Petra Tou Romiou or Aphrodite's Rock, is a sea stack in Pafos, Cyprus. Its status in mythology as the birth place of Aphrodite

Aphrodite

Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.Her Roman equivalent is the goddess .Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia....

 makes it a popular tourist location.

Birthplace of Aphrodite

Gaia

Gaia (mythology)

Gaia was the primordial Earth-goddess in ancient Greek religion. Gaia was the great mother of all: the heavenly gods and Titans were descended from her union with Uranus , the sea-gods from her union with Pontus , the Giants from her mating with Tartarus and mortal creatures were sprung or born...

 (Mother Earth) asked one of her sons, Cronus

Cronus

In Greek mythology, Cronus or Kronos was the leader and the youngest of the first generation of Titans, divine descendants of Gaia, the earth, and Uranus, the sky...

, to mutilate his father, Uranus

Uranus (mythology)

Uranus , was the primal Greek god personifying the sky. His equivalent in Roman mythology was Caelus. In Ancient Greek literature, according to Hesiod in his Theogony, Uranus or Father Sky was the son and husband of Gaia, Mother Earth...

 (Sky). Cronus cut off Uranus' testicles and threw them into the sea. A white foam appeared from which a maiden arose, the waves first taking her to Kythera and then bringing her to Cyprus

Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

. The maiden, named Aphrodite, went to the assembly of gods from Cyprus. The Romans widely referred to her as Venus

Venus (mythology)

Venus is a Roman goddess principally associated with love, beauty, sex,sexual seduction and fertility, who played a key role in many Roman religious festivals and myths...

.

Alternate legends

Digenis Akritas, a Greek superhero, threw a large rock to destroy the Saracen

Saracen

Saracen was a term used by the ancient Romans to refer to a people who lived in desert areas in and around the Roman province of Arabia, and who were distinguished from Arabs. In Europe during the Middle Ages the term was expanded to include Arabs, and then all who professed the religion of Islam...

 ships. Today, this rock stands as the Petra Tou Romiou -- meaning "Rock of the Greek."

Cult following

Aphrodite attracted a large cult following in Pafos, which was eventually crushed by the Romans

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

. This is evident from the Sanctuary of Aphrodite in Old Pafos kouklia

Kouklia

Kouklia is a village in the Paphos District, about from the city of Paphos on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. The village is built in the area of "Palaepaphos" , mythical birthplace of Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love and beauty...

.

Aphrodite was known for lustful love more than romantic love.

A myth states if you swim around the Aphrodite Rock, you will be blessed with eternal beauty.

Tourist attractions

The sea in this region is generally rough, persuading tourists not to swim there. It is not permitted to climb the rock. A restaurant, a souvenir shop in the Tourist Pavilion, and a resort (Aphrodite Hills

Aphrodite Hills

Aphrodite Hills is a coastal resort in the Paphos district, Cyprus.The resort is built on two elevated plateaus divided by a natural ravine. The resort has many features of a Mediterranean town; Greco-Roman architecture dominates, locally quarried stone is used in buildings and the town square...

) are nearby.