![]() ![]() ![]() In Cyprus the Goddess was not called Aphrodite until the 4th cent. The name Aphrodite may be the Greek adaptation of a semitic name of the family of Ishtar – Inanna, Ashtart – Astarte, later explained as coming from ἀφρός – foam, since she was said to have been born from the sea – aphros, “sea-foam,” and dite, “issued”. The customary use of Κύπρις, Κυπρογενής, and Κυθέρεια in this epics suggests that at the time of their composition these epithets were well known to identify with Aphrodite. by Homer who referred to her as Aphrodite or the Great Cypriot Goddess and by Hesiod who called her Kypris, the Cyprus born. T he Goddess of Cyprus is mentioned for the first time in the 8th cent. Until she was completely identified in the 4th cent. The invading Greeks also adopted an existing ancient Mesopotamian goddess associated with love, beauty, sex, desire, fertility, war, justice, and political power, the Sumerian Great goddess Ishtar or Inanna, a Phoenician Great goddess Ashtart or Astarte – to become Aphrodite, and her original husband, Tammuz, god of vegetation, to become Adonis. the cult was practiced at Greek trade centers and spread along sea – trade routes to Cyprus, this Egyptian Isis was syncretized with Hathor – Aphrodite. During the 3rd until the 1st centuries B.C. The Hellenised Egyptian cult of Isis originated in Ptolemaic Alexandria from whence it spread out into the Mediteranean. ![]() Fertility cult centered on a Great Goddess Genesis of Aphrodite Terracotta fragmentary statue of the Cypriot goddess, exported from Cyprus to Greece. ![]() Limestone and clay figurines found in tombs and settlements, of an earlier date than other idols, represent birth-giving women of different sizes (from circa 2 to 40 cm high) in a cruciform shape. In Cyprus she was an ancient divinity with origins linked to the worship of the powers of life a goddess of fertility who was worshiped on the island since the Iron Age, and whom the Cypriots presumably did not at that time call Aphrodite.Īround 3000 B.C., a cult of female fertility developed intensively in the region of Paphos (Kouklia-Vathyrkakas, Lemba, Kissonerga). Aphrodite of Cyprus was not merely the blonde goddess of love, grace and beauty who indulged in amorous whims, as often depicted in later art. In the case of Aphrodite, archaeological findings have revealed aspects of the goddess which differ from those attributed to her by Greek mythology. Scholars have used folklore and mythology as stepping stones in their search of the historical past. Myths are part of the fabric of society and may at times provide clues. These Great divinities were associated with power, fertility, and war, and were characterized by fierce jealousy and aggressive sexuality. She was not native to early Greek religion but seems to have developed over centuries, influenced by a variety of Great Goddesses such as the Egyptian sky goddess Hathor, her later Hellenised form called Isis, the Sumerian Inana, her later Akkadian manifestation as Ishtar, and the Phoenician Astarte. This may explain Aphrodite’s obscure origins. Tradition, Myths and Cultural interaction, around a local fertility goddess were reshaped by encounters with Near Eastern deities. From its 11,000-year history, Cyprus has woven its own distinctive history and culture. Discover Myth and Cult of Aphrodite on Cyprus.Ĭ yprus, the eastern-most island in the Mediterranean Sea, situated at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa, has been a meeting point for many of the world’s great civilizations. There were several sanctuaries on the island dedicated to her, the most famous in Paphos. What is certain is that throughout antiquity the Great Goddess, in different aspects was worshiped on Cyprus. References in ancient authors and archaeological evidence may prove that Aphrodite and her cult originated on this island. Myth has it that Aphrodite, the Olympian goddess of love, beauty, pleasure and procreation, arose from the sea foam on the south-western coast of Cyprus. ![]()
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