Foundation myth In its foundation myth, the town's name is linked to the goddess
Aphrodite, as the
eponymous Paphos was the son (or, in
Ovid's account, the daughter) of
Pygmalion whose ivory
cult image of Aphrodite was brought to life by the goddess, as 'milk-white'
Galatea. The
Bibliotheke contains a genealogy. Pygmalion was so devoted to the cult of Aphrodite that he took the statue to his palace and kept it on his couch. The
daimon of the goddess entered the statue, and the living Galatea bore Pygmalion a son, Paphos, and a daughter,
Metharme.
Cinyras –either the son of Paphos or the suitor of Metharme– founded the city under Aphrodite's patronage and built the great temple to the goddess there. According to another legend preserved by
Strabo (xi. p. 505), it was founded by
Agapenor, a hero of the
Trojan War.
Old Paphos Old Paphos (
Palaepaphos), now known as Kouklia, is on a hill to the east of the modern city. It had a road which spanned a few miles to the sea. It was not far from the Zephyrium promontory and the mouth of the Bocarus stream. Archaeology shows that Old Paphos has been inhabited since the
Neolithic period. It was a centre for
Aphrodite's cult. Aphrodite's mythical birthplace was on the island. The
founding myth is interwoven with the goddess such that Old Paphos became the most important place for worshipping Aphrodite in the ancient world. The Greek names of two ancient kings,
Etevandros and
Akestor, are attested in
Cypriot syllabary on objects from the 7th century BC found in Kourion.
Aphrodite and Paphos The Greeks agreed that Aphrodite had landed at the site of Paphos when
she rose from the sea. According to
Pausanias (i. 14), although her worship was introduced to Paphos from
Syria, it was more likely that it was of
Phoenician origin. Before being proven by archaeology it was thought that Aphrodite's cult had been established before the time of
Homer (), as the grove and altar of Aphrodite at Paphos are mentioned in the
Odyssey (viii. 362). The ruins of Aphrodite's vast sanctuary are still discernible, its circumference marked by huge foundation walls. After its destruction by an earthquake it was rebuilt by
Vespasian, on whose coins it is represented, as well as on earlier and later ones, and in the style on those of
Septimius Severus. From these representations and existing ruins,
Gustav Friedrich Hetsch, an architect of
Copenhagen, attempted to restore the building.
New Paphos , god of wine, 3rd c. AD New Paphos (
Nea Paphos) was founded on the sea near a natural harbour. It lay about 60 stadia or northwest of the old city. It also had a founding myth; it was said to have been founded by
Agapenor, chief of the
Arcadians at the siege of
Troy, who, after the capture of the city, was driven out by the storm that separated the Greek fleet onto the coast of Cyprus. (
Pausanias viii. 5. § 2.) An Agapenor was mentioned as king of the Paphians in a Greek distich preserved in the
Analecta; and
Herodotus (vii. 90) alludes to an Arcadian colony in Cyprus. A hoard of unused silver coins (in the
Cyprus Museum) found under the Hellenistic House dating back to the end of the 4th century BC are the earliest find at the site and indicates its date of founding. Old Paphos always retained the pre-eminence in worship of Aphrodite, and Strabo states that the road leading to it from New Paphos was annually crowded with male and female votaries travelling to the ancient shrine, and coming from New Paphos and other towns on Cyprus. When
Seneca said (
N. Q. vi. 26, Epistle 91) that Paphos was nearly destroyed by an earthquake, it is difficult to say to which of the towns he refers.
Cassius Dio (liv. 23) relates that it was restored by
Augustus, and called "Augusta" in his honor; though this name has been preserved in inscriptions, it never supplanted the ancient one in popular use. According to the biblical
Acts of the Apostles, after landing at
Salamis and proclaiming the
Word of God in the synagogues, the prophets and teachers,
Barnabas and
Saul of Tarsus, traveled along the entire southern coast of Cyprus until they reached Paphos. There,
Sergius Paulus, the Roman proconsul, was converted after Saul rebuked the sorcerer
Elymas. In Paphos, Acts first identifies Saul as Paul.
Tacitus (
Hist. ii. 2, 3) records a visit of the youthful
Titus to Paphos before he acceded to the empire, who inquired with much curiosity into its history and antiquities. (Cf.
Suetonius Titus c. 5.) Under this name, the historian included the ancient as well as the more modern city, and among other traits of the worship of the temple he records that the only image of the goddess was a pyramidal stone. The sanctuary was closed during the
persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire.
Archaeology Paphos Archaeological Park covers most of the ancient city and is a
UNESCO World Heritage site for its ancient ruins. The most significant remains discovered are four large and elaborate Roman villas; the House of Dionysos, the House of Orpheus, the House of Aion and the House of Theseus, all with preserved mosaic floors. In addition, excavations have uncovered an
agora,
Asklepion, the
Basilica of Panagia Limeniotissa, a theatre, and a
necropolis known as the
Tombs of the Kings.
Post-Classical history Paphos gradually lost much of its attraction as an administrative centre, particularly after the founding of
Nicosia. The city and its port continued to decline throughout the
Middle Ages and
Ottoman rule, as Nicosia, and the port city of
Larnaca became more important. The city and district continued to lose population throughout the British colonial period and many of its inhabitants moved to Limassol, Nicosia and overseas. The city and district of Paphos remained the most underdeveloped part of the island until 1974.
Modern Paphos Following the
Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, there was rapid economic activity in all fields, especially tourism in the Kato Paphos area. The government invested heavily in irrigation dams and water distribution works, road infrastructure and the building of Paphos International Airport, the second international airport in Cyprus. In the 1980s, Kato Paphos received most of the investment. In the 1990s, Coral Bay Resort was further developed and in the 2000s, the Aphrodite Hills resort was developed. Today Paphos, with a population of about 35,961 (), is a popular tourist resort and is home to a fishing harbour. Ktima is the main residential district while Kato Paphos, by the sea, is built around the medieval port and contains most of the luxury hotels and the entertainment infrastructure of the city.
Apostolou Pavlou Avenue (St. Paul's Avenue), the busiest road in Paphos, connects two quarters of the city. It begins near the city centre at Kennedy Square and ends outside the medieval fort at the harbour. ==Economy==