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It’s hard to miss the connection between the Greek goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite, and the island of Cyprus. According to legend, the goddess rose from the foam created when the god Chronos threw the castrated parts of Ouranos into the sea. The goddess was said to have drifted ashore at the famous Petra tou Romiou rock near Paphos, still a favourite spot for lovers to watch the sun set.

You’ll find evidence of Aphrodite’s temples and sanctuaries all over the island, not to mention her image adorning everything from wine labels to boxes of Cyprus delight!

To help you discover more about the goddess on your holiday, Cyprus tourism has created the Aphrodite Cultural Route, so you can discover these wonderful places at your leisure (if you hire a car in Cyprus). The three main sites to visit are:

The Sanctuary of Aphrodite (the Palaepafos Aphrodite Cultural Route)
It has to be said, it takes a bit of imagination to see the Sanctuary as it must have once been, from the rather unprepossessing collection of broken walls you see today. There were originally 12 sanctuaries all over the island, but the one at Palea Paphos (present day Kouklia) was the most elaborate. Many of the amphorae and ceremonial bowls found at the site give clues as to the sexual rites that took place in the temple gardens. It is likely that young women came to offer themselves to one stranger in homage to the goddess. Curiously, the goddess herself was worshipped in the form of a conical stones - most unglamorous to modern eyes!

The Romans continued the tradition of worship, and the Sanctuary was visited by several Roman emperors, including Titus in 69AD. The cult of the goddess was outlawed in the 4th century AD, and the Sanctuary fell in disrepair, while the locals raided the site used for stones for their houses during Byzantine times.

The ancient city of Kition (Kition Aphrodite Cultural Route)
If you are on holiday in Cyprus in the Larnaca or Ayia Napa areas, then you can explore the ancient city of Kition/Kathari, with its close links to the goddess. In fact, most of ancient Kition lies buried under modern Larnaca, but you can still see excavations of a Bronze Age settlement, with a more recent Phoenician settlement sitting on top. The main shrine discovered at the site may have originally been to Aphrodite, but was rededicated by the Phoenicians to their own goddess of fertility, Astarte. Today the site is sandwiched between new houses, reminding the visitor how modern development is just the latest layer to be added to the rich history of Cyprus.

The temple of Aphrodite at Amathus (Amathous Aphrodite Cultural Route)
Established in the 11th or 12th century BC, the ancient kingdom of Amathus worshipped Kyprida Aphrodite in style. Legend says it was founded by a son of the hero Hercules. This prosperous and successful ancient kingdom easily blended the worship of Greek gods such as Aphrodite with Egyptian and Asian deities, making the site a real mix of influences. The city survived into the Byzantine era, but after Arab raids and further destruction by Richard the Lionheart in 1191, the town was largely forgotten.

Today, you can see the agora, or marketplace, and imagine it filled with traders busy selling their wares between the impressive stone columns. You can also see the remains of Greek period houses and baths, as well as the walls of the temple itself, jointly dedicated to Aphrodite and Hercules, alongside a Byzantine Christian basilica.

For more information on the trails, type “Aphrodite Cultural Route” into the search box at www.visitcyprus.com.

Sunset at Petra tou Romiou, Cyprus. Photo by Max Bisschop (Maxey) at flickr.com.

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