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Pafos Mosaics
In old Pafos (“old” means the lower part of town, near the harbour) there are the remains of several huge Roman villas. There's not much left standing but a huge collection of mosaics has been excavated during the last decades. They are partly in the open, with wind and sun slowly wearing them down, but even when there is a protective cover they are invariably dusty and dirty. In comparison to some of the eye-catching mosaics we saw in Turkey (during our spring trip) we were a little disappointed. Anyway, here are five of the better ones.
- The first shows the wrath of Apollo (right) who sentences Marsyas (left). The latter was a singer who had the temerity to challenge the god to a singing contest; of course he lost.
- Another contest, another winner: this is Cassiopeia who has just won a beauty contest (Miss Cyprus?) against the Nereids.
- The next three mosaics come from the so-called house of Dionysos. First two animal scenes: a tiger…
- … as well as a peacock.
- This one shows Dionysos himself: proudly riding on a chariot which is pulled by two leopards, flanked by satyrs and slaves.
- Next stop Ayios Neofytos.
$updated from: Pafos Mosaics.htxt Thu 27 Apr 2017 10:06:49 thomasl (By Thomas Lauer)$