Cyprus Island

Cyprus Island - The Island of Aphrodite - The Cyprian Goddess

APHRODITE THE CYPRIAN GODDESS - CYPRUSS

Where is the home for me?
O Cyprus, set in the sea, Aphrodite's home in the soft sea-foam,
Would I could wend to thee; Where the wings of the Loves are furled, And faint the heart of the world.
Aye, unto Paphos' isle,
Where the rainless meadows smile With riches rolled from the hundred-fold Mouths of the far-off Nile, Streaming beneath the waves To the roots of the seaward caves.
But a better land is there
Where Olympus cleaves the air,
The high still dell where the Muses dwell,
Fairest of all things fair!
O there is Grace, and there is the Heart's Desire, And peace to adore thee; thou Spirit of Guiding Fire!
THE BACCHAE - EURIPIDES


A PHRODITE is the "special" Goddess of Cyprus. Homer refers to her as "Kibris" and "Kyprogenis", and in the oldest inscriptions discovered in Cyprus Aphrodite is recorded simply as "anassa" (sovereign) or "The Goddess". In later inscriptions, she is described as "Aphrodite Paphia" (of Paphos). Aphrodite's Birth Ancient Greek Mythology has preserved until our time many myths in connection with Aphrodite's birth and adventures. According to Homer Aphrodite was a daughter of Zeus and Dioni, while Hesiodus says she was the daughter of Uranus. The adoration of Aphrodite in Cyprus did not have, at least m the, early stages, the immoral character which the adoration of Phoenician Astarte had. Evidence to the contrary, given by Herodotus, is probably due rather to the confusion between the two Goddesses Astarte and Aphrodite, and perhaps to the loose morals which, under strong eastern influences, invaded Cyprus during the fifth century.

A hundred altars The centre of Aphrodite's adoration in Cyprus was Paphos where, according to Virgil, the Goddess had a hundred altars. It was here that the famous temple of the Goddess and the oracle Were; it was also here that Aphrodite's High-Priest was established, who exercised so great an influence over the political and religious life throughout the whole Island from the most ancient times until the Roman occupation of the Island. The symbol of adoration Aphrodite's Temple in Palaepaphos was, most probably, of Minoan or Mycenean order. From relevant Cypriot coins and relief representations on stone of the Roman era, it is evident that the Temple was built in a semi-circular yard and consisted of three portions. The central portion, higher than the others, had a second floor with three little windows, which faced the front of the Temple. In the central shrine was the "cone", the symbol of the Goddess adoration. On the roof of each of the two wings stood a sculptured dove while the outer compartments of the central upper floor ended in "horns of consecrations". Between the points of these two horns there was, as is made evident from the coins, the representation of a crescent and star. In each of the side sections was a column which was also a symbol of the Goddess's adoration. A cone similar to that, or perhaps the one that stood in the central shrine of the temple at Palaepaphos, is to be found to-day in Room No. 4, at the Cyprus Museum. A human figure From the Eighth Century onwards, the anionic adoration of Aphrodite began to give way, and in parallel with the holy symbol of "The Cone", the Goddess assumed the characteristics of the human figure, elaborated into the most idealised form of human beauty. The marble statue on the opposite page, which was found in Cyprus, reflects in the most vivid way this conception.

A typical part of the worship of Aphrodite was organised with exceptional diligence and brightness. At the head of an intricate hierarchy was the High-Priest, under whose management a crowd of men and women offered their services to the various temples of the Goddess. These people were known as "temple-slaves", an honorary title for those who possessed it.

The office of the High Priest was first consecrated by the famous King of Paphos, Cinyras, and it was later on taken by his descendants who are known in Cyprus history as "Cinyrades".

Two of the most important manifestations of worship of the Goddess in the island were the festival of Aphrodisia, that took place in the month of April at Paphos, and Adonia which was celebrated in summer time at Amathus. Brightness and glory Each spring, a crowd of pilgrims from the east and the other parts of the island came to Paphos in order to attend the great feast, to express their devoutness to the Goddess, and sometimes to entertain themselves and to pursue their commercial affairs. The town of Cinyras had then days of exceptional brightness and glory. The altars, the temples and the sanctuaries were all decorated with fresh myrtles and roses. In the holy gardens of the Goddess the flowers and the creepers formed cool hiding-places where white pigeons cooed tenderly, whilst on the surface of the lakes, holy swans circled and glided calmly behind the thick foliage. The whole of the town throbbed with movement and life.

The feast continued for three days. The procession, with the leader ahead, set out from new Paphos, and after passing along the coastal road and through the holy gardens of the Goddess, came to the temple of Old Paphos. There, on the altar of the semicircular yard of the temple, the usual sacrifices took place, while those initiated in the mysteries of the Goddess marched inside the temple, holding a spray of salt and a phallus (the first symbolised that the Goddess had its origin from the sea, whilst the second symbolised fertility). Then the latter devoted themselves to an orgiastic display of adoration.

Pigs had the chief place amongst the animals for slaughter, in remembrance of the boar that devoured God Adonis. The feast concluded with music and poetical competition and orgiastic dances. It seems that the 6th Homeric Hymn was declaimed during one of those poetical competitions and on a similar occasion Stasinos sang his "Cypria Epics". 9,000 temple maidens Aphrodisia, as well as the worship of Aphrodite in general, had at the beginning a moral character. But later on, as the religious conscience weakened, and religion was turned to a means of political and social imposition by the skilful Kings and priests, the feasts of Paphos began gradually to lose their splendour and character. Thus, until the last centuries B.C., with the increasing corruption of morals, Paphos became a centre of orgiastic celebrations and a famous market of "temple maidens" .

The Adonia.
The Adonia was also a part of the common worship of the two Gods. The feasts that took place in summer time lasted for two days. On the first day, which was called "disappearance", the pilgrims—principally women—celebrated the descent of Adonis in Hades with tears and sobs. The second day, called "appearance", was celebrated joyfully with dances and other entertainments because it symbolised the resurrection of the young God and his return to earth. Similar celebrations symbolising nature that withers in autumn and rejuvenates in spring time, were taking place in other parts of Greece as well, i.e. the Attia in Phrygia, the Elefsinia in Attica, the Yakinthia in Sparta, etc.

Aphrodisia and Adonia in Cyprus had practically the same significance as the great festivals and feasts had in Greece, i.e. the Olympia, Pythia, Isthmia, etc. In these feasts a spirit of fellowship and love united all Cypriots and the feeling of their common origin grew more vivid. Cyprus the island of Aphordite…

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