Love as seen through art in ancient Cyprus: a terracotta complex of love and passion.
The myth of the two lovers dates back to the Hellenistic times, in Greek art as early as the 4th century BC. The written story comes from the Metamorphoses written in the 2nd century AD by Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis.
It is the story of Eros, the beloved son of Aphrodite, the personification of intense love desire and Psyche, a beautiful maiden, the personification of the human soul. The myth beautifully describes the meaning of love and soul, as one. It describes the obstacles, the dilemma, the disappointments of the two lovers who manage to go through all obstacles and unite with a mystic marriage.
The terracotta of the two lovers is dated in the Roman period and it is exhibited in the Cyprus Museum, at Nicosia.
The 2026 excavation season at Marchello in Kouklia, ancient Palaepaphos, has uncovered important new evidence for a Late Bronze Age defensive complex, including the development of a projecting bastion into a substantial tower. The August–September excavations were conducted by the Department of…
The second excavation season at the Chalcolithic settlement of Erimi Pamboula has been completed, bringing to light further evidence about the architecture, material culture and everyday activities of the prehistoric community that occupied the site. The excavations took place from 25 June…
The Department of Antiquities of the Deputy Ministry of Culture presents With What Remains, an exhibition at the Cyprus Museum featuring works by Andreas Mallouris and Leontios Toumpouris, curated by Cristina Anglada. The exhibition runs from 6 November 2026 to 31 January…
New discoveries at Dromolaxia-Vyzakia/Hala Sultan Tekke provide important evidence for the origins of one of Bronze Age Cyprus’s largest and most internationally connected urban centres. Archaeologists working at Dromolaxia-Vyzakia/Hala Sultan Tekke have uncovered, for the first time, stratified architectural remains and diagnostic…
A major archaeological discovery has come to light in Larnaka (ancient Kition), where researchers have identified 23 previously unknown ships dating back more than 3,000 years, to the period traditionally associated with Homeric Cyprus. The find, announced by the Department of Antiquities,…
Dr Artemis Georgiou to Deliver Lecture at the University of Toronto on Late Bronze Age Cypriot Relief Friezes Dr Artemis Georgiou, project director of the COMPAS ERC Starting Grant, will be delivering an invited lecture at the Archaeology Centre, University of Toronto,…
