtle wreath of gold and fine Rhodian amphorae. In the third, a child had been buried in a terracotta pipe.

Getting There

The Tombs of the Kings lie on the northernmost edge of the necropolis of Nea Paphos, to the north and east of the city walls. From the area of Fabrica Hill, follow the well-signposted major road Leoforos Tafon ton Vasileon for 2km northwest.

Quick Facts

Panayia Chrysopolitissa

The Panagia Chrysopolitissa church was built in the 13th century over the ruins of the largest Early Byzantine basilica on the island. Within the compound one can see St. Paul's Pillar, where according to tradition Saint Paul was flogged before the Roman Governor Sergius Paulus was converted to Christianity. Originally the church was seven–aisled, but later was reduced to five aisles. The floor of the basilica was covered with colourful mosaics, some of which are still preserved.

Ancient city of Marion

Following the example of Alexander the Great, the Ptolemies founded several new cities. In Cyprus the city of Marion was rebuilt in the beginning of the 3rd century B.C. after its total destruction by Ptolemy I and was re-named Arsinoe in honour of Arsinoe II, sister and wife of Ptolemy Philadelphos. Two other cities were founded in the name of Arsinoe, one in the east of Cyprus at Salamis, and the second in the district of Pafos, between New and Old Pafos. This town which, according to Strabo, had anchorage (προσόρμιον), a sanctuary (ιερό), and a sacred grove (άλσος), has not been identified. Its sanctuary was probably dedicated to queen Arsinoe who, on her death (in 270 B.C.) was deified and worshipped in Paphos equally with Aphrodite, as were many other Ptolemeic kings and queens.

Kings of Marion

The ancient kingdom of Marion with its capital of the same name (present day “Polis tis Chrysochous”) was also situated in the Pafos district. From inscriptive and numismatic evidence we know the names of only 5 kings of Marion:

1. Doxandros (5th century B.C.)
2. Sasmas (5th century B.C.)
3. Stasioikos I (5th century B.C.)
4. Timocharis (5th century B.C.)
5. Stasioikos II (5th century B.C.)

Christian Basilicas at Pegeia 
In the town of Pafos, as well as in the rest of Cyprus, many fine Christian basilicas were constructed during the Early Byzantine period. Today in Pafos, the remains of two such basilicas are preserved, that of Panagia Chrysopolitissa and Panayia Limeniotissa.
The basilica of Panagia Chrysopolitissa is situated in the eastern part of the town. It is the largest basilica excavated so far in Cyprus and once it was the cathedral of the town and the seat of its bishop. It was built at the end of the 4th century and destroyed in the middle of the 7th century, during the Arab raids. This was originally the seven-aisled basilica, which was rebuilt and modified several times. The Medieval church of Agia Kyriaki stands nearby.

The basilica of Panagia Limeniotissa is situated a short distance from Pafos harbour. This is a three-aisled basilica, built at the beginning of the 5th century. Very few sections of its mosaic floors with geometric patterns have been preserved.
Three other basilicas, one next to the other, have been excavated in the Cape Drepano area, about 15 kilometers northwest of Pafos. They are known as the basilicas of Agios Georghios tis Pegeias. The largest of them, a three-aisled basilica, was built in the middle of the sixth century, the second one a few years later and the third at the end of the 6th or the beginning of the 7th century.