The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1878-12-30
Ancient Religion Of Cyprus.

From Lecture by Gen. Di Cesnolal
The worship of Aphrodite or Venus was in
troduced into the island at very remote period
by the Pt@pician colonists, as we know that
they worshipped at Sdon the moon goddess
called Astoreth or Astarte. which is merely
another name for Venus. They erected mag
nificent temples in Cyprus to her at Paphos,
Amathus, Idalium and Golgos. Astarte was
the national deity of the Ph@n icians, and to
maritime people like them it was not unreason-
able that they should worship the moon as
deity. The moon was their guide in long voy.
ages, their protectress against storms at sea,
and their gratitude to her must have been very
great, if we are to Judge by the numerous tenn
pies erected everywhere in Cyprus, and by the
rich offerings made to her shrine. Nothing
positive is known of the cultus of the Venus of
Cyprus in very early times.
Some writer's, as Xenophon, for instance, as
selt that the Pho nician worship Of the moot
goddess was entirely free from lascvous rites.
Others. like Herodotus, maintain that these
rites were orgiastic and abominable At ANA
thus and Idalrum the worship of Venus was
associated with that Of Adonis, and we find
that in early or ancient religions the deities
were worshipped in pairs, male and female. In
Phrygia they were called Cybele and Atys; in
Babylon, Mylitta and Saudap; in Lydia, Om-
phsle and Hercules: and in Cyprus, as have
In Cyprus the worship of Veans was
DO doubt accompanied by eensual in
diligence. but this took place only
long after the Pb@nicians had introduced
the worship OF Venus in the islapd-The
Pboer icians we're the greafest merchants of
antiquity. They were active and continually
engaged in their traf6cs, aud had neither time
nor taste for such sbomibatoDs, even under
the form of religion. 1t is only after Cyprus
bad beep colonized by the Greeks that we find
Venus worshipped uoder two distinct forms. In
one she is Venus Urania, whose symbol was
the planet Venus. She was regarded as
Virgin and her rites were pure and chaste.
The animal sacred to her ives the gen le dove
which is seen 10 the haods of many 81 atues nov
10 the Metropolitan museum of art. In the
other form che was called Venus Pandumos,
very properly symbolized by dig She was the
prutectress OF harlots aud all kinds of immor-
alties. 10 reading the details IF these rites it
would seem to our present civilization almost
an impossibility that they could be conoect-
ed with any form of religion, until We remem-
Der that religious fanaticism, il rVerted, is
apt to become crael, or lead to sensual aberea-
ton. The early history OF our f. ligion fully IL
illustrates this, and we need not even at the pres.
ent day search among the the savage tribes of
Africa or among our unciyiized Indiaos to fiud
near parallel 10 IulS. we nave 0nlp IL am
ashamed to say to look in orr own country and
We will see the Mormous in Utah, calling them.
selves civilized Americans VINO under the pre-
text of religious belief are repestiog the orgies
of Venus Papdemos at Cyprus TIE temples at
Psphos and Golgos must have been dedicated
to Venus Urauis, as nothing was found of an
unchaste character among their remains, bat
those at Amathus and Idalium must have been
erected 10 honor of Venus Pandemos, as we
know that those temples were dedicated con.
jointly to Venus and Adonis. In fact the myth
hunting; and we know that the ANNUAL festival
OF Ad0nis in Cyprus WAS as immoral aud OBJ
scene as that of Venus Pandemos. But this,
ash have said, must have taken place at q
much later period, when the inhabitants of Cy-
worship of Venus into vast orgy, and made.
the very name of Cyprian even in this far-off
century stand as synonym for debaachery
and impurity.