It left the same
depressing feeling that I had so often experienced in our journey
through Cyprus: "The past had been great, and the present was nothing."
The little insignificant harbour exhibited a few small craft of about
twenty tons. There was a small fort and a British flag; there were also
the ruins of ancient Paphos; but there was nothing to denote progress or
commercial activity. In the afternoon Captain Wauchope was kind enough
to accompany us over the ruins. As I have before explained, there is
nothing of interest upon the surface of ancient cities throughout
Cyprus. Anything worth having has been appropriated many ages since by
those who understood its value, and beyond a few fallen columns and
blocks of squared stone there is literally nothing to attract attention.
Even General di Cesnola excavated in vain upon the site of ancient
Paphos, which from its great antiquity promised an abundant harvest.
There were two fine monoliths, the bases of which, resting upon a
foundation of squared stones, appeared as though they had formed the
entrance to a temple; these were pillars of grey granite (foreign to
Cyprus) about twenty-seven feet high and three feet two inches in
diameter.
There were stony mounds in many directions, and fallen pillars and
columns of granite and of coarse grey and whitish marble; but beyond
these ordinary vestiges there was nothing of peculiar interest. As there
is no authority equal to General di Cesnola upon the antiquities of
Cyprus, I trust he will excuse me for inserting the following
interesting extract from his work, upon The Great Centre of the Worship
of Venus:--
"Although this spot [Paphos] was the scene of great
religious events, and was otherwise important in the
island, yet neither are there more than a very few
ruins existing above ground, nor have the explorations
I have directed there at different times succeeded in
bringing to light anything of interest. I believe that
this absence of ruins can be accounted for in the
following manner. Paphos was several times overthrown
by earthquakes. The last time the temple was rebuilt
was by Vespasian, on whose coins it is represented; but
as nothing is said of the rebuilding of the city it is
supposed that it was left in ruins; probably therefore
during the long period that Cyprus was under the Roman
and the Byzantine rule a great deal of the decorative
and architectural material of Paphos was transported to
the other city called Nea-Paphos, and used for its
embellishment. In the Acts of the Apostles it is spoken
of as the official residence of the Roman proconsul
Paulus Sergius, and was therefore the capital of the
island. By the time of the Lusignan kings Palaeo-Paphos
had disappeared, and its ruins under their reign were
extensively explored in search of statuary and other
objects of art, with which to decorate the royal castle
built in its vicinity. There is scarcely any ancient
tomb to be found of a date previous to the Roman period
which had not been opened centuries ago."
In page 207 General di Cesnola gives an illustration of "stone feet with
a Cypriote inscription, from the temple of Paphos," which would suggest
from their appearance that gout was not uncommon even within the temple
of Venus. In continuation he writes, page 210:--
"The great temple of Venus was situated on an
eminence, which at present is at a distance of about
twenty-five minutes' walk from the sea. Some parts
of its colossal walls are still standing, defying time and
the stone-cutter, though badly chipped by the latter.
One of the wall-stones measured fifteen feet ten
inches in length, by seven feet eleven inches in width
and two feet five inches in thickness. The stone is
not from Cyprus, but being a kind of blue granite,
must have been imported either from Cilicia or from
Egypt.
"The temple as rebuilt by Vespasian seems to have
occupied the same area as the former temple, and was
surrounded by a peribolos, or outer wall. Of this
a few huge blocks only are now extant. On the west
side of this outer wall there was a doorway still
plainly visible. Its width was seventeen feet nine
inches. The two sockets for the bolts upon which
the door swung are of the following dimensions:
length six inches, width four and a half inches, depth
three and a half inches. The south-east wall, I ascertained,
by excavating its whole length, was690 feet
long. The length of the west side I could only trace
as far as 272 feet, its continuance being hiddenbeneath
the houses of Kouklia. The length of the other two
sides I was unable to ascertain for similarreasons.
The walls of the temple itself, made of the kind of
stone previously mentioned, but not in such huge
blocks, I was able to trace correctly, bydint of
patience; and though very little is seen above ground,
yet, strange to say, the four corner-stonesare still
standing. The north-east corner-stone iscased in
a house in Kouklia, forming part of its wall; that
of the north-west stands in a cross-street of the village
by itself. Some European travellers have mistaken it
from its present shape for the emblematic cone of
Venus. The south-east corner stands also by itself
in an open field, where the Christian population of
Kouklia burn lamps and little wax-candles, but in
honour of whom, or for what purpose, I did not
inquire. The fourth corner-stone likewise forms part
of a modern dwelling-house.
"The temple was oblong and of the following
dimensions: the eastern and western walls measure
221 feet, and the two other sides 167 feet. I cannot
vouch for the exact measurement on account of the
difficulties I had to encounter, nevertheless the difference
can be of some inches only.
