Kouklia

Sanctuary of Aphrodite, Palaepaphos

Remains of ancient Greek sanctuary

Wing of Roman Sanctuary of Aphrodite

The Cypriots worshipped a goddess of fertility from as early as the Chalcolithic period (3900–2500 BC).[3] They depicted her as a woman with the obvious characteristics of maternity and modelled figurines of her in stone or clay, of which the larger ones became objects of adoration and their smaller counterparts were worn on the body. Others were placed in graves to protect the dead. The myth that Venus (known as Aphrodite in Greek) was born on the coast of Cyprus may be connected to the adoration of this fertility goddess.

From the 12th century BC onwards, adoration of this goddess becomes particularly resplendent. It appears that before the arrival of Achaeans, Palaepaphos was already a rich city with an ornate holy altar dedicated to the goddess. Tradition holds that King Kinyras of Paphos was both very rich and a priest of Venus. Another legend relates that Agapinoras, king of Tegea and Arcadia, came to Paphos after the Trojan War and founded both the city and the holy altar of Venus. The Greeks, seemingly impressed by the greatness of the goddess of Paphos, built a large altar dedicated to her, parts of which still survive.

A covered temple was never built for the goddess at Palaepaphos but instead, the holy altar stood in the open air, encircled by walls and fitted with brightly coloured doors, according to Homer. She was not worshipped as a statue, but rather in the form of conical stone. The ancients report it as something strange, "a white pyramid of which the material is not known". This symbolic stone existed at Paphos from ancient times and, as the adoration of standing stones is a feature of eastern religions, the nearby Petra tou Romiou (Aphrodite's rock) may be responsible for the creation of the myth that she was born here.

Stone representing Aphrodite found at Kouklia

This conical stone was found near the holy altar and is now on display at the Kouklia Museum. However, the stone is black whereas the ancients described it as white, although it may have become tarnished over the centuries. The stone remained in the holy altar site until the arrival of the Romans who placed it in the middle of a tripartite open building. The altar was already well known by the time of Homer as a location for burning incense. It was claimed that so marvellous was the altar that when it rained the stone did not become wet.

There were also votive pillars bearing symbols of the horns of a bull, and columns in the form of a tree of life. Various buildings serving the needs of the holy altar, and accommodation for the priest of the goddess and his entourage also existed on the site. A holy garden is also likely to have existed from which the nearby village of Yeroskipou takes its name. This was probably filled with trees and bushes dedicated to Venus, and with birds such as pigeons, which were beloved by the goddess. Representations on ancient vessels depict people amongst bushes, flowers and birds. Worship of the goddess was led by a priest who directed the ceremonies. Some sources claim that the first priest was Cinyras.[4] His descendants continued as priests and were buried in the precincts of the holy altar. It is also known that later kings of Paphos were simultaneously priests. Tacitus however, relates in his Histories that the site was founded by King Aerias.

In a practice originating with eastern religions to honour Astarte, "holy marriages" may have taken place whereby a priest married a female priest to ensure the continued fertility of the earth and people. An idea of what the goddess looked like can be gathered from recovered archeological relics which show present a richly embellished woman. The adoration of Venus was particularly intense in the ancient period with religious ceremonies depicted on artifacts such as vases or bronze vessels. Offerings to Venus are described by ancient writers as tobacco or balm from Myra in present-day Turkey. The faithful also brought pies made with flour and oil and libations produced from honey. Tree branches were favoured by the goddess so devotees brought myrtle flowers, windflowers[5] and roses, because they derived from the blood of Adonis and the teardrops of Venus.

Conflicting information exists as to whether animal sacrifices took place at the site with some sources claiming that the altar of the goddess was not wetted with blood and that pigs were never sacrificed because Venus hated the animals following the killing of Adonis by a wild boar. Others insist that pigs were sacrificed.

Followers sometimes dedicated objects that depicted worshippers or the goddess herself, either in the form of a richly dressed woman or a naked Astarte. Others dedicated columns decorated with signs, statues, precious gifts and gold. Records show that the holy altar of Venus was richly endowed and that the Romans took many of its treasures to Rome.

The Ptolemaioi and the Romans attempted to import adoration of emperors and other gods in order to glamourise the holy altar. Currency of the time shows the holy altar with the conical stone still in place.

Adoration of the goddess lost its attraction with the rise of Christianity. From the 2nd century onwards the altars of the goddess were gradually abandoned. Major earthquakes in the 4th century destroyed the holy altar and its "idolatrous" building materials were then used to construct great royal edificea.

Under the Byzantine Empire (c. 306–1453) the village was most probably the property of the Byzantine officer known as the Kouvikoularios. In Greek, the word kouvouklion means sepulchral chamber but can also mean the dormitory of the Byzantine emperors. Bodyguards of the Byzantine Emperors who guarded the imperial dormitory were termed kouvikoularioi, and were often granted land as a reward for their services. One such kouvikoularios is likely to have become the master or owner of the village thus it was named Kou(vou)klia. Alternatively, if Kouklia was not the property of a kouvikoularios then it was probably an area dotted with country houses for Byzantine officials.

The village retained the name "Kouvouklia" until the advent of Frankish domination in the 12th century and was abbreviated to "Kouklia". De Masse Latri reports that during the Frank domination era, the village was a large royal estate where sugar cane was cultivated.

During the Ottoman period, Kouklia was confiscated by the new conquerors and became a manor.

In 1881, Kouklia's population was 404 and rose to 520 in 1921. By 1946, that number had increased to 791 (437 Greek Cypriots and 354 Turkish Cypriots) and by 1973 to 1,110 (613 Greek Cypriots, 494 Turkish Cypriots). Following the Turkish invasion in 1974, Turkish Cypriot inhabitants of the village, under the influence of their political leaders, left the village and moved to the occupied regions. In 1976, the population of Kouklia was 732, which subsequently decreased to 681 in 1982 and 669 in 2001.