Treasures of the World - Heritage of Humanity - Aphrodite and Adonis - The Ruins of Byblos and Paphos (Lebanon/Cyprus)
Byblos. A magical place that has always provided ideal conditions for civilisation, between the mountains of the Lebanon range, over three thousand metres high, its fertile slopes + the nearby coast. Byblos has been continuously inhabited for over seven thousand years + is one of the oldest cities in the world. The nearby Lebanon Mountains are covered with the cedar forests that have become legend. The Egyptian pharaohs needed the valuable wood for the construction of their fleets + for the building of the pyramids. Gebál becomes the richest, most famous metropolis of the era. Immigrant Greeks later replace the old city name with Byblos - the Greek word for paper/book and name the province Phoenicia. Contracts are concluded and messages sent for business transactions. Papyrus + trading activity form the basis for the invention of the first letter alphabet consisting of 22 characters. Byblos becomes the birthplace of writing. Paphos on the island of Cyprus has been a place of pilgrimage for almost 9,000 years. A fertility goddess was worshipped here as early as the Megalithic full stop, and her cult reached its peak around 3,000 BC. Cyprus was a crossroads for ancient seafarers. Immigrants from all directions, from Europe, Asia + Africa, also adopt the goddess cult here. Only the last name of the goddess has been handed down. The Greeks, who finally rule the island, call her "Aphrodite". In his "Theogony", Hesiod has her emerge "born of foam" from the sea on the beach of Paphos. Archaeology has confirmed Hesiod's literary description of Aphrodite. The Bronze Age goddess Astarte became the Greek Aphrodite + in Christian times the Virgin Mary, who is worshipped on the same site today. In addition to the ruins of the magnificent public + private buildings, numerous floor mosaics from the Greek and Roman villas have a special craft and artistic value. Their contents refer primarily to the Greek mythological world. Their colourful freshness makes it hardly believable that they are 2,000 or more years old.
Broadcasted on 18th of July 2021 at 06.00am at SWR/SR/ARD
Music: POPVIRUS Library