THE Commerce, Industry and Tourism Ministry is considering erecting a huge statue of Aphrodite in the Paphos area, government sources said yesterday.
“We were presented with an idea and we are looking into it. It’s a very good idea,” the sources said. “But if we are going to have something effective we need something large, larger than life.”
The thinking is that if the statue were not large it would not attract attention. “It has to be like the pyramids or like the Colosseum,” said the sources. “Unless it is large in size and large in inspiration you can do nothing. You just have another statue like so many others in the world”
If the idea is approved by the government the gigantic Aphrodite will be located somewhere in the Paphos district but not necessarily near Aphrodite’s Rock where legend has it the Goddess came out of the sea.
“The idea is to have something grandiose and beautiful representing the spirit of Aphrodite, which is the symbol of Cyprus and the theme of tourism, and this is welcome as an idea,” the sources said. “We are working on it.”
The ministry successfully pushed the idea of the Island of Aphrodite when canvassing to host the Miss Universe Contest last year. The contest was held in May.
The sources said the ministry has lined up a number of new projects to boost tourism, details of which will be announced in three months.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
