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

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Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.

There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.

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