The documentary film is said to be a breath-taking journey through time from the Chalcolithic period to the Roman era about one of ancient Hellas' most beloved Goddesses: Aphrodite. Guided by Dr Jacqueline Karageorghis, an internationally renowned French Archaeologist, the documentary investigates known and unknown aspects of the worship of Aphrodite on Her island. Apart from Dr. Karageorghis, a number of renowned academics from the international archaeological community, also shed light into the various aspects of the Cypriot Goddess.
The 'Great Goddess of Cyprus' is praised because it's, up to now, the only documentary ever made dealing with Goddess Aphrodite in such a comprehensive way. The production team spent over seven years to complete the film. Rare archaeological artifacts related to the cult of the Great Goddess of Cyprus which are exhibited in many museums in Cyprus and abroad, are also presented in this film.
The uniqueness and scientific validity of the documentary is attested by the fact that the British Museum is organizing a special screening in its premises in October 2015. The following description of the film should give you a good idea of its content:
"Everyone knows that Aphrodite is the Great Goddess of Cyprus and that she was born on the coast of Paphos, where she was worshipped. We imagine her as the beautiful nude Aphrodite of Praxiteles, the Goddess of Love. But beyond these, what do we really know about her?
Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of beauty and love, whom the Cypriots consider their own, has a unique place in the island’s mythology and archaeology. Ancient sources cite Cyprus as her birthplace and the epithet “Kypris” follows her in abundance in ancient literature. Her ancestry is lost in the depth of time, emanating from ancient acts of worshipping fertility. She was called the Great Goddess.
Cyprus had harbored this Goddess from the very ancient times. The inhabitants of the island had worshipped the fertility of people and nature in some form as a supernatural power at least since the 3rd millennium B.C.E.. Through the years, the Goddess took on many forms; by the 2nd millennium B.C.E. she was already a strong sexual Goddess; towards the end of the 2nd millennium B.C.E., when the island was firmly influenced by the Aegean world, she lost the fierceness of sexual urge and became an entirely respectable Goddess of love, beauty and fertility. She was then exclusively the Goddess of Cyprus, Kypris. It is very possible that she was discovered here by the Greeks in the 12th century B.C.E., because the Goddess was unknown in the Aegean world back then. The Greeks adopted her, gave her beauty and grace, and named her Aphrodite, while for centuries the Cypriots merely referred to her as Thea (Goddess), Paphia, or Golgia, from the names of her ancient sanctuaries.
The history of the Great Goddess of Cyprus and her worship is as appealing as she is, and this is imprinted both in the edition by Dr Jacqueline Karageorghis, Kypris: Aphrodite of Cyprus, Ancient Sources and Archaeological Evidence, and in the 80 min. documentary, directed by Stavros Papageorghiou, The Great Goddess of Cyprus by tetraktys films, which revives sites, items and forms of worship.
The procession of the Cypriot Goddess’ worship could be considered as an expression of the eternal culture of the island itself, which has acted as a meeting point between the East and West, where cultures intermingled to create an original civilization.
Aphrodite - Kypris is still known nowadays thanks to the poets of the Renaissance who rediscovered her through the ancient poets as the Goddess of love, born in Cyprus. Aphrodite-Kypris granted love to the world, along with multiple emotions as a cultural value that would grace life and would inspire many masterpieces. She is the greatest gift Cyprus has offered to Europe, and the whole world."
You can either view the movie at the festival, rent it for a 48 hour period (€ 6,32), or buy it for unlimited streaming and download (€ 22,58). Enjoy!
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