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Acts of Barnabas
After Paul and Barnabas parted ways, John Mark and Barnabas returned to
Cyprus (Acts 15:36-39). According to the apocryphal Acts of Barnabas,
“[Barnabas and John Mark] came to Curium. And we found that a certain
abominable race was being performed in the road near the city, where a
multitude of women and men naked were performing the race. And there was
great deception and error in that place. And Barnabas turning, rebuked it;
and the western part fell, so that many were wounded, and many of them also
died and the rest fled to the temple of Apollo, which was close at hand in
the city, which was called sacred. And when we came near the temple, a
great multitude of Jews who were there, having been put up to it by
Barjesus, stood outside of the city, and did not allow us to go into the
city; but we spent the evening under a tree near the city, and rested
there.” |
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Byzantine Basilica
In the 5th century AD, a large Christian cathedral was built on the city’s
acropolis. The main basilica had a single apse and three aisles. On one
side was a smaller basilica with remains of a baptistery, and on another
side was the bishop’s residence. The cathedral was destroyed during the
Arab invasions of the 7th century, and many of the materials were taken to
build a new church in the nearby village of Episkopi. A standing column is
one of 24 original columns which divided the nave and the two aisles. The
columns were made of granite, and the bases and capitals were of marble. |
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Earthquake House
In the 4th century AD, Kourion was struck by a series of earthquakes, the
most severe of which occurred on July 21, 365. Vivid evidence for this
comes from a residence on the acropolis. Within the damaged building, the
skeletons of nine people were excavated: seven adults, a young girl, and a
baby. The skeletal remains indicate the people were crushed by falling
stones and plaster. An 800-pound stone feeding trough was found in the
courtyard, cracked in two by the earthquake, and tethered by an iron chain
to the trough was the skeleton of a mule. The house was never rebuilt. |
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Stadium
Below the acropolis to the west, a stadium was built in the 2nd century AD
and remained in use until the end of the 4th century. Its seven rows of
seats, which have been partially reconstructed, could accommodate 6,000
spectators. Three entrances were located in the stadium’s cavea. |
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Temple of Apollo Hylates
The Temple of Apollo Hylates is located just over a mile (1.8 km) west of
the acropolis, on the road to Paphos. Here, Apollo was worshipped as god of
the woodlands (hylates). Worshippers entered the sanctuary either by the
Paphos Gate on the west or the Kourion Gate on the east. The earliest
sanctuary dates to the 8th century BC, but its present form reflects
alterations and rebuilding from the 1st century AD. It was destroyed in the
earthquake of 365 AD. |
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