“Dissemination of Cypriot history and culture through the art of film”

Most publications of archaeological excavations and historical research is addressed to the academic and archaeological communities. By contrast, an archaeological or historical documentary, based on expert scientific work, is an ideal instrument for informing a wider audience about historical and cultural subjects.

In the film THE GREAT GODDESS OF CYPRUS I documented the many artifacts associated with the cult of the Cyprian Goddess; the ancient texts; archeological studies of various aspects of the Goddess' cult throughout the centuries; oral traditions of Aphrodite; and the many groups that tour Aphrodite’s temples on the island, practicing symbolic rituals.

This article focusses how this film became a venue for promoting ancient Cypriot history and culture, both in Aphrodite's homeland and abroad.

The documentary THE GREAT GODDESS OF CYPRUS was made with the invaluable participation by the renowned archaeologist and researcher Dr. Jacqueline Karayiorgis, who was the project’s scientific supervisor. The film focussed on the development of the Great Goddess from prehistoric times until the Roman era.

Even from the first year of production, word about the project spread in Cyprus and abroad. The international archaeological community was waiting to watch it upon its completion. An advance notice of the film appeared in BRILL'S COMPANION TO APHRODITE, the published proceedings the international archaeological conference APHRODITE REVEALED: A GODDESS DISCLOSED" (Reading University, UK, 2008). This early and widespread enthusiasm for the film is due in part to the participation of renowned archaeologists from several different countries. Another factor was equally important: the GREAT GODDESS OF CYPRUS was the first documentary ever to deal with the Cyprian Goddess with such detail and scientific accuracy.

 Screenings in Cyprus showed clearly the affection and interest that the Cypriot people feel towards their own Goddess. Massive attendance at the premier in November 2014— organized together with the Antiquities Department of Cyprus and the Cultural Services of the Ministry of Education and Culture—was far beyond my expectations. Other screenings in other Cypriot cities were equally successful. 

These public screenings showed that most of the audience, although not archaeologists or historians, were positively stunned by the film’s information, and by how important the Great Goddess’s cult was as it developed throughout the centuries. I must confess that this discovery made me happy, because my own film gave my compatriots the opportunity to learn more about, and develop more respect for, the ancient history of their own country.

Public screenings will continue all over Cyprus for the next several years. A special screening is already arranged for January 2018 here in the of A.G Leventis Gallery, as part of the art exhibition THE VENUS PARADOX.

Nor was interest in THE GREAT GODDESS OF CYPRUS restricted to the usual age group of 40+. Younger age groups—even lyceum and university students—were equally drawn. I strongly believe that students would be much more interested in learning about ancient Cypriot history, if history classes were taught in a contemporary and innovative way, including documentary films.

I would like to share with you a successful case. I was invited to screen the film at a Lyceum in the Limassol district. I proposed to the school administration to enhance the screening with other activities that would allow students to participate more actively in the event. Happily they gave their permission. 

At this screening the core team was also present: this included, besides Dr. Jaqueline Karayiorgis, Stalo Hadjipieris who assisted me in the writing of the script of the film. We had the students recite ancient hymns to the Goddess, to the accompaniment of frame drums (tympana). After the screening, we engaged the students in a wonderful dialogue with Dr Karayiorgis, Stalo and myself. This was a wonderful opportunity for the students to gain valuable further information about the Great Goddess of Cyprus, as well as learn how one makes an archaeological film. The event was so successful, and so enjoyed by both students and teachers, that I would be very happy to repeat it again with other schools. 

In keeping with my company TETRAKTYS FILMS’s philosophy of disseminating Cypriot history and culture, I offered 400 DVD copies to the Ministry of Education and Culture, which were to be distributed to all secondary grade schools on the island, for use in history classes. 

In October 2015, GREAT GODDESS OF CYPRUS screened at the great British Museum. The event was organized by the High Commission of Cyprus in London together with Dr. Thomas Kielly, curator of the Cyprus collection at BM. The success of this event led to the film’s becoming a kind of cultural ambassador for Cyprus to the outside world. Since then special screenings have been, and continue to be, organized by Cypriot embassies elsewhere, for example at the House of Cyprus in Athens, Greece. At the 2016 archaeological film festival in Belgrade, when Cyprus was that year’s country of honor, GREAT GODDESS opened the festival in the presence of the Serbian minister of Culture. 

The film travelled also to Italy, in Madrid, and Havana, Cuba. The screening in Cuba was followed by a dance performance by the famous Cuban contemporary dance company "Rosario Cardena". The theme of their performance was "When Aphrodite met with Oshun", the local ancient goddess of love. During the dance performance, selected clips from the film were projected onto the walls of nearby tall buildings, creating a special visual atmosphere. 

It is worth mentioning that many people from different countries who watched the film either online, or by acquiring the DVD contacted me to say that they were so fascinated by the history of the Great Goddess that they now want to come to the island to visit the cult places of Aphrodite that they saw in the film. 

A much larger number of people, throughout the world, will have the opportunity to watch this documentary on their television screens. It is already broadcast in Cyprus and Greece, and we soon expect to license its tv rights to many other countries.

The specific documentary became for me, as a filmmaker, the reason to develop two other documentary films dealing with two further, but very different, aspects of Aphrodite.

The first one is called THE GODDESS WITHIN. Although the cult of Aphrodite was officially terminated by the decree of the Byzantine emperor Theodosius in the 4th century AD, in reality She has maintained some living presence until today, expressed in a variety of ways. With the establishment of Christianity, Panayia, the Mother of God, inherited many attributes and epithets of the Great Goddess—the Anassa or ‘Queen’, known also to the Romans as Venus, whose cult spread out to the far reaches of the Roman Empire. 

 It is no coincidence that the majority of the monasteries in Cyprus are dedicated to Panayia. Also the legendary Medieval queen known as Regina, and the hero who protected the island from the pirates and is always in love with her, known as Digenis Akritas, contain distinct echoes of Aphrodite and her most handsome lover Adonis. Furthermore many local traditions and legends about Aphrodite and Adonis are still alive. Besides mythology, religion and tradition, Aphrodite survived through the centuries also through the arts. Many Cypriots and foreign artists continue to be inspired by this universal Goddess of love and fertility.

My other documentary I am currently producing is called: KINYRAS, THE BELOVED PRIEST OF APHRODITE, which deals with the legendary king of Cyprus, Kinyras. The film is partly supported by the Cultural Services of Ministry of Education and Culture, the A.G. Leventis Foundation, the Electricity and Telecommunications Authorities of Cyprus, the Vermont university, Kouklia communal council and the municipality of Paphos.

This film was prompted by my acquaintance with John C. Franklin, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Classics, at the University of Vermont (USA). We met back in 2009, when I was filming THE GREAT GODDESS OF CYPRUS. Professor Franklin was in Cyprus researching his book KINYRAS:THE DIVINE LYRE, which was published last year by Harvard University Press. Professor Franklin has a dual role in my current project, as both presenter and scientific consultant. 

Because Kinyras is not well known to most Cypriots, let alone to foreigners, I am approaching the documentary with an innovative style (by Cyprus standards), in hopes of attracting people’s attention and inspiring them to learn about Kinyras. 

I will use cartoon animation to depict some of the many legends relating to Kinyras. All the cartoon figures will be created by American illustrator Glynnis Fawkes, an established cartoonist in the US and equally well known as an technical illustrator with 20 years of archaeological experience in Greece, Turkey, Israel, and above all Cyprus. Cypriot animator Stavros Christoforou will undertake the execution of the animated clips. 

Greek actor, Antonis Tsiotsiopoulos, will portray the “spirit of Kinyras” who comes from the distant past to tell us all about his accomplishments, and how people throughout the centuries still remember him. 

Finally I would like to mention that the Kinyras film is also intended as the pilot towards a new project I would like to undertake in the near future, which will be much bigger and more demanding. This is: the creation of an international animation series, having as its central heroes Kinyras and Goddess Aphrodite, surrounded by the epic heroes of Trojan war and the kings of the Hittites and Egypt. I envision putting Cyprus on the international tv production map, with the aim of disseminating ancient Cypriot and Greek History and Culture on a wider global scale. 

Personally I feel very proud because I for the past 30 years I have worked as a filmmaker in the production and distribution of cultural and historical documentary films. I am overjoyed that my art and profession continues to help people learn more about, and better appreciate, Cypriot history and culture. 

At this point I would like to express my warm gratitude to the Ministry of Education and Culture of Cyprus, the A.G Leventis Foundation, CTO, Cyta, RIK tv, AHK and all the other organizations and individuals in Cyprus often support my mission.

At the same time I appeal to those who believe in the work of Cypriot documentary filmmakers. Please stand by them and support them dearly. Film production in Cyprus is suffering a lot due to well known reasons, and often the filmmakers bear the biggest percentage of the production expenses themselves. 

And since my article has concentrated on the dissemination of Cyprus history and culture through the art of film, I would like to emphasize that financial support should not be limited to the film production, but should also include promotion—oras it is currently called, OUTREACH. It makes no sense to produce a film that will not be able to reach an audience.

Author: Stavros Papageorghiou, Documentary Filmmaker, TETRAKTYS FILMS

email: [email protected] www.tetraktys.tv