Page:History of Art in Phœnicia and Its Dependencies Vol 1.djvu/295

 THE TEMPLE IN CYPRUS. 273 Paphos and Amathos, of Idalion and Golgos, occur again and again in the works of the Greek and Latin poets ; it is to them and to other temples founded by the Phoenicians, such as those at Cythera and Eryx, that the goddess of Homer and the lyric poets Owes her principal Surnames, Kv7rpi:S,Kv7rpta, Kv7rpoyev)]S,Kv7rpoyeveia. Her temples were frequented down to the very last days of paganism, and antiquity is better preserved at Cyprus than on the Syrian coast. With the exception of Larnaca which stands on the site of Kition neither the chief modern towns in the island, nor its feudal fortresses, were built in the neighbourhood of the old religious centres, and if the excavations had been undertaken in the same spirit as those of M. Renan in Phoenicia, and with equal re- sources, it is likely that important remains of those buildings would have been found, or, at least, that their plans might have been re- covered. Even now, and in spite of the confusion caused by those whose chief aim in exploring was the collection of things for sale to museums, systematic researches directed by a thoroughly trained architect would, perhaps, have good results, and we can only express our surprise that the British Government, now absolute master of the island in which it has forbidden all private enter- prise of the kind, should have so long delayed its thorough ex- ploration. At present our knowledge of the religious architecture of Cyprus is very slight. At Kition little has been found ; but recent excavations allow us to determine the site of that temple which was, perhaps, the first built by the Syrian merchants on that coast which they were to frequent so long. Until quite recently there rose at Larnaca a mound or hillock known as Bamboula ; it stood on the confines of the town, on the edge of the marshy basin which was all that remained of the ancient port. 1 In though originally descended from a single term, have come to have quite different meanings. We have no space to quote certain facts pointed out by Herr Hommel which appear to support his hypothesis ; we must be content with referring our readers to his note on this subject in the Neue Jahrbucher fur Philologie (Fleckeisen, 1882, p. 176 No. 30), under the title Aplirodite-Astarte. He reserves to himself the right to treat the subject at greater length on some future occasion. We have not here quoted his words, and we have suggested some points for consideration on which he is silent, but we have said nothing which appears to us to militate against his idea. We confess that it seems to us very well founded. It is certain that the Aphrodite of the Greeks came from the East, and it is reasonable enough to suppose that she brought her name with her, as well as her rites and attributes. 1 See the plan of Larnaca and its neighbourhood given in Corpus Inscriptionum Semiiicarum, pars i. p. 35. VOL. T. N N