1951

(4)

the clearing of the palace and theater on the bluff of Curium, the work begun by Daniel. On the north extention on this building he found a bathing establishment in the Roman style with hot and cold baths and central heating. This building complex produced floors in fine mosaics which are dated to the early 5th century A.D. They include Greek inscriptions in dactylic hexameter, the verse of Homer, and elegaeic couplets. One of these inscriptions, composed by someone who probably had been brought up in the pagan faith, tells how Christ now watches over the fortunes of the city as once Apollo in the days of old. The link here between the old faith and the new is full of charm and interest.

DeCoursey Fales also cleared the theater adjoining the palace. It is a monumental structure in solid masonry with a seating capacity of something over 3000 people. An earlier theater, dating possibly to the 3[handwritten: rd] century B.C., was incorporated later in an enlarged theater of the 2nd century A.D. For a while during the middle Roman period it served as an arena.

Half way between the city and the Sanctuary of Apollo stood the Stadium, the only one found in Cyprus, for foot races. Enough of this large structure was cleared soon after the war by John Young, to reveal its general character. The arena of the stadium measures 844x77 ft. There were 7 rows of seats behind a podium with a molded base and cornice. In an apocryphal work of the 5th century we are told how St. Barnabas on his way with one Timon, another early missionary of the 1st century A.D., from Paphos to Curium saw on the hill near the city of Curium