The findings in the temple of the Goddess Aphrodite of Akraia (or Aphrodite of the Extremes) in the area of Cape Greco were discussed during a meeting held today at the Municipal Museum "Thalassa", the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works Giannis Karousos, the Mayor of Agia N Christos Zannettou and the Director of the Department of Antiquities Marina Ieronymidou.
See the statements of the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works Giannis Karousou, as recorded by the camera of Famagusta.News:
A written announcement from the Municipality of Ayia Napa states that "during the meeting it was decided to conduct a geological survey initially to find out what is in the area. Archaeological research will then be carried out in order to verify whether the findings that are in the specific area and for which there are written testimonies, are related to the Goddess Aphrodite and the history of Ayia Napa ".
According to the written testimonies, to which both the Minister and the Director of the Department of Antiquities referred, "Aphrodite the Extreme was on the shores of Cyprus and the first reference was made by the Ancient Greek Geographer Strabo at the end of the 1st century BC. with the beginning of the 1st c. AD, which refers to the ancient cape rudder and the sanctuary of Aphrodite Akraia. In 1877, Luigi Palma di Chesnola in an excavation he referred to a head of a statue (Goddess Cybele), which is in a museum in Berlin, while Max Richter denies Chesnola, claiming that the head of the statue was found in the area of ancient Salami , which is an area of Cape Greco ".
In the theory of the existence of the sanctuary of Aphrodite he also referred to extensive reportage of the newspaper "Simerini" Lambros Kaoullas, in parallel with the search for the station of the seven antennas in Cape Greco.
In his "Geographical" Strabo writes about the area that starts from the place where today is the enslaved monastery of the Apostle Andreas (near which he mentions a temple «Ἄδυτον γυναιξὶ καὶ ἀόρατον» of Aphrodite Extreme): ««πρόκεινται δὲ πλησίον αἱ Κλεῖδες καὶ ἄλλαι δὲ πλείους, εἶθ᾽ αἱ Καρπασίαι νῆσοι, καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἡ Σαλαμίς, ὅθεν ἦ Ἄριστος ὁ συγγραφεύς: εἶτ᾽ Ἀρσινόη πόλις καὶ λιμήν: εἶτ: ᾽λ: ὑψηλὸς τραπεζοειδής, ἱερὸς Ἀφροδίτης, εἰς ὃν ἀπὸ Κλειδῶν στάδιοι ἑξακόσιοι ὀγδοήκοντα: εἶτα κολπώδης καὶ τραχὺς παράπλους ὁ πλείων εἰς Κίτιον… ἔχει δὲ λιμένα κλειστόν:.
In his statements, the Mayor Christos Zannettou stated that “the strategy and policy of the Municipality is the promotion of Ayia Napa through its culture and history. "There is a mutual will to utilize all the data so that we can proceed with the archaeological and geological surveys that are needed to see what the results will be."
He noted that "in case it is confirmed that the findings are associated with the Goddess Aphrodite then we will highlight the new archaeological site as we have done with the other monuments, to be a reference point for Ayia Napa."
According to the announcement, the research will be financed from the budget of the Department of Antiquities and the Municipality of Ayia Napa.
Also important are the researches carried out in the chapel of Panagia Panagiotissa in Protaras which resulted in the discovery of antiquities referring to the last king of Salamis Nikokreontas and the reign of the emperor Heraclitus, as well as the location of the bones of Father Z. beheaded by the Turks in the 17th century, were found during the renovation of the church of Panagia Panagiotissa in Protaras.
Watch the video with the statements given to Famagusta.News by the Director of the Department of Antiquities:
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