Early next morning, on leaving my sleeping apartment, I found my dragoman, in company with a young dealer in Paphian curiosities, hanging about the door, and evidently on the watch to fasten their company on me, should I attempt to visit any of the surrounding ruins. Not being desirous of their interference, or assistance, I evaded them, and quietly strolled down to the sea-shore. As I looked around, I observed, against the horizon, the small houses and slender minarets of Ktima, a little town standing upon raised stone dikes. Somewhat lower down, a huge mass of sandstone extended for some little distance along the shore, the appearance of which at first puzzled me exceedingly. On the side facing the sea, large and small chambers were hollowed out, and every here, and there, roughly “A little to the north-east, and half-way between these ruins and Ktima, there is a rocky eminence sloping towards the sea, and called PalÆo Castro, the surface of which is perforated with thousands of ancient tombs, some cut vertically, and others horizontally, in the calcareous rock. Some are made to contain only one body, while others are large enough for a score or more. These graves are all evidently pre-Roman. I had the rubbish removed from one of the largest, and found it to be an oblong building, with an atrium supported by three monolithic columns, roughly hewn out of the limestone, and with a court-yard in front. The tomb is divided into three chambers, which communicate, inside, with each other, but have separate entrances. They have a large number of niches, seven feet by two, each to contain one body. Near the wall facing the doorway of each chamber, there is a low platform hewn in the rock, on which apparently stood a sarcophagus, but nothing of it now remains. The court-yard contains also several single graves, but all have been opened long ago. This must have been the family sepulchre of a great personage, and possibly that of one of the kings of Paphos.” The same authority gives the following particulars concerning the contents of some similar tombs he examined at “The quantity of objects in copper and bronze discovered in these tombs, though mostly destroyed by oxidisation, is much greater than that found in the extensive necropolis of Idalium. I observed that in the localities where copper mines are known to have existed, as at Amathus and Curium, more ancient utensils and figures in that metal are found. The fact that these bronze objects are roughly made, is sufficient proof that they have not been imported, but are of native manufacture. Many curious little rings in bronze and in silver were met with in these tombs, the use of which it is not easy to determine. Some cylinders of soft glazed clay, probably of Babylonian or Egyptian manufacture, also came to light, together with several rings of solid gold of very rough workmanship, and entirely without artistic merit; broken earthenware jars, bronze bowls, copper hatchets, and a few iron arrow-heads were found, but all oxidised, so as to fall into powder, and entirely without inscriptions. West of these tombs, facing the sea, are to be found nine oven-shaped caverns, which contain a great quantity of human bones, besides those of oxen, camels, and sheep. These nine caverns are far too small to have contained the amount of bodies indicated by the skeletons (I counted no less than sixty-four human heads), but were more probably simply ossuaries for bones removed from rock-cut tombs, so soon as the tomb was required for another occupant, and its During the week Cesnola remained at Ktima, he made many excavations; one of these was upon the site of a temple of which three large granite columns were still standing; he also discovered the bases of nine other columns, only a few inches below the surface, and still occupying their original position, whilst all around were strewn architectural fragments which had belonged to that structure. On the other spot he investigated is a broken column, to which it is asserted St. Paul was tied and scourged when he came to preach the Gospel in this city; but the tradition is said to be only current amongst the Greeks of Ktima. In this locality there were also shafts of columns, some blocks of triglyphs and volutes lying on the ground, probably also the remains of a temple. A silver coin of Vespasian, with the Temple of Paphos upon it, and a few Roman lamps, were all the relics that were found after a week’s exploration. Before quitting the neighbourhood of Paphos, the same authority visited the village of Koloni, which is situated upon a plain, stretching down to the sea, overshadowed by hills covered with juniper-trees. In these rocks are situated the “asbestos” quarries, of which we have already spoken, and Ten minutes’ ride from Koloni, in a north-west direction, is Ieroskipo, now a mere group of houses. This name is evidently derived from the ancient Hieroskepi, “Sacred Garden,” the well-known garden of Venus, who was regarded by her worshippers as the goddess of gardens and flowers. Cupid was supposed to have lived with her in Cyprus. “There is,” says Cesnola, “a large cave which seems to have been artificially scooped out of the rock through which a spring makes its way, and after filling the basin overflows and forms a rivulet sufficient to water the neighbouring fields; this is known as the ‘Bath of Aphrodite.’ I must say, he would be obdurate indeed who would not be captivated by the great beauty of the spot. The ground generally slopes gently towards the sea, but here it seems to have been cut into large plateaux or terraces, which are surrounded by a thick grove of olive-trees, many centuries old. Among the olives is a sprinkling of carob-trees, which, with their dark green and lustrous foliage, form a striking contrast to the pale hue of the olive leaf. In closer proximity to Ieroskipo, are a number of rock-cut tombs, but no vestige of buildings are visible.” After wandering some distance farther along the sand, I Proceeding onwards, after leaving this fort, I came upon a village embowered in trees and inhabited by Greeks and Turks. The walls, as is commonly seen in the district, appeared to be constructed principally of stones taken from the surrounding ruins, and I noticed many a piece of broken column peeping out from its hiding-place, among waving palms and flowering shrubs. Near a little church I observed some small pillars, two of white marble, and two of beautifully polished granite. Of another church only a square tower and the portion of an arch remain. In the midst of the village is a roomy basin, formed of large blocks of stone, which was, no doubt, the bath of the fair Cyprians of ancient That evening I dined at the table of my worthy friend the bishop, whose liberal hospitality had made me acquainted with a great variety of strange dishes. On this occasion the repast seemed very homelike to me, for it consisted of an excellent roast leg of mutton served with some fine juicy lettuces, a dish During the evening many priests of various ranks dropped in, said a few words, and again departed. It seemed to me they had very much their own way with their good-hearted bishop. These visitors were followed by the kaimakan, or governor, who appeared followed by half a dozen attendants. This gentleman chatted with us for an hour, and then left, begging me to allow him to send an escort with me on my journey of the following day. Early next morning I proceeded on my way, and as we approached Hierokipu, I saw many grottos hewn in the rock, and noticed again and again that the ground over which we passed sounded hollow as it was struck by our horses’ hoofs. I was informed by a gentleman we met, who owned property in the neighbourhood, that two years ago he had found a place in which were five chambers hollowed in the rock, with a kind of entrance hall in front neatly constructed of square blocks of stone; within this stood a round pillar which had no doubt served as an altar. Many of the odd little flasks and vessels were found here which have been supposed (in my opinion most absurdly) to have been receptacles for tears. These contained resin and ointment, the perfume of which filled the whole chamber. When we were What became of this wonderful hair is unknown, but Konou of Samos, the astronomer, announced, by way of flattering the lovely queen, that “Jove himself had stolen the tresses and placed them in the sky as a constellation.” The “Sacred Road,” which took its name from the number of worshippers carrying their offerings, who formerly passed backwards and forwards between Old and New Paphos, gradually rose slightly above the shore, and as I looked around I could not avoid noticing the great beauty of the sea foam as it rose in snowy wreaths from the stones on which it beat. At some seasons, when a south-west wind is blowing, this foam rises as high as the feet of the trees and shrubs, and presents the appearance of small tracks of snow. The shore at this point, I am told, would afford a rich field for the naturalist; I myself saw millions of crustaceans and microscopical creatures lying upon the stones. Gazing upon the scenes I could readily suppose how the vivid imagination of the Grecian temperament should have led them to describe the Goddess of Love as having first reached the shores of Cyprus mounted on the foamy crest of a wave. Cesnola tells us, that the two Christian churches, now both in ruins, one of which was built within the area of the temple, and the other within the boundary wall, the palace of the Lusignans, and the entire village of Kuklia, have been constructed with the stone from the ruins of the ancient city. Attached to each house is a penfold, built without mortar, of loose stones. The church that stands within the temple An old ruined castle, and a few miserable dwelling-houses, are all that now remain of what was once Old Paphos, now known as Kuklia. We rested for a time in a wretched coffee-house, which was full of zaptiehs, who were quartered here, whilst they collected over-due taxes. Groups of people stood around, some looking pitiable objects with their wan, anxious countenances, whilst others again were perfect embodiments of cunning and stupidity. The chief officer of the soldiers, when I arrived, was addressing this crowd with polite dignity and a great variety of expressive gestures. It was whispered in my ear by one of the party, that rage and threaten as their rulers might, no more money could be wrung from this wretched population. In respect to their extreme poverty, these miserable beings appeared to me to be no worse off than the inhabitants of Ktima and other places we passed through. A few stalwart men were amongst the crowd, but for the most part the people appeared weakly, and to blend the Grecian, Syrian, and Italian types of countenance. After vainly endeavouring to persuade some Turkish family to give us lodging, we were glad at last to take refuge in a kind of very high shed, the mud walls of which contained but one room. In this I camped with all my three servants. A carpet and coverings were procured, I now descended and proceeded to explore the Aditum, the only ancient sacred edifice in Cyprus, which, thanks to the pictures of it found on gems and coins, we can reproduce before our eyes. It had, apparently, been a square building with a fine entrance, and a low wing at either end. On each side of the portal were two obelisks. This temple was surrounded by a barrier, in the centre of which stood the principal altar. In the innermost recesses of this edifice once stood the mysterious veiled stone of Astarte Aphrodite. |