Erasmus+ course

Kyprida Aphrodite
Limassol
Part 5
 CONTENTS

• Aphrodite in Greek Mythology

• Perceptions for birth
• Depictions and symbols
• Worship of Aphrodite on Cyprus
• Palepaphos
• Amathus
Aphrodite in Greek Mythology

Aphrodite was the Olympian goddess with many e

xpressions:

•She was the goddess of love, desire, pleasure, fert

ility and beauty.
•She was protector of sailors and goddess of the se
a.
•She was also protector of prostitutes.
•She was honoured as the goddess of war.

Apart from her natural beauty, she also had a magi

cal girdle that compelled everyone to desire her.
 Perceptions for birth

There are two myths for her birth.

1st Myth

According to one myth, Hesiod mentions i

n his Theogony that Aphrodite was born fr
om the white foam (aphros) produced by
the severed genitals of Uranus (Heaven), a
fter his son Cronus threw them into the se
a.
There are two versions of the myth:

A. Then she was blown to the island of Cythera by th

e Wind Zephyrs and as she arrived on the shore on a
shell, she found the Seasons there waiting for her. Th
ey were dancing and singing her praises. They were v
ery beautiful, but they were nothing compared to Ap
hrodite. They clothed her in golden robes and jewels
and led her to Mount Olympus.

Botticelli's Birth of Venus (on display in the

Uffizi Gallery in Florence).
Cythera (Greece)
B. Aphrodite is usually said to have been born
to Petra tou Romiou, near her main place of
worship, Paphos, on the island of Cyprus. is
That’s why she is sometimes called "Cyprian
", especially in the poetic works of Sappho.

These stories may preserve traces of the migrati

on of Aphrodite's cult from the Middle Eas
t to mainland Greece.

Petra tou Romiou is an interesting geological fo

rmation of huge rocks along one of the most
beautiful coastlines on the island, located o
n the southwest coast of the Pafos (Paphos)
district.

‘Petra tou Romiou’

(The Rock of the Greek)
2nd Myth

Aphrodite was considered a daughter of Zeus a

nd Dione, the mother goddess whose oracle wa
s at Dodona. Aphrodite herself was sometimes
also referred to as "Dione". "Dione" seems to b
e a feminine form of "Dios", "of Zeus", the geni
tive form case of Zeus, and could be taken to m
ean simply "(she) that belongs to Zeus" in a gen
eric sense. Aphrodite might, then, be an equiva
lent of Rhea, the Earth Mother, whom Homer r
elocated to Olympus.

Zeus and Dione

In Greek mythology, Aphrodite lived on Mount
Olympus with the other gods and goddess. The
other gods feared that Aphrodite's beauty might
lead to conflict and war, through rivalry for her f
avours; so Zeus married Aphrodite with Hephae
stus the homely craftsman-god.

Despite this, Aphrodite followed her own inclina

tions, and had many lovers — both gods, such a
s Ares, and men, such as Anchises. She played a
role in the Eros and was both lover and surrogat
e mother of Adonis. Many lesser beings were sai
d to be children of Aphrodite.
Aphrodite and Hephaestus
Depictions and symbols

She was depicted as a beau

tiful woman often accompa
nied by the winged godlin
g Eros (Love).

Her attributes included a do

lphin, rose, myrtie, sparrow
, girdle, swan, dove, apple,
Taurus, scallop shell and mi
rror.
 Personal Information
Husbands Hephaestus, Ares, Poseidon, Hermes, Dionysus, Adoni
s, and Anchises
[1]
Children Eros, Phobos, Deimos, Harmonia, Pothos, Anteros,
Himeros, Hermaphroditus, Rhodos, Eryx, Peitho, Euno
mia, The Graces, Priapus, Aeneas Adonis
[2] [3]
Parents Uranus or Zeus and Dione
Brothers-Sisters Aeacus, Angelos, Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Athena, Diony
sus, Eileithyia, Enyo, Eris, Ersa, Hebe, Helen of
Troy, Hephaestus, Heracles, Hermes, Minos, Pandia, P
ersephone, Perseus, Rhadamanthus, the Graces,
the Horae, the Litae, the Muses,
the Moirai, or the Titans, the Cyclopes, the Meliae,
the Erinyes (Furies), the Giants, the Hekatonkheires
Roman equivalent Venus
In classical sculpture and fresco sh
e was usually depicted nude or se
mi -nude.
 Worship of Aphrodite on Cyprus Names:
Astort
Palepaphos
Aphrodite
The worship has its origins to Achaean colonists, who adopted Paphian
the worship of a native fertility goddess named Astort (the Ca
naanite form of Ishtar), who they Hellenized as Aphrodite . Wanassa

The worship of Aphrodite was officially established on Cyprus i

n 1500 BC, with the building of a hilltop temple on Palepaphos
(Palea Paphos).

The Temple of Aphrodite stood on a hill about 2km from the, s

ea. The town of Palea Paphos soon created around the temple.

Homer referred to the goddess as the "Cyprian" as early as

the 8th century BC, and she was called the "Paphian" in th
e 6th century BC. Inscriptions at Palea Paphos call her simpl
y Wanassa, "the lady.“
Palepaphos
The 4th century AD worship of Aphrodite has stopped
Palepaphos

Museum at Palepaphos

Coin from Palepaphos

 Amathus

The ancient town of Amathous is situated on the south c

oast of Cyprus, about 7 km east of the town of Lemesos
founded by Greek Mycenaean settlers in the 12th to the
11th centuries BC

Amathous was one of the biggest ancient cities of the isl

and where Kyprida Aphrodite was worshiped. The town
acquired special wealth as one of the Kingdoms of Cypru
s, and had remarkable commercial relations both with th
e Aegean and the Syropalestinian coast.

According to the legend, was settled by one of the sons

of Heracles, who was worshipped there.
Acropolis
Acropolis 11th century B.C. A tomb at the north edge of the hill,
known as the tomb of Ariadne

According to other legends, Ariadne, the beautiful dau

ghter of Minos, who fled from Labyrinth in Crete with
Theseus, was later abandoned in Amathus. She died t
here while giving birth to her child and was buried in a
tomb.

Two big monolithic vessels were used which dominate

d the site on the east edge of the hill. One of them is p
artially preserved today in situ while the other one wa
s transported in the 19th century to Paris where it is e
xhibited today in the Louvre.

During this period, Cypriot Aphrodite took the characteri

stics of the Egyptian goddess and vessels
Had numerous representations.
 Temple of Aphrodite

The ruins of the Roman Temple of Aphrodite occupy

a large part of the acropolis. It was built over the rui
ns of a Hellenistic temple for which we do not have
much information. The Roman temple was one of th
e greatest centers of worship in Cyprus during antiq
uity and one of the most important places of worshi
p.
It was built at the end of the 1st century A.D. It see
ms that in the 5th century A.D. the area surrounding
the south part of the temple was used as a place of
worship by the first Christians. In the 7th century th
e temple was already destroyed and in its place a lar
ge three-aisled basilica was built.
 Agora and the baths

The agora is located in the lower town. The area sout

h of the agora comprised of a closed circular area and
annexes. The bath along with part of the west portico
of the agora date to the Hellenistic period and constit
ute the earliest indications of human activity in the ar
ea.

Sewage system
 The Port

The external port of the city was situated

in front of the agora and its ruins are pres
erved today under the sea. The port was
built at the end of the 4th century B.C. by
Demetrios Poliorcetes, as part of the defe
nse of the town during the period of the
quarrel with the Ptolemys for the domina
tion of Cyprus. The port's lifespan was sh
ort since it was covered by sand. In front
of the agora an internal basin of the port
existed where the sailors had the opportu
nity to pull the ships out of the water in o
rder to better protect them from the win
d.
 Aphrodite and Adonis

The myth of Aphrodite and Adonis is related with Amathounta

area. Ares, the God of War and Aphrodite’s lover, hears that A
phrodite loves the youth Adonis, got really jealous.
Adonis was interested in hunting. Aphrodite begged Adonis to
give up the dangerous sport he enjoyed because she could not
bear to lose him, knowing that the young man would have a ter
rible end. Adonis ignored her advice and was killed while hunti
ng by a wild boar, that was actually God Ares.
When Adonis died, Aphrodite with Adonis still in her arms, Aph
rodite turned the blood drops that fell from his wounds onto th
e soil into windflowers (the short-lived anemone) as a memoria
l to their love.
Anemones sprung from the blood of Adonis and his spirit retur
ned to the underworld. In response to the tearful goddess, Zeu
s determined that Adonis should stay just for the half of the ye
ar in the Underworld.