Tomb of Ariadne
The ancient city of Amathus (η πόλη της Αμαθούντας) was among the great kingdoms of Cyprus, from its early beginnings in the 15th century BC to its abandonment in the 7th century AD - a period of over 2,000 years. The city's acropolis stands high atop an escarpment overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, presenting amazing views of both sea and countryside.
Near the acropolis' north cliff face is a simple rock-cut tomb with a stepped dromos and circular funerary chamber, known as the Tomb of Ariadne. This tomb is among the earliest known evidence of human activity at the site. It is the only such burial on the acropolis, which suggests its eminent level of importance and perhaps support for the legendary story of its creation
Panoramic view of the Tomb of Ariadne, atop the acropolis of the ancient city of Amathus, Cyprus.
According to text written by the obscure Hellenistic historian Paion of Amathus (now lost, but transmitted to us by the Greek philosopher Plutarch in the 2nd century AD), this tomb was the burial place of Ariadne, the real-life Cretan princess of Greek mythology. Ariadne was the daughter of Minos, the King of Crete (also said to be the son of Zeus) and Pasiphaë, Minos' queen (also said to be the daughter of the sun god Helios), and the wife of Theseus, the great hero of Attic legend and son of Aegeus, king of Athens. In Greek mythology, she is best known for her pivotal role in the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, and for the version of her life as recorded in Homer's 'Odyssey'.
Observed by the cult of Aphrodite-Ariadne at Amathus, Paion's legend of Ariadne maintains that Theseus' ship was swept off course during a storm and forced to make landfall on Cyprus. Pregnant at the time, Ariadne was put ashore at Amathus, presumably for her health and safety. Then, while attempting to secure the vessel, Theseus was inadvertently swept out to sea, effectively abandoning Ariadne to her fate. Some suggest the abandonment was intentional. Whether purposeful or not, Ariadne died soon thereafter in childbirth.
A number of Amathousian women cared for Ariadne during this tragic episode, and she was subsequently memorialized in a shrine. Theseus, overcome with grief upon his supposed return, funded construction of the temple, asked for sacrifices to Ariadne, and instructed two cult images, one of silver and one of bronze, to be erected in her honor. The sacred grove in which the shrine was established was named the "Wood of Aphrodite-Ariadne," and the tomb located in what would become known as the temenos of the Sanctuary of Aphrodite-Ariadne.
The cult of Aphrodite-Ariadne (and certainly the cult of the Cypriot great goddess) at Amathus is believed to be much older than the Athenian veneration of Aphrodite in Greece. The sanctuary at Amathus was the second most important temple to Aphrodite on the island, after the Sanctuary of Aphrodite at Palaepaphos (now Kouklia), near the seaside location of the goddess' mythical birth.
The Roman Baths
Featured here is the small Roman bath complex at the ancient city of Amathus, Cyprus, located adjacent to what was once the city's central public market square (or agora). Built in the 2nd century AD during a period of public improvements commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian, the structure contains the essential components of a typical Roman bath, built by the Romans throughout Europe and the Mediterranean. It forms a square structure with cold rooms on the east and hot/warm ones on the west, heated by an underfloor-hypocaust system.
A hypocaust is a central heating system that produces and circulates hot air below a room's floor and through pipes and wall cavities, similar to a steam or forced air system today. Supplied by a wood-fired furnace (prafurniae), the hypocaust circulated hot air from the furnace through spaces beneath raised floors (suspensurae) and in the walls throughout a building. The hypocaust benefited from stacked pillars of terracotta brick tiles (pilae) supporting the floors, which absorbed and helped retain the heat. A defining characteristic, these tiles are often among the most visible features of ruined Roman baths wherever they are located (and certainly every one that I have seen). Hot water was also directly supplied to the hot baths by lead boilers fitted over the furnace and circulated to/from bathing pools by a series of metal pipes (testudo alvei), which heated the water by convection. At Amathus, these elements are believed to have been made of bronze.
The Roman Baths at Amathus featured the following spaces (the rooms are keyed on a couple of the photos). Its small size helps to visualize what it once looked like and how it operated.
A = Apodyterium - One entered this room through the building's main entrance in its north exterior wall. It served as a dressing room and was furnished with benches. A wide opening flanked by pilasters and a single downward step connected this space to the building's second room, the Frigidarium.
F = Frigidarium - This space contains a well and what had been two cold, plunge-type pools separated by a drain, set against the south wall. Visitors would enjoy these cool water pools, before moving on to warmer baths in the other rooms.
Intact traces of wall plaster indicate that both the Apodyterium and Frigidarium were painted red and featured a number of decoratively painted figured panels.
Street to Baths from Agora, looking north. The Bath's west outer wall is to the right.
Looking northeast from the Frigidarium to the Apodyterium. The well is covered by the metal grate in the center right, and the cold plunge pools are just off-frame to the right.
T = Sudatorium - To the west of the Frigidarium, a doorway leads to what was a small vaulted room, which has an intact floor and features double-width walls faced with limestone and marble veneer. The gap between the double walls and the area below the floor would have been indirectly heated by the hypocaust, which circulated hot air from the furnace through the floor of the adjacent room, then into this one. Archaeologists believe this room might have served as a place for light sweating (a Sudatorium) and as a transition between the cooler Frigidarium (to the east) and the hotter Caldarium (to the north).
C = Caldarium - The hottest of the baths, the Caldarium had a marble floor and featured a hot water immersion pool (alveus) at its north wall. Hot water for the pool is believed to have been supplied by a testudo alvei (the bronze heating apparatus described above), which extended from the furnace in the room to the north. A hole in the room's mostly intact floor reveals the stacks of square tiles that form the hypocaust. The niche on the east side might have contained a basin (labrum) where one could wash or sprinkle oneself with water.
C = Caldarium - The hottest of the baths, the Caldarium had a marble floor and featured a hot water immersion pool (alveus) at its north wall. Hot water for the pool is believed to have been supplied by a testudo alvei (the bronze heating apparatus described above), which extended from the furnace in the room to the north. A hole in the room's mostly intact floor reveals the stacks of square tiles that form the hypocaust. The niche on the east side might have contained a basin (labrum) where one could wash or sprinkle oneself with water.
View of Sudatorium from the Frigidarium.
The Caldarium viewed from the north. The hot water immersion pool is in the foreground, the room's sitting area is in the center, and the Sudatarium is seen in the far background.
Sitting area of the Caldarium. The circular niche on the left may have contained a water basin (or labrum).
The Caldarium's hot water immersion pool. The sitting room is on the right, and the bath's furnace room is off-frame to the left.
S = The room north of the Caldarium was a service area, occupied by the furnace. Separate from the other rooms, it appears to have had its own exterior entrance from the street. Here, visible at floor level are the remains of the furnace, where a fire would have been built, forcing super heated air into a channel leading to the hypocaust. Hundreds of brick tile fragments litter the area. The testudo alvei would have also been in this room, located atop the furnace. Evidence suggests it comprised a double system of pipes and was supplied with water from the large reservoir located farther west in the agora.
Among the ruins, a notable feature are the many handmade bricks of the hypocaust. Looking closely, most possess a distinct 'makers mark' = two fingers dragged across the clay to form a large "X". My fingers fit perfectly when I traced the pattern...a tangible connection to those that built this complex in antiquity, some 2,000 years ago. Be sure to see the video!
Among the ruins, a notable feature are the many handmade bricks of the hypocaust. Looking closely, most possess a distinct 'makers mark' = two fingers dragged across the clay to form a large "X". My fingers fit perfectly when I traced the pattern...a tangible connection to those that built this complex in antiquity, some 2,000 years ago. Be sure to see the video!
Sources:
Pierre Aupert. Guide to Amathus. Nicosia, Cyprus: Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation, 2015 https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Amathus-Books.../dp/B0073HT5IG
World History Encyclopedia: Roman Baths
https://www.ancient.eu/Roman_Baths/
Pierre Aupert. Guide to Amathus. Nicosia, Cyprus: Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation, 2015 https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Amathus-Books.../dp/B0073HT5IG
World History Encyclopedia: Roman Baths
https://www.ancient.eu/Roman_Baths/
(Return to Cyprus)
Musings: Remnants of a City
Below are images of remnant artifacts from the ancient city of Amathus, Cyprus. Each was purposely carved, by-hand, by a skilled craftsman about 1,500+ years ago. We will never know their name(s), but still marvel at the time, effort, and talent it took to make these items; and wonder at the many decisions (both large and small) that led to their creation. When visiting a place, always remember to stop, recognize, and remember those that left their mark on the landscape, however small!
Sources:
http://www.mcw.gov.cy/mcw/DA/DA.nsf/All/D20ED526826AB796C225719B00374A92?OpenDocument
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariadne
Aupert, Pierre. Guide to Amathus (Series of Guide Books). Nicosia, Cyprus: The Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation, 2015.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariadne
Aupert, Pierre. Guide to Amathus (Series of Guide Books). Nicosia, Cyprus: The Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation, 2015.
