The Ancient City of Amathus

Amathus was one of the ancient royal cities of Cyprus until about 300 BC, and some of its impressive remains can be seen today on the southern coast in front of Agios Tychonas. Its ancient cult sanctuary of Aphrodite was the second most important in Cyprus, her homeland, after Paphos. 

The pre-history of Amathus survives in both myth and archaeology. Archaeology has detected human activity from the earliest Iron Age, c. 1100 BC. The city’s legendary founder was Cinyras, linked with the birth of Adonis, who named the city after his mother Amathous. According to a version of the Ariadne legend noted by Plutarch, Theseus abandoned Ariadne at Amathousa, where she died giving birth to her child and was buried in a sacred tomb. According to Plutarch’s source, Amathousians called the sacred grove where her shrine was situated the Wood of Aphrodite Ariadne.