The House of Achilles

The House of Achilles is a Roman villa from the 4th century AD, located at the north western edge of the hill nearby the street leading to the Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates, where several rooms are decorated with mosaic floors.

It is part of the Kourion Archaeological Site, that boasts some of the most beautiful and best preserved mosaics of the roman era in Cyprus.

One of the mosaic scenes depicts the legend of Achilles: in order to prevent Achilles from entering the Trojan War, his mother, Thetis, dressed him in women's clothes and hid him among the daughters of King Lykomedes. However, Odysseus blew his cover by displaying a range of weapons alongside a selection of jewellery and watching Achilles's reaction.
Another mosaic in the same villa shows how Zeus, disguised as an eagle, kidnapped the young Ganymede.

The location of The House of Achilles, close by the entrance to the city shows that it was probably a public structure built to receive officials or distinguished visitors

You will find three places at Kourion with mosaics from the 3rd and 4th century AD that are rather impressive and well preserved: The House of the Gladiators, The House of Achilles and The House of Eustolius.

On each one of them you will find information signs explaining their content and historic relevance in both Greek and English, so you can take your time reading them and correlating them to their subjects.

Almost all the site is wheelchair accessible: small bridges and passageways (Kourion site´s western part can be accessed via a special entrance that can be opened by the site´s guards). Special parking space and special rest rooms available (marked).

Look Out For:

• The whole archaeological area of Kourion attracts lots of visitors, so it is recommended to visit early in the morning or later in the afternoon if you wish to avoid the crowds

• Wear comfortable shoes and have a bottle of water with you if visiting in the summer months, as the site is rather large and there is some walking and climbing involved

• You will need about two hours if you wish to visit the entire complex