The Kourion Archaeological Site is located 4 km southwest of Episkopi village in Limassol, Cyprus. It contains remnants of habitation dating back to the Neolithic period, with the ancient city developing significantly during the Hellenistic and Roman periods between 325 BC and 330 AD. Systematic excavations of the site began in 1933 and have continued intermittently since. Some of the most important structures uncovered include the Roman Agora, the House of Achilles, the well-preserved theater built in the 2nd century BC, and the Episcopal Early Christian Basilica. A powerful earthquake in 365 AD destroyed the city. Skeletons uncovered at the site provide evidence of its devastating impact, including the remains

1. Kourion Archaeological Site
Primary School Ipsonas 1
Panos Lefkaritis
Class D’1

2. The hill of Kourion, on which the ancient city was developed, is
located 4 kilometers southwest of the village of Episkopi in
Limassol. It is one of the most important archaeological sites of
Cyprus and, according to Herodotus' residential myth, it was
founded by Achaeans who came from Argos in the Peloponnese.
The oldest remnants of habitation in the wider area of Kourion
date back to the Neolithic period (4500 – 3900 BC). On the hill of
Kouriou there are remnants that date back to the end of the
classical period, more of the Hellenistic (325-50 BC) and especially
the Roman (50-330 AD) and early Christian era (330-late 7th AD).
Systematic excavations in Courio began in 1933 by the University
Museum of Pennsylvania and continued, with interruptions, until
1954. In 1964, the Department of Antiquities began its excavation
scans. In the years 1974-1979, the American Mission of the
Dumbarton Oaks Centre for Byzantine Studies undertook the
excavation of the episcopal early Christian basilica. Between 1980
and 1983, the American Mission of walters art gallery and the
Universities of Missouri and Maryland was dug up on the hill of
Kuuri. The Department of Antiquities recently proceeded to the
creation of an archaeological park and visitor center.

3. Themost important monuments of Kourion are:
 The Roman Agora
 The House of Achilles
 The House of Gladiators
 The Theatre
 The House of Efstoli
 The Episcopal Early Christian Basilica
 The Sanctuary of Apollo Ylatis
 The Stadium
 The Little Basilica Outside the Walls
 The Beach Basilica

4. The Theatre:
it is built at the southern end of the hill. It
was originally built in the 2nd year. B.C.,
while in the 2nd h. A.D. expanded and took
its current form.
Around the end of the 2nd-early 3rd a.m.
some conversions were made, such as the
installation of a metal railing, so that it could
accept a popular spectacle of the time, the
femens.
In the hollow of the theatre were the stands,
which contained 3,500 spectators.
The edifice of the stage, which rose behind
the foreground where the performances took
place, brought the semicircular orchestra to
the side of the sea. Today only the
foundations of the stage are preserved.
After its restoration, the theatre is currently
used for cultural events.

5. The House of Efstoli:
is in a dominant position at the southeast end
of the hill.
It is a monumental house, dating back to the
end of the 4th- early 5th century AD.
It consists of many rooms, which are gathered
around two interior courtyards, and a complex
of bathrooms.
Of particular interest are the mosaic floors
covering most of the building.
Through the inscriptions reveal the name of
the owner of the house, Efstoli, as well as his
Christian identity.
It is worth noting that apollo, the oldest
protector of Kourou, is mentioned in the
inscriptions. This building appears to have
been originally built as a palatial house, which
was converted into a public space, a kind of
club.

6. The Sanctuary of Apollo Yloti:
located about 2.5 km west of the site of the ancient city, along
the old limassol-paphos road. It was one of the main religious
centers of ancient Cyprus, and there Apollo was worshipped in
the capacity of the god of forests (Ylatis). It seems that the
worship of Apollo in this space began as early as the 8th century
BC and continued until the 4th century AD.
The sanctuary is enclosed by a precinct and the entrance in
antiquity was made either by the Gate of Kouria or from the
Paphos Gate. Visitors followed the Holy Road, heading south to
north, and were led to the temple of Apollo. The church has two
phases: the oldest dates back to the end of the classical or early
Hellenistic period and the second phase in the 1st season. A.D.
Then the temple is rebuilt in a different form. Part of this phase
has been restored. The destruction and abandonment of the
temple is placed at the end of the 4th a.m. Ad.
In archaic years the sanctuary was outdoors, with precinct and
altar. The site of the archaic sanctuary was disturbed during the
Roman period. There were found the remains of a circular
monument with cobbled floors, which may have been used for
processions or dances around a garden of sacred trees.
In the southeast of the sanctuary is the palaistra: a central
courtyard surrounded by colonnades, which was the place where
the athletes worked out. Roman baths are also present in the
area of the sanctuary. Both the baths and the palaistra are
located outside the main sanctuary.

7. Three skeletons, on top of each other, were found a
few years ago in the area of Kourion, in Limassol. It
was a three-member family, a father, a mother and an
infant, the last move they appeared to make alive was
the last attempt to protect against the devastating
earthquake that struck the area and that is why they
found themselves hugging, like a body.
The skeletons of the family were identified after
hundreds of years, in the 20th century, leaving the
bones of unfortunate people at the mercy of the
ancient city, which after the earthquake was
abandoned. Although the members of the three-
member family were not the only ones found by the
earthquake, the spectacle from their union remains so
far shocking, testifying to the strong power that the
institution of the family on the island had since
antiquity. The bones of the family of the three-
member family are today found at the Local
Archaeological Museum of Kourion, in Episkopi. A
victims of the family were found in the location where
the great earthquake had struck, burying their bodies
forever in the wreckage. The great earthquake, which
struck Kourion in 365 AD, destroyed the city, ending
an inglorious end to the great city-kingdom of Cyprus.

8. Bibliography:
 https://www.cyprushighlights.com/2
010/09/10/κούριο/
 https://allaboutlimassol.com/ta-
osta-tis-trimelous-oikogeneias-poy-
apokalyfthikan-sta-ereipia-toy-
koyrioy
 Google images
Music:
HAUSER - Albinoni Adagio
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
gr6QnFmCXzk

9. Thank you!