Similar banqueting halls were excavated in the Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates at Kourion and at Pergamon. There is no reference in the ancient literary tradition, however, to cultic meals as a part of the religious rites of the Paphian goddess.

The Roman buildings represent the last stage in the long architectural history of

[INLINE] Fragment of archaic terracotta figurine with uplifted arms from the Paphian sanctuary

the Paphian shrine. A large open enclosure, bordered by halls and and other buildings, housed a maze of altars, statues, votive offerings and religious monuments. The Paphian Aphrodite thus never possessed a temple of classical Graeco-Roman type, nor was the goddess ever represented by an anthropomorphic cult image. It seems remarkable that even the new structures of the Roman period retained the basic character of the open court sanctuary. The architecture of the Paphian Sanctuary thus combined to the end Western and Oriental traditions, preserving in its plan the Near Eastern antecedents of the cult place.

The innermost shrine of the goddess, housing the conical symbol of fertility, must have stood either in the Roman Court or still in the Temenos of the old Sanctuary. No vestiges of it were discovered despite a meticulous search during the excavation. This lends plausibility to the hypothesis that the holy-of-holies was not a large, solidly walled building but rather a lofty, canopy like structure of pillars supporting awnings which left no lasting traces on the ground. Yet the cult symbol of the goddess survived; some years ago the > returned from Nicosia to the Kouklia Museum.

Due to large-scale medieval disturbances on the site it is impossible to determine, when this imposing building complex was destroyed. Nor do we know whether the earthquakes of the 4th century AD, which severely hit Nea Paphos and Kourion, contributed to the decline of the Paphian Sanctuary. It appears, on the other hand, fairly safe to assume that the cult of the Paphian Goddess of Love did not survive - at least in public - the reign of the emperor Theodosius I who in 391 AD outlawed all pagan religions.

Until recently the "Panayia Galatarkiotissa" was venerated at a large monolith in the northern part of the sanctuary. This block must once have formed part of the Late Bronze Age sanctuary, but was moved, as we know now, to its present position hardly before the 19th century. But even so it may represent a last echo of thousands of years of fertility cult practised on the site.

For further reading see:

F.G. Maier, The Temple of Aphrodite at Old Paphos. Report of the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus 1975, 69-80.

F.G. Maier - V. Karageorghis, Paphos. HistoryandArchaeology, Nicosia 1984.

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