DREPANON
(Haghios Georghios tis Peyias) Cyprus.
On the W coast, due NW of the village of Peyia.
The ruins of a small town spread over a headland off
the extremity of which lies the small island of St.
George. There is no clue to the name of this town
though Sakellarios suggests Tegessos. The name of the
cape, however, is given by Ptolemy the geographer as
Drepanon, and this name may apply also to the town.
There are massive ruins of ancient buildings and in
Hogarth's day the remains of a small theater were still
visible. In the seaward face of the cliff are rock-cut
tombs in two tiers. The visible remains of the town date
from Hellenistic, Graeco-Roman, and Early Byzantine
times, after which it was abandoned, evidently at the
time of the first Arab raids of A.D. 647
Three Early Christian basilican churches with mosaic
floors and a bath establishment have been uncovered
in recent years, but otherwise the site remains unexcavated.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
D. G. Hogarth,
Devia Cypria (1889);
A. Sakellarios,
Τὰ Κυπριακά(1890)
I;
RE, s.v.
Drepanon. K. NICOLAOU
