In the ancient world, the religion had an important place in the Greek society and there was a strong connection with the everyday life, public – social and private. The cultic practices and attitudes illustrate a religious system common to all Greeks. In this context, Aphrodite as the goddess of beauty, love, pleasure and procreation, was one of the gods in the Greek pantheon, who was worshiped in every part of the Greek world, bearing a variety of epithets, invocations and different roles, many of which penetrated and became popular into the Black Sea coast colonies as well. The available data on his cult in Black Sea are fragmentary, scattered or unpublished.
The cult of Aphrodite is one of the most ancient cults in the Black Sea. Following the Asia Minor tradition and largely maintaining her aristocratic nature, the Goddess was worshiped in the Black Sea mainly as Aphrodite Ourania (Celestial). In some regions, Aphrodite was worshiped not only as the goddess of love but also as a chthonic deity. According to A. S Rousyaeva it was this goddess that was the patroness of ancient Greek colonization in Northern Black Sea region, including the shores of Cimmerian Bosporus. It is known, however, that there were temples and sanctuaries in many places in the Black Sea region. Moreover, in some regions, Aphrodite was worshiped together with other gods. Archeological evidences testifying to this fact are many architectural remains and archeological finds.
The aim of this study has a goal. This is to bring together all the information we have according to the cult of Aphrodite in the Greek settlements in the Black Sea region, from the archaic to the roman period. The information we have from these settlements are limited but their study brings into light the cultic, the economic and political importance of them. In this context, literary written sources, inscriptions and archeological finds from the Greek cities of the Black Sea region referring to Aphrodite’s cults will be examined and a comprehensive review will be presented.
In spite of continuous archeological excavations in the Black Sea region, mostly on the northern and the western shores of the Black Sea, scholars still have little data with respect to Greek colonization in the region. Most publications are written in Russian or other Slavic languages and have not been translated yet in more
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accessible European languages and much of the archeological material is still unpublished. As a result, not only the research which concerns the cult of Aphrodite but also the research which concerns the whole Black Sea region and in remains a task for classical scholarship.
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