Cyprus Museum

Lonely Planet review

This is the island's most interesting museum and houses the best collection of archaeological finds in Cyprus. The original building, erected in 1883, is opposite the lovely municipal gardens. It's a 10-minute walk west of Plateia Eleftherias.

Highlights include the remarkable display of terracotta figures in room 4, discovered in 1929 at Agia Irini, north of Morfou (Güzelyurt) in the North. The 2000 figures, dating back to the 7th to 6th centuries BC, are displayed as they were found, in a semicircular order. Apart from two female representations, the figures are male and many are warriors. Their war chariots indicate the worship of a warrior god, presumably a centaur or minotaur. There are figures that represent demon-servants of the god; the snake representations symbolise fertility and suggest a deity that was also identified with fertility and the underworld.

Another highlight is the collection of three limestone lions and two sphinxes found in the Tamassos necropolis south of Lefkosia. The statues, which show a definite Egyptian influence, were only discovered in 1997. They date from the Cypro-Archaic II period (475-400 BC).

Also look out for the famous Aphrodite of Soli statue in room 5, widely marketed as the 'goddess of Cyprus' on tourist posters. An enormous bronze statue of Emperor Septimus Severus, found at Kythrea (Değirmenlik) in 1928, is the main exhibit in room 6 and can hardly be overlooked.

A couple of lovely mosaics, such as the mosaic of Leda & the Swan from Palea Pafos, are displayed in room 7B, alongside various displays of gold.