We now have left Limassol and made our way to the beach town of Paphos. On the way there, we were able to see Aphrodite’s Rock, a very famous landmark for Greek Mythology. Legend has it that Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, was created and appeared on this rock. It was very cool to be in such a historical place for Greek Mythology. I was able to take Greco-Roman Religion in my first semester at Pitt and this class made me appreciate being at this site even more. Our tour guide Dimitra told us stories about how the legend says that women can achieve total beauty and men can achieve total youth by going to Aphrodite’s Rock and taking a swim out to the exact spot where she was born. But you have to do this at midnight, with a full moon, and be completely nude. The story itself was very interesting to hear and how my understanding of Greek Mythology and religion grew even after taking Greco-Roman Religion.

We next went into Paphos and the House of Dionysus. Dionysus’ house was owned by a wine merchant. The original house itself was not there anymore but we were able to see some of the many mosaics that were left behind from many generations and how each mosaic is different. A farmer actually discovered these mosaics (and destroyed some). One of the mosaics, located in The Room of Narcissus, was of Narcissus, some would have considered the most handsome man alive, looking at himself in the reflection of water. This mosaic is pictured below. He apparently loved looking at himself so much that his death was due to him looking at himself in the water, and falling in where he would drown. Another room was The Triumph of Dionysus. Dionysus, being the god of wine, has many vines and leaves of grape vines for wine. It was very interesting to also see how the rocks, pebbles, and glass were so professionally crafted in late BC and early AD. They actually had teams that would construct these sculptures. My personal favorite was the Peacock Mosaic, which had many geometric shapes surrounding the center which had a peacock. The interesting part of this was the peacock was actually a symbol for christianity before Constantine made the cross Christianity’s symbol. It represents immortality for the religion.

Lastly after the tour of the mosaics, we were able to get some free time around the sea at Paphos. I was able to get some lunch at a local restaurant where I got a great pasta dish. Then got a waffle at a gelato place with Nutella and Nutella ice cream on it. It was delicious! After that I had some time to go around the shops and see if I wanted to get anything. I ended up getting a Cristiano Ronaldo Portugal jersey and a Kylian Mbappé France jersey (Yes they definitely are not authentic) for only 30 Euros. Paphos was a very cool tourist town and beach spot. Now that we are in Nicosia, I am very excited to see what Nicosia is like in comparison to Limassol and get the ability to see UNIC swell, can’t wait!