“New Ideas about the Destruction of Paphos,” D. Soren and E. Lane 1980David Soren and Eugene Lane

New Ideas About the Destruction of Paphos

by David Soren and Eugene Lane

For a long time now there has been a good deal of confusion about the destruction of southwest Cyprus by earthquake in the fourth century A.D.^{1 It has been believed for a long time that the city of Kourion and the nearby Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates were destroyed between 325 and 350 A.D., dates which correspond to quakes at Soli and Salamis.}2 Recent studies made during the new excavations at the Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates at Kourion show that both the sanctuary and city site fell in approximately 370 A.D. Details of this discovery have been published elsewhere but it is important for our study here to review the salient points:^3

1- The Theater of Kourion fell circa 370 A.D. and coins of Valens and Valentinian I were found sealed beneath the fallen stage building.

2- Two skeletons were trapped amid debris in a house at the city of Kourion. Coins found among the debris included those of emperors Constantius II and Valentinian I.^5

3- The West Complex near the Paphos Gate of the Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates at Kourion collapsed circa 370 A.D. sealing coins of Constantius II, Valentinian I and possibly Valens, along with fragments of oil lamps.

4- There is no evidence that the quakes which levelled Soli and later Salamis affected Kourion in a major way.

If one accepts that the Kourion area was destroyed circa 370 A.D., one must consider the size of the quake and locate its epicenter. In the earlier publication it was shown that the quake debris at the Sanctuary of Apollo tended to fall to the north and east, suggesting that the epicenter of the quake was to the southwest (Plates 1,2). Geologists Frank Koucky and Reuben Bullard and geophysicist J.P. Neophytou of the Cyprus Geological Service have studied the debris at Kourion.

Dr. Koucky originally suggested that the quake came from the southwest and a powerful shear wave threw down the debris at Kourion directionally. All three scholars estimated the intensity of damage at nine or even higher on the Modified Mercalli Scale. This means a quake capable of causing fissures in the ground as well as being able to overturn well made buildings