Gold-plated bronze pin
Cypriot, about 200-100 BC
Found in the Sanctuary of Aphrodite at Kouklia (Palaepaphos or Old
Paphos), Cyprus
Some of the many traditions that blended into the cult of the
Paphian Aphrodite
The inscription reads: 'To the Paphian Aphrodite Eubola vowed
this the wife of Aratas the kinsman and Tamisa'. The Sanctuary of
Aphrodite at Paphos was situated at the site of the old city of
Paphos near the modern village of Kouklia. It was the chief
religious centre of the island of Cyprus in antiquity, and famous
throughout the ancient Mediterranean world. The first sanctuary
remains date from about 1200 BC. In the Roman period, by which time
it had been remodelled, it was joined by a sacred way to the new
city of Paphos to the west.
The Ptolemies of Egypt ruled Cyprus continuously, apart from a
short time, for nearly two and a half centuries from 294 BC. This
pin was dedicated by the wife of a member of the Ptolemaic court.
It is crowned by a large gold-capped pearl surmounted by a smaller
pearl with a gold knob on top. Four goats' heads in gilded bronze,
separated by lotus flowers, spring from acanthus foliage. Above,
four doves with outspread wings lean forward to drink from the cup
of a lotus flower. Aphrodite borrowed the lotus flower from the
Egyptian goddess Isis. The sacred doves of the goddess hatched
Aphrodite from an egg which fell from the sky into the River
Euphrates, according to one legend of her birth.
F.G. Maier and V. Karageorghis, Paphos: history and archaeolog (Nicosia, A.G. Leventis Foundation, 1984)
V. Tatton-Brown, Ancient Cyprus, 2nd ed. (London, The British Museum Press, 1997)
F.H. Marshall, Catalogue of the jewellery, Gr (London, 1911)