Paphos
Paphos is in the south-western corner of Cyprus and the capital of the eponymous district. It has fapproximately 88.000 residents. Its population is made up of 65% Greek Cypriots and 35% foreign nationals. The city of Paphos is composed by an upper part, which hold the administrative center of the town, and a lower part that is located close to the coastline area and includes the archaeological park and the tourist area. However, this composition of the city was not always like that. Specifically, the ancient town of Paphos was located approximately 16 kilometers to the south-east of today’s city center and is now occupied by the village of Kouklia. The ancient town of Paphos was called Palaepaphos (Old Paphos) and it was one of the city-kingdoms of the ancient Cyprus closely related with the worship of the goodness of love and beauty, Aphrodite. The Paphian Sanctuary, which was dated to the 12th Century BC (Late Bronze Age), was one of the most famous Aprodite’s shrines in the ancient world. Nicocles, the last king of Palaepaphos, marked a major breakthrough for the seat of the kingdom of Paphos and in the late 4th century B.C. abandoned Palaepaphos and transferred his kingdom to Nea Paphos (the area in and around the harbor). During the Ptolemies rule (3rd Century B.C. to the middle 1st Century B.C) Nea Paphos became the capital of the whole island. The ‘Tombs of the Kings’ is the most impressive architectural paradigm of that period, since it reflects the wealth of Paphos during this period. During the Roman rule (58 B.C – 330 A.D), Paphos remained the capital of Cyprus both commercially and culturally. The Greek language retained its importance and at the same time mosaics and coins showed that there was economic and political stability. Simultaneously, surviving monuments such as the well-known mosaics floors of residential houses dated to the 2nd and 3rd century testify the prosperity and importance of the city during this period. However, during the first half of the 4th century A.D, massive earthquakes practically destroyed Nea Paphos which subsequently fell into decline. The earthquakes that shook Paphos not only produced devastation to the region but also deteriorate the capital of Cyprus to Salamis, the ancient town near Famagusta. During the Ottoman rule, (1570- 1878) Paphos was in continuing decline and thus Nicosia and Famagusta became more important cities. Nea Paphos was reduced in size and practically became a ghost town, since the population gradually moved to a new residential area, the Ktima district. Ktima, which is today the center of the city, soon became the administrative center of the town embellished with remarkable neoclassical public buildings, such as the Town Hall, the Municipal Library and the neo-classical school buildings built during the British rule.
The waterfront in Kato Paphos
The structure of the street network
The image below shows the street network of Paphos. The analysis identifies street segments which have high accessibility values at the whole city-scale. The analysis is based on space syntax methodology.
The image below shows the street network of Paphos. The analysis identifies street segments which have high accessibility values at the whole city-scale. The analysis is based on space syntax methodology.
Axial analysis of Paphos (global integration) - created by students of the Neapolis University of Pafos in the context of the module ‘aspects of spatial language’.
The structure of Kato Paphos
Slideshow - please click on the image to move to the next slide.
Slideshow - please click on the image to move to the next slide.
Bibliography
- Maier, F. G. and Karageorghis, V. (1984), Paphos, History and Archeology, Nicosia: Leventis Foundation.
- Severis, R. C. (2007), Monuments and Memories, Paphos: of Legends and History, Nicosia: Hellenic Bank.
- Mitford, T.B. (1961), The Hellenistic inscriptions of Old Paphos. The Annuals of the British School at Athens, 56.
Lead Contributor: Chrystala Psathiti is an architect from Cyprus, where she completed her Diploma in Architecture at the University of Cyprus in 2013. She continued her studies obtaining an MSc in Spatial Design: Architecture & Cities at The Bartlett, University College London. Her research interests lie in the relationship of branded spaces with a brand’s organisational identity as well as in the relationship of spatial structures with customers’ behaviours and customers’ perception about a company.
Contributor: Vania Athinodorou is an architect from Cyprus, where she completed her Diploma in Architecture at the University of Cyprus in 2013. She completed an MArch in Urban Design and Architecture at the Bartlett, University College London, and she currently works as an architect at Foster and Partners in London.
Contributor: Vania Athinodorou is an architect from Cyprus, where she completed her Diploma in Architecture at the University of Cyprus in 2013. She completed an MArch in Urban Design and Architecture at the Bartlett, University College London, and she currently works as an architect at Foster and Partners in London.