House of Dionysos, Paphos, Cyprus

The House of Dionysos is a rich Greco-Roman type building where the rooms were arranged around a central court, which functioned as the core of the house. It seems that the house was built at the end of the 2nd century AD. and was destroyed and abandoned after the earthquakes of the 4th century AD. The House of Dionysus occupies 2000 square metres of which 556 are covered with mosaic floors decorated with mythological, vintage and hunting scenes. The magnificent mosaic decorations and the mythological compositions are the main characteristics of this restored Roman villa and it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Paphos.

References:

Cyprus Department of Antiques

User Reviews

Steve Jones (2 years ago)
The archaeological site is fantastic and only 4.50 euros to get in. The site is huge and can be quite hot walking around, but there are shade shelters and buildings with cover and walkways to see the incredible mosaics. Well worth visiting

Valeria (2 years ago)
Beautifuly preserved mosaics. We visited in August. It was extremely hot inside, and it was unbearable, so we couldn't stay long enough to enjoy the beautiful art.

Sebastjan Smrkolj (2 years ago)
Ruins with spectacular mosaics. I have never seen so many in one place. There are also other remains/ruins worth seeing. It's definitely worth visiting, especially if you're into roman/greek history.

Sammie Starr (2 years ago)
Personally I love a bit of history, so exploring the House of Dionysus was on the cards to look at the ruins for the colusium and houses in Cypurs where mosaics are uncovered within the buildings on the site. It is a trek around the site, but we'll worth the explore and I think it was €4.50 for entry each. A lot of hills and stairs, so be aware if going around in a wheelchair. Overall an amazing experience.

CK Cheong (2 years ago)
Part of the attraction is outdoors, exposed to weather. Hence an umbrella or hat would offer some protection from the sun. There were only a handful of mosaic artifacts in reasonable condition outdoors. The indoor mosaic layouts on the other hand were well preserved and bore rich historical background and details. Enriching experience

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Mark1792

Historic Site of the week

Rosenborg Castle

Rosenborg Palace was built in the period 1606-34 as Christian IV’s summerhouse just outside the ramparts of Copenhagen. Christian IV was very fond of the palace and often stayed at the castle when he resided in Copenhagen, and it was here that he died in 1648. After his death, the palace passed to his son King Frederik III, who together with his queen, Sophie Amalie, carried out several types of modernisation.

The last king who used the place as a residence was Frederik IV, and around 1720, Rosenborg was abandoned in favor of Frederiksborg Palace.Through the 1700s, considerable art treasures were collected at Rosenborg Castle, among other things items from the estates of deceased royalty and from Christiansborg after the fire there in 1794.

Soon the idea of a museum arose, and that was realised in 1833, which is The Royal Danish Collection’s official year of establishment.

House of Dionysos

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Rosenborg Castle