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.
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