DESCRIPTION:

The pavement that covers the first room, which we see to the left of the current entrance to the house, is the oldest mosaic known to date in Cyprus. It is dated to the Hellenistic period, that is at the end of the 4th to the beginning of the 3rd century BC. Found by chance at a depth of about one meter when the shelter was being built, it was detached and moved to its present position so it can be seen by the visitors. The extraordinary composition depicts the mythical sea monster Scylla, who was a combination of woman, fish and dog. The pavement is made with the technique that characterizes the mosaics of the Hellenistic period, that is with very small pebbles mainly black and white and with a few brown-red pebbles, that highlight the hair, as well as the trident and the mast that the monster holds. According to the myth, Scylla was a beautiful girl whom Glaucus fell in love with. However, she rejected his feelings and Glaucus asked the witch Circe to help him. Circe who was herself in love with Glaucus, blinded by jealousy, poured magic potions into the waters where Scylla bathed and she was immediately transformed, beautiful on top and a monster on her lower part of her body. From then on, she was the fear and terror of sailors, as she sank the ships that passed by her.