Kouklia, Cyprus - The Sanctuary of Aphrodite.

The bus into Paphos stops in Kouklia, on the way, so this morning I caught the later one (10:40) to have a look at what that village had to offer.

When I came up to the living room this morning the thermostat indicated that it was 9 degrees outside and 13 inside. If these cats were outside overnight I can understand why they had chosen to sleep in the sun, out of the wind, next to the ATM.

The three bus stops in Pissouri are being updated and I enjoyed watching the skilled stone masons working, while I waited. One conscientiously worked the whole time, the other chatted with everyone who stopped to make a comment.

This is the old bus stop, roof like swiss cheese.

I had read on the internet that the Kouklia Art Centre offered watercolour classes. The door was open but it was undergoing renovations and the woman, scraping the walls inside, said she didn't know when it would re-open. She did however offer to pass my email address on to someone who might do a one-on -one class.

Passed the church in the centre of the village

I followed the signs for the Sanctuary of Aphrodite, not the ones for the Snake Park!

2.25 Euro got me in (he didn't even ask my age, just assumed I was over 65, its ironic that saving 2 euro makes me happy enough that I don't mind being thought older than I am). The Sanctuary was built on the top of the hill, overlooking the sea and it was a cool North wind today but beautifully sunny.

This is all that remains of the original place of worship. They don't know what the holes were for. Palaepaphos was the community that was here and it predates Paphos. There was a harbour and a community but the focus was the worship of the deity in the 12 century BC. This is a site were the dates are beyond comprehension.

The Romans built a new place of worship beside the old one,

with mosaics (mostly geometric) and

columns.

That's the dome of the Byzantine church that I visited later.

A couple of Roman villas have been excavated, revealing their mosaics (though not as fine as the ones at Kato Paphos)

and the outlines of rooms.

Due to earthquakes and looting it is impossible to know where most of the pieces belong so they lie in rows

and you are left

to admire the craftmanship

and the age

but wish we knew more of the meaning

and the purpose.

There were Information Boards in Greek and English, yeah! From them I learned that Aphrodite may have evolved from an earlier fertility goddess but she was a multipurpose deity - she was a warrior (often depicted with a spear), sea goddess (she was born from the sea), goddess of love and marriage, goddess of seafarers and associated with sea shells. She was never offered blood sacrifice but instead incense was burned. This particular location is mentioned by Homer and in other ancient texts.

The museum with some of the artifacts from the Sanctuary is in the Medieval Manor on the site

but, as I took 155 pictures today, and still have to sort through the last half, and the next day will be a low photo day (Saturday I am at the charity shop) I think I will post some more tomorrow.

Building on the end of yesterday's post - a picture is worth a thousand words

Even at the sink, pretty clear.