Above: Picture of Aphrodite

Cyprus is famously known for being the mythical birthplace of the Aphrodite – the Greek goddess of love and beauty.

It is said that the goddess emerged fully grown from the foam that gathered around the genitals of the god Ouranos (Uranus) after his son Cronos (Kronos) slashed it off.

Back then, it was believed that only Ge, the Earth and Ouranos existed. Cronos was told by his mother Ge to mutilate his father Ouranos. Cronos did as he was told and obeyed the order to chop off the testicles of his father and tossed it into the sea.

Emerging from the sea was a maiden - surrounded by white foams; as the waves took her to Kythera before taking her to Cyprus.

This maiden was christened Aphrodite where she headed-off to the gathering of the gods in Cyprus. Aphrodite is prevalently known as Venus to the Romans.

The birth of Aphrodite was prominently portrayed by well-renowned Renaissance artist Botticelli in “The Birth of Venus”. Petra Tou Romiou or “Aphrodite’s Rock” or “Rock of the Greek” is eminent for allegedly being the site of Aphrodite’s birth. This “Rock”, according to the legend, is where Aphrodite mythically surfaced from the foams of the sea.

Cyprus was the thriving center for the cultic adoration of Aphrodite all throughout ancient history. In Pafos, Aphrodite was able to summon a wide cult following which was then annihilated by the Romans.

The “Sanctuary of Aphrodite”, in Old Pafos, clearly manifests the unmistakably stunning and beautifully excavated site.

Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and love - as the world knows her to be, is more-so identified on the more “lustful” side of love as oppose to the “romantic” type.