Ellinospilioi

The history of Cyprus is ancient and it has to show ancient origins s up to thousands of years ago.

During the Hellenistic period, during the archaic and classical times, the Phoenicians conquerors left Cyprus, and the residents turned to the Macedonian Ptolemies of Egypt.So, from the 3rd century BCthe island became fully Hellenized, in a period during which flourished the arts and the Greek religion with the 12 gods of Olympus Mount with sanctuaries throughout the island and magnificent graves, with the rulers and notables of the place buried there.

They are tombs, carved into rocks, dating back to the Hellenistic and first Roman years, many of which resemble regular houses, with burial rooms opening into open terraces.They resemble tombs found in Alexandria, demonstrating the close relationship between the two cities during the Hellenistic period.

These tombs were named Ellinospilioi owing to the Hellenistic period, and also – the tombs of kings because of their size and grandeur.These were graves, where the members of the Paphos aristocracy were buried, but not kings.

On the west side of the city of Paphos close to the sea there is a large cluster of such tombs, the famous “Tombs of the Kings” that have been named so due to the great magnificence, with which they had been built. Dug into solid rock, they are dated the 4th BCcentury.Similar tombs are scattered in many areas throughout the province of Paphos.

In Chloraka in the area “Rodafinia” and from a side of the avenue “Chloraka” looking towards the village, there is a similar tomb – the Ellinospilios, which is carved into the earth. It does not have the splendor and the beauty of the graves of Kato Paphos, but it is quite large and invaluable with its patio and entrances to the funerary chambers dug into tough and solid stone. In this tomb the invaluable artifacts were found, among them the preserved Roman marble sarcophagus with cover that today adorns the courtyard of the Museum of Paphos.

Also in Chloraka, a few meters from the central square, there is still a Ellinospilios in the ground, with its entrance closed with soils. It is a natural cave, with the funerary chambers dug up in its walls, where, probably, some obscure rulers were buried. Inside of one of such chamber an old inhabitant discovered a sarcophagus with cover on it with embossed body of a beautiful woman, that, unfortunately, he sold to the archeological looters. It’s supposed to be in a private museum in New York. Also, in another chamber a warrior’s golden belt was found, and unfortunately this was sold to the looters for the amount of five pounds in the mid-war years, while in the third one there were fairy lights that also no one knows where they are now. These are testimonies of the community residents alive until recent time, who lived at that time, and these testimonies were reported to me during my research.

It is certain that the area of Chloraka in antiquity belonged to the kingdom of Paphos, but the only thing reminiscent in the current days are the two Ellinospilioi, which are now privately owned.

(From the Ebook Κ. Ταπακούδη “Άπαντα της Χλώρακας“)