The church of Ayia Kyriaki stands by the classical ruins of a Roman temple at Kato Paphos. A significantly larger early Christian Basilica, Chrysopolitissa, existed at the very site.
The austerity of the present church complex forms the background to the four equally austere pillars in the foreground. The proximity of the so-called column of St. Paul attests to the historic significance of the site for early Christianity on the island.
Ayia Kyriaki church was originally built in the 10th or 11th century and was restored in the 14th, 16th and 20th centuries. It was always used by both Greeks and Latins.
Erik the Good, King of the Danes, fell ill just outside Paphos and died on 10 July, 1013. During his last hour, he asked to be buried at the principal church of the town. Those around him fearful of the legend that the island’s earth rejects foreign bodies, confirmed to the King that he could not be buried in Cyprus. ‘The land, answered Erik, belongs to God. If my corpse is rejected, bury me outside the cemetery’. They did accordingly, and he was buried where he had chosen. His sepulcher remained in peace and, henceforth, the land that previously refused to keep the dead, stopped the bad will.
[Severis, R. 2008. The Swedes in Cyprus. Nicosia: Cyprus Research Centre; Fellman A. 1938. Voyage en Orient du Roi Erik Ejegod et sa mort a Paphos. Helsinki: Librairie Academique].
© Costas and Rita Severis Foundation
The ‘Did You Know’ series is made possible with the support of OPAP (Cyprus).
