House of Theseus, Paphos, Cyprus - SpottingHistory.com

House of Theseus is a Roman villa built in the second half of the 2nd century AD over the ruins of earlier houses of the Hellenistic and early Roman periods. It was in use until the 7th century AD. The villa's large size, it consisted of more than 100 rooms, suggests that the building was the residence of the governor of Cyprus.

Many of the rooms and three of the four porticos around the central court are covered with mosaic floors with geometric motifs. Three rooms in the south wing of the building are embellished with mosaic floors with human representations, all belonging to different phases. The oldest one is the mosaic representing Theseus and the Minotaur, dating to the very end of the 3rd or beginning of the 4th century A.D. with obvious later restorations, probably made after the earthquakes of the middle of the 4th century. At the end of the 4th century A.D. a new mosaic depicting Poseidon and Amphitrite was added to a room, which probably served as a bedroom. Finally, at the beginning of the 5th century, a mosaic floor was laid in the reception room, of which only a part is preserved today and depicts Achilles´ first bath.

References:

Cyprus Department of Antiques

User Reviews

Sonya Kass (7 months ago)
Loved it. Saw so much about Greek and Román mithology. Very happy for have made this trip to Cyprus. A must see if you into archaeology or Mithology.

Marco Wodopia (8 months ago)
The mosaic of Theseus itself is fantastic, the pattern surrounding it representing the labyrinth and thread of Ariadne was an especially interesting detail. The row of collums further back seems to be a good and already poplular spot to take a new instagram picture. When compared to the neighboring House of Aion, the Villa of Theseus fall a bit short, though, as the architecture of the villa is barely explained, and the mosaic could be "presented" in a more suitable way - a sun roof or better placement of the viewing platform would make it easier to see and study it.

Martin Černohorský (9 months ago)
Worth to see but the house of Dionysos is better.

Patrik Černohorský (9 months ago)
Beutiful rocks

David Smith (10 months ago)
Part of the Kato Paphos site. The mosaic is mind-blowing, thinking how long it must have taken to prepare it.

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Construction on the present building was begun in the 17th century by the architect Domenico Fontana. Intended to house the King Philip III of Spain on a visit never fulfilled to this part of his kingdom, instead it initially housed the Viceroy Fernando Ruiz de Castro, count of Lemos. By 1616, the facade had been completed, and by 1620, the interior was frescoed by Battistello Caracciolo, Giovanni Balducci, and Belisario Corenzio. The decoration of the Royal Chapel of Assumption was not completed until 1644 by Antonio Picchiatti.

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In 1922, it was decided to transfer here the contents of the National Library. The transfer of library collections was made by 1925.

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