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Baths Of Aphrodite
An idyllic scenery of unique beauty emerges on the eastern slope of Akamas, at the point where the narrow plain of Chrysochou ends and the steep rocks of the peninsula begin. In other words, the Baths appear within four kilometres northwest of Neo Chorio. As the name suggests, at the Baths of Aphrodite, “the most important goddess of the ancient Cypriots” used to bathe, the goddess of Love, Aphrodite.
A paved pathway leads to a vertical rock, where clear and cool water flows from its slots. The water that flows from the lake ends up in the sea through a groove. The rock which covers the lake forms a cave covered with thick vegetation, a fact which holds the spring and the lake “permanently shaded”. Consequently, “all around the area sprout, plane-trees, wild fig-trees, olive trees, carob trees, mastic trees, and savory”. During the spring months, the scenery becomes even more magical by the blooming wild flowers of unique beauty such as cyclamens, anemones, rockroses and other wild plants.
It is indeed a spectacular sight, a masterpiece of nature dressed in its most beautiful colours. The crystal clear water wells up creating seductive melodies, just like when “light rain falls into a lake”. It is not accidental that the ancient Greeks chose this particular scenery as the Baths of the most beautiful goddess of all.
The “wild magnificence” of the scenery attracts flattering comments by several tourists, which go back to the fourth century. Claudianos, an ancient poet, characterizes the scenery as the “kingdom of Aphrodite”. He also mentions two springs, “from which the first one merges its water with honey and the second one with poison”. He carries on by writing that from these springs, Eros (Love) arms his arrows and it is for this reason that his shots are sometimes bitter and sometimes sweet. Claudianos creates the myth of his lyrics inspired by the breathtaking scenery, which has certainly suffered multiple alterations.
Claudianos adds that Hephaestus, husband of the goddess, has “fenced her kingdom with great skill”. This particular description refers to the location of the Baths, which is characterized by a “relative isolation”.
About the Baths of Aphrodite also writes the “first Athenian”, who supports the myth that in the waters of the Baths, “Aphrodite would bathe after she would sleep with her husband, “Hephaestus”. He also remarks that a plant called “lychnida” blooms in the baths.
Undoubtedly, the Baths of Aphrodite is one of the most seductive sceneries of the island. Thousands of visitors daily enjoy this magical scenery and bathe in the cool waters of the worshiped “Paphian” goddess .
Sources:
Great Cyprus Encyclopedia, vols. 3 and 10.
http://www.neochorio.org