I’ve always been fascinated with Greek mythology, so today was really fun too see how people back then used to create and base their culture around these myths and legends. We first went to Aphrodite’s Rock near Paphos, where it is said that the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite, was born from the sea foam. I’ve read about the place many times but to actually be there and see where these stories had come from was truly an experience. The shore was absolutely beautiful and the water was different striking shades of blue. When the waves hit the shore line, there was lots of sea foam that was created which feeds into the myth of Aphrodite’s birth. It felt so surreal to be there. On the way back, our tour guide told us about a legend that if someone finds the exact location where Aphrodite was born, swims there naked at midnight and on a full moon, they either, if they are a female, were granted some of Aphrodite’s beauty, or if they were a male, eternal youth. Again, fascinating myths and legends.

Next, we went to the House of Dionysus in Paphos. Dionysus was the greek god of wine, vegetation, and festivity. In the house, we saw mosaics that covered the floor. The first mosaic that we saw was of Scylla (you might recognize her from one of the monsters that Odysseus had to fight on his journey). The mosaic was created with small pebbles that were either black or white. The use of these pebbles and the black and white colors represent the early form of art that was used to tell stories and lessons. There were other mosaics with other myths like Narcissus, Pyramus and Thisbe, and more. As we moved on further into the house we saw the mosaics change from being made from pebbles and only two colors to having a more square shape and having more colors. For the four more vibrant colors (red, yellow, green and blue) glass/enamel was used to make the color pop. All of the mosaics had so much detail on them is was incredible. Walking through the house make me thing how people all those centuries ago created all of this without recent technologies that we have readily available to us.

After we saw all of the mosaics, we got to have free time in Protaras Harbor. I decided to tour more of the area around the House of Dionysus and saw many more mosaics. The main question that was going through my mind was why all of the other mosaics were not covered like the ones that were in the house were. These other mosaics were large as well and very intricate as well. Once those grounds were finished, we went to explore more of the harbor. There were many gift shops and restaurants that were also along the shore and we decided to stop by in some and buy some souvenirs. Overall today was really fun and full of Greek Mythology.