We went to Paphos today and stopped at Aphrodite’s Rock (Petra you Rominou) on the way. It was a Greek mythology filled day. This is said to be the birthplace of Aphrodite, the Ancient Greek goddess of love and beauty. She is said to have been born from the seafoam that surrounds the rock. Today was a little bit windy and chilly, and the waves around the rock were extra choppy, but nonetheless beautiful. We actually looked at (and took pictures with) the wrong rock at first, but eventually found the right one! Our tour guide told us the legend that if one swims in the correct spot around the rock on a full moon at midnight naked, they will be granted eternal youth or beauty. We met a local couple at the rock who had recently been married—the birthplace of the goddess of love was a fitting place for them to be.
After the rock, we got back on the bus and went to Paphos where we visited the House of Dionysos, named after the Greek god of wine. The floor of this house was covered in mosaics built around 3000 CE. There was one mosaic, of a sea monster Scylla, that was not a part of the original house and is theorized to be older than the rest of the mosaics, from the Hellenic era. It was interesting to note the differences in this mosaic from the others, as it was completely black and white and was done with rocks from the sea. All of the mosaics featured stories from ancient mythology and were extremely intricate. The others were created using naturally occurring rock colors, cut into tesserae, a type of tile. A specific mosaic with a bird contained over 30 varying colors just in the design of its wings. I particularly enjoy a mosaic depicting the myth of two lovers Pyramus and Thisbe. I thought that the story sounded familiar, when our guide informed us that it inspired William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I also found it interesting that there were mosaics with Greek written on them, proving that Greek was spoken in Cyprus, even during the Roman era.
After our guided tour, we explored the grounds surrounding the House of Dionysos more. We then went to lunch on a nearby boardwalk area. I’ve become weary of the tourist traps in Cyprus, as countless servers tried to persuade us into their restaurants. One even told us he would bring out a pelican if we ate at his restaurant! We ended up going next door and having breakfast for lunch, which was delicious. It was the best of both worlds because the pelican still made an appearance at the restaurant next door, although it was not a huge fan of the bird. Today was a really interesting day, as I loved reading Greek Mythology as a kid and it was cool to see depictions of the stories I was familiar with from the time that they were widespread myths. We made it to Nicosia and are getting settled in our hotel! Nicosia is very walkable and has many cute shops and restaurants. I am excited to go the the University of Nicosia tomorrow and learn more about Cyprus’ rich culture and history!
