The goddess Aphrodite originates from the anthropomorphic concept, common in all matriarchic societies of the Middle East. Indications of the goddesses cult can be already found in the period when the difference between god and daemon was vague and the limits between man and animal were flexible enough. It sprung from the perception of the impact the natural elements had on man and his life and they were assigned with supernatural powers. Later, the goddess was conceived in human form and with her own attributes, indicative of the sectors of her influence. Her zoomorphic characteristics are present in clay figurines representing the goddess, of the second millennium BC, from Syria and Cyprus. The image of the goddess Aphrodite is closely related to that of the Magna Mater, the primary deity in the religion of agricultural tribes and is interpeted as the incarnation of the religious concept and imagination of societies ruled by matriarchy.
Temples and sanctuaries of the goddess Aphrodite in Cyprus
03 Aug 2012
by Archaeology Newsroom
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