The Birthplace of the Goddess of Love

Aphrodite’s Rock is just a 5 minute drive from Aphrodite Hills Resort – it is an interesting geological formation of huge rocks off the coastline, and understandably one of the most visited places of interest on the island.  It doesn’t get much more romantic than watching the sun set here…

Googlemap Location for Aphrodite’s Rock.

According to legend, this strikingly beautiful spot is where Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and fertility, rose from the waves and the foaming sea and was then escorted, on a shell, to the rocks known as ‘Rock of Aphrodite’ or ‘Petra tou Romiou’ in Greek.  The Greek name, Petra tou Romiou which translates as “the Rock of the Greek”, is associated with the legendary Byzantine hero Basil as told in the Digenes Akritas. Basil was half-Greek and half-Arabic, hence the name Digenes (two-blood).  Legend tells that the Christian Basil hurled the huge rock from the Troodos Mountains to keep off the invading Saracens.  A nearby rock is similarly known as the Saracen Rock.

A local myth goes that any person who swims around the Aphrodite Rock will be blessed with eternal beauty, and that in certain weather conditions, the waves rise, break and form a column of water that dissolves into a pillar of foam. With imagination, this looks for just a moment like an ephemeral, evanescent human shape.

Aphrodite’s Rock features on the Cyprus Tourism Organisation Aphrodite Cultural Route.

The pebbly beach surrounding the rock is a very popular tourist spot in the summer months, and is a lovely beach to visit for a dip and a sunbathe, as well as a snorkel. There are a couple of restaurants close by, as well as a large car parking area adjacent to the site.

Why not tie in your visit to Aphrodite’s Rock with the Aphrodite’s Trail walk?