According to Hesiod, the birth of Aphrodite is placed in Kythera. Cronus, in the “Theogony”, is the only son of Earth who agreed with his mother to avenge his father, Uranus, because she suffered from her husband’s behaviour. Cronus threw his father’s genitals into the sea and from the white foam that formed around them when they approached the area of the island of Kythera, the goddess of love Aphrodite and Eros were born. At the same time, the island and the sea emerged from the sea. A large number of paleontological findings found in the area of Mitata and Viaradika lead us to the safe conclusion that the island did indeed emerge from the sea as a result of geological rearrangements. After her birth, Aphrodite was carried away by the waves, according to the myth, until she reached Paphos in Cyprus.
In Homer’s Iliad, it is mentioned that the goddess Aphrodite takes the name “Kytheria” because she was born on the island (akytheiros, the opposite of Kytheria, means unattractive). Herodotus and Xenophon use the term Kytheria earth in reference to Kythera. The geographer Isidore argued an opposite view, that is, that the island received its name from Kytheria Aphrodite and not the other way around.
Kythera is also known as Tsirigo. It seems that Cirigo, Cerigo, a word of Venetian origin, can be traced back to the word Kythera, from the paraphrase Cythericum > Citerigo > Cirigo but there is no evidence for this.
The island has been inhabited since at least the end of the 6th millennium BC, since a vase found in the cave of Agia Sophia seems to date back to that time. Settlements began to increase during the 3rd millennium BC, when the Minoan influence on Kythera began, and it is believed that it was continuously inhabited until the end of the Mycenaean period. As excavation findings show, it is believed that Kastri was a Minoan colony, with Minoan houses and tombs, while a Minoan sanctuary was found on the mountain of Agios Georgios. In the area around the sanctuary, various ceramic and bronze findings with impressive decoration were found, as well as stone objects, such as lamps.
Pausanias in his tours mentions the ancient sanctuary of Aphrodite but unfortunately, even the renowned German archaeologist Schliemann (he discovered Troy) did not manage to find the exact location of the sanctuary.
In antiquity, the Athenians used the island for attacks against the Spartans, but handed it back to Sparta in order to recapture it again and then give it back! Being a part of the Laconian Commonwealth, Kythera flourished, became independent and minted its own currency. After the fall of the Laconians, Kythera declined but continued to be inhabited during Roman times.
The great earthquake of 365 AD changes the physiognomy of the coast.
During the Middle Ages, it is believed that the island was deserted seven times after being hit by earthquakes, constantly raided and a base for pirates.
At the time of Constantine the Great (Byzantine Emperor) and the great earthquake of 375, according to tradition, Saint Elesa came from Laconia to Kythera to become a monk. When her pagan father found out, he tried to bring her back but when she refused, he hung her from a tree and stoned her. Then a miracle happened and a rock opened up, the Saint ran for her life, but her father followed her and beheaded her at the place where the monastery of the same name lies today.
Kythera seems to have been deserted around 700 AD, by the cruel attacks of Slavs and Arab pirates. Until the 11th century there do not seem to have been any permanent residents in the area.
When Kythera became a Venetian possession, it was granted to the House of Venier. The Venerian feudal lord Bartholomew Venier, wanting to link his surname with the tradition of the “island of Venus” (Venere), changed his name to Vener. At some point the Venetians took all the powers from the Venerians and organized the island into fiefdoms as they did in the rest of the Ionian Islands.
Until it was surrendered to the Turks it was considered a stony and uninteresting place, with the inhabitants fortified in three areas : Agios Dimitrios (Paliochora), Chora and Milopotamos. Paliochora was finally abandoned after the raid and plundering by Barbarossa.
On the island there is a large number of old churches and monasteries from the 13th century onwards. Three monasteries, Panagia Myrtidiotissa, the patron saint of the island, Agia Moni and Agia Elessa are located on opposite mountain peaks. In three places (Mylopotamos, Kalamos and Agia Pelagia) there are temples of Agia Sophia in caves.
The most characteristic monument of the island is the Venetian Castle (16th century), which dominates a steep cliff above Chora.
The castle town of Paleochora, also called the “Mystras of Kythera”, is one of the most important historical sites of the island. It was the old medieval capital, built in the 12th century by Monemvasians and destroyed in the 16th century by the infamous Barbarossa.
The cave of Agia Sophia is a cave about 4 million years old, with an area of 2,200 square metres and a total length of about 500 metres, of which 220 can be visited. Immediately after the entrance there is a stone temple with Byzantine hagiographies of the 13th century, dedicated to Saint Sophia and her daughters Elpida, Pisti and Agapi. The frescoes of the iconostasis are considered to be the oldest example of cave framing in a church on the island, and are painted in fresco technique, which explains their good preservation. The cave of Agia Sophia is of great biological value, because inside it, biologist Calust Paragamian, a member of the Hellenic Speleological Society, discovered a blind isopod that is unique in the world. Many myths have been associated with the cave, such as the myth that the cave was the love nest of Paris and Helen of Troy during their stay in Kythera, or rumours that the pirate Barbarossa hid his treasures there.
Only in Kythera grow the famous yellow flowers Sempreviva, which means always alive (sempre viva) and they live forever, even after they are cut. An immortal flower that stays yellow and blooming even without water. The flower grows on the southern slopes of Kythera and on the rocky islet of Chytra. The locals who collect them also put them in the bride’s bouquet so that the wedding will live forever.
