Today was one of my favorite days so far. First on the agenda is a site visit to Aphrodite’s Rock in Paphos on the western coast of the island. On the bus, Demetra summarized the ancient myths of the goddess of beauty. We learned that she was believed to be born out of seafoam at the exact beach. It is said that if one swims to Aphrodite’s rock at midnight, under a full moon, and fully undressed, they will receive eternal youth or beauty, depending on one’s gender. Once we got to the site, it was clear why this was the birthplace of the goddess of beauty. The area was absolutely stunning, the water was so clear and blue, and the rocks seemed to hold more importance and meaning than just a simple rock, if that makes sense. I noticed the crashing sound of the waves and saw the white seafoam as each wave crashed after the next, the only word I can use to describe the scene is ethereal. 

Next, we visited the Tomb of the Kings just north of the city of Paphos. This UNESCO World Heritage Site contains countless family tombs of some of the most important people of the time. When the British discovered them, they were so amazed at how elaborate they are that they gave them the name we know today. The tombs are modeled after the houses of these families, and stairs and columns are seen in most of them. What is fascinating is that no machines were used to construct them. They are built underground, so for each one tons of rock had to be carved out by hand. We got to see a 7th-century B.C. tomb, one of the oldest in the entire world that can be observed and is still standing in its original form. 

Here, we also observed some of the oldest and most ornate mosaics not only in Cyprus but in the world. The first Mosaics were constructed for the purpose of flooring made of stone. These first ones were made of black and white pebbles. This turned into what mosaics are today, which is an intricate art form. The house we visited was that of a rich wine merchant, as seen in some of the rooms where the mosaics depicted grape fields. It amazes me how much we know about ancient history through clues like this. 

Something that I did not know was about the history of slavery. Some of the mosaics we saw today depicted slaves as darker in color than the Greeks, but we learned from Demetra that this was not showing skin color as we assumed, but just a way to differentiate between the classes. In fact, slaves of this time were from Asia. 

This was sadly Demitra’s last tour/Greek history lesson. Her information was so invaluable and gave much-needed context to all of the sites we visited. She was an encyclopedia on the history of Cyrus, and I deeply admire her and her knowledge. Even though we had known her for less than a week, this was a difficult goodbye. I think this goes to show how important the human element is in learning, and also life in general. I think I speak for everyone when I say we will never forget her and how much she contributed to this trip.