Two “Aberrant” Cults in Amathous – The Worship of Baetyls and Aphrodite Kypria

Abstract

A Cypriot city Amathous is famous for its ancient cults which were introduced already by pre-Greek inhabitants of the island. This paper discusses two special forms of worship, which are claimed by modern scholars to be present there in antiquity – the cult of baetyls and of Aphrodite Kypria. The author suggests that our evidence is actually not enough to prove it. The worship of baetyls and the so-called sanctuary of the Seven within the Stelai is a result of a misreading of an inscription, what was already shown by P. Aupert and A. Hermary. The cult of Aphrodite Kypria does not seem to be an official poliadic form of worship but a mere invention of some foreigners visiting the island and dedicating to the goddess. This epithet can derive from the common knowledge of the origin of Aphrodite, told by myths or from poetry. It is also frequent in Latin Christian polemics with pagans in Late antiquity.