Cyprus,
an island of legends that basks year-round in the light of the
warm Mediterranean sun. A storied past 10,000 years long has seen
civilizations come and go and the likes of everyone from
Alexander the Great to Cleopatra stake their claim here - but
then, people do tend to get possessive when faced with such
beauty. Aphrodite made her home on Cyprus, and travellers
throughout antiquity came here just to pay her tribute.
Today Cyprus is a modern country that effortlessly marries
European culture with ancient enchantment. Here you will discover
a compact world of alluring beaches and fragrant mountain peaks,
vineyards studded with olive trees and ancient ruins that stir
the imagination, citrus groves and old stone villages where sweet
wine flows as freely as conversations at the local café. A
carefree place where a sense of timelessness is magnified by the
kindness of the people Cyprus is the legendary birthplace of the
goddess of beauty and love, the beautiful Aphrodite (also known
as Kypris or the
Cyprian). According to Hesiod's Theogony,
the goddess emerged fully grown from the sea where the severed
genitals of the god Uranus were cast by his son, Kronos, causing
the sea to foam (Greek: Aphros). Her birth was famously depicted
by the artist Botticelli in The Birth of
Venus. The legendary site of Aphrodite's
birth is at Petra Tou Romiou ("Aphrodite's Rock"), a
large sea stack close to the coastal cliffs near Paphos.
Throughout ancient history, Cyprus was a flourishing centre for
the cultic worship of Aphrodite.
Limassol
Limassol, the second largest city is located in the southern part of Cyprus between the ancient kingdoms of Curium and Amathus. It is one of the major tourist resort in Cyprus, has the biggest port in the island and it is the home of many offshore companies
