The National Archaeological Museum travels to Cyprus with Vitrina Cero to discover the archeology of the island of Aphrodite

The National Archaeological Museum (MAN), a state-owned museum dependent on the Ministry of Culture, inaugurated this Monday its new Vitrina Cero, ‘Between East and West. Cyprus, Aphrodite’s island.

On this occasion, this exhibition space, which is renewed quarterly shows a museum collection little known to the public: that of Cypriot archeology. The museum recalls that Homer narrates in his ‘Odyssey’ that Cyprus was the island to which Aphrodite headed as soon as she was born from the foam of the sea so that the Graces could anoint her with the oil of divine immortality.

The mixture of Phoenician, Egyptian, Greek and Persian influences are characteristics of the island and, therefore, of its artistic productions. Through a selection of pieces, coming from their reserve areas and dated between 3000 and 335 BC., the MAN Showcase Zero proposes discover some aspects of Cypriot religiosity.

Precisely, one of the most unique features of their religious rituals are the offering sculptures of men and women. For this reason, some of the key pieces in this temporary exhibition are the life-size head or the Egyptian torso that still retains traces of its original polychrome.

In addition, you can see a set of ceramics associated with the transportation and storage of products for domestic or commercial purposes, and also sacred or funerary. These productions, first made by hand and then on a wheel, combine Aegean and Eastern influences with local traditions and are a sample of the extraordinary archaeological wealth of this island.

The origins of the collection, coming mostly from the necropolis and the sanctuary of Kition (Larnaca)are closely linked to the trip to the East of the Frigate Arapiles that, in the summer of 1871, toured the Mediterranean to acquire archaeological pieces for the newly created National Archaeological Museum. Specifically, they were donated to the Spanish expedition by Riccardo Colucci (1814-1873), Italian consul in this city.

The Zero Showcase ‘Between East and West. Cyprus, the island of Aphrodite’ can be visited at the MAN from January 13 to April 12. The temporary exhibition coincides with Cyprus’ Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which it will hold throughout the first half of 2026.