Myths of Pafos

A picturesque island where past meets present at every turn, with a strong culture and many traditions handed down through the ages.

If in ancient times Cyprus was the island of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, Pafos was the principal centre of her worship. He tragic poet Euripides, in his work ‘Bacchae’, calls Cyprus the island of Aphrodite:

...ικοίμαν ποτί Κύπρον,

νάσον τας Αφροδίτας

ίν οι θελξίφρονες νέμονται

θνατοίσιν Έρωτες,

Πάφον θ΄αν εκατόστομοι

βαρβάρου ποταμού ροαί

καρπίζουσιν...

…may I reach Cyprus,

the Island of Aphrodite,

where Erotes, the heart – healers,

mingle with the mortals,

in Pafos, where the hundred-mouthed

ravines of the torrential river

bloom.

Among the six administrative districts into which the island of Aphrodite is divided today, that of Pafos is the richest in antiquities, legends, traditions and natural beauty.

The birth and life
of Aphrodite

Aphrodite and the
Trojan War

Pygmalion
and Galateia

Cinyras

Adonis

Rock of Digenis
(Petra tou Romiou)

Heritage of Agios
Agapitikos