History and Attractions of Kythira Island

History

According to mythology, Kythira is the island of Aphrodite. The goddess of beauty and love was born from the foam of the sea, which moored first on Kythira and then emerged on Cyprus.

Kythira, also known in antiquity as Porphyrus (Purple Island), was a Minoan naval base at the beginning of the 2nd millennium B.C. The abundance of purple was the reason for the subsequent appearance of Phoenicians here, who were engaged in the processing and trade of this product, that was valuable at that time.

Even before the Phoenicians, the Mycenaeans came here. Their presence on the island is attested by Mycenaean burials discovered at Paleopolis near Avlemonas. During the Peloponnesian War Cyprian became an ally of Sparta and was captured for a short time by the Athenians.

The centuries that followed were marked by repeated pirate invasions, which caused the devastation of the island. After a series of events, in 1207 Venetian rule began formally on the island after the Venetian Marco Vigneri self-proclaimed himself "Marquis of Kythira". The Venetians gave the island a new name, Cerigo, which is often still used today by the locals, only slightly modified it to "Cirigo.

Pirate incursions stopped for a long time, but in 1537 Kythira was severely destroyed by an attack of Barbarossa. After the elimination of the Venetian Republic by Napoleon, the Venetian rule ends and the island is occupied by the French in 1797. This is followed by the Russian-Turkish occupation, and in 1809 the island finally comes under the protectorate of England.

Finally, in 1864 the Cyphers with the other Seven Islands, were reunited with Greece.

Attractions

Chora and Kapsali. Chora with its Venetian fortress on top of a steep rock 300 meters above sea level and picturesque Kapsali with its two bays, one below the other, are one of the most picturesque landscapes in Greece.

Kyhira or Chora is the capital of the island with traditional houses and more than 40 ancient churches standing just below the fortress.

This village forms the so-called Mesa Vurgo. On the territory of the fortress are the Cathedral of the Virgin Mary, earlier Catholic, and the Church of St. Panteleimon with rare frescoes. The earliest church of the fortress is the Trinity Church, named for the Regency Palace, which now holds a historical archive, gunpowder storehouses and two elaborately constructed aqueducts. Among the collection of the Archaeological Museum, where there are remarkable finds made on the island, a special place holds the marble statue of a lion, which stood at the main gate of the fortress and is not Venetian, as previously thought, but ancient Greek.

Kapsali is the second port of the island, located 2 km from Chora.

There is a sandy beach, sheltered from the winds. Many tourists come here in the summer. High on the rock above Kapsali stands the snow-white church of St. John the Evangelist and is located the cave in which the saint allegedly intended to write the Revelation. However, frequent pirate attacks forced him to leave Kythira and go to Patmos.

The religious center of the island, the Monastery of Panagia Myrtidiotissa, is located near Chora.

The monastery was built in the tenth and ninth century as house an ancient icon of the Virgin Mary, which was previously in the fortress of Chora.

Karvounades. A large village, almost in the center of the island. From the crossroads at the village of Fratia the road heads east (10.5 km) to Kastri, which was the site of the ancient city of Scandia, the harbor of Paleopolis. Before Kastri near Paleokastro stands the hill on which stood the temple of Aphrodite. The nearby church of St. Cosmas is built from the stones of the ancient temple. At 2 km from the sandy coast of Kastri is the picturesque Avlemonas with small harbors and a Venetian fortress.

Milopotamosou is a village with traditional architecture. To the west of the village is the famous cave of St. Sophia with stalactites and stalagmites, a small lake inside and a church with frescoes at the entrance.

Potamos. The largest settlement of Kifer after the capital of the island.

Agia Pelagia. The main port of the island, at a distance of 12 nautical miles from Neapolis in the Peloponnese, which is connected by ferries.