In early September, I had the opportunity to visit the Greek island of Kythira (sometimes spelled Cythera or Kythera), about a 45-minute flight or six-hour ferry ride from Athens. Kythira is located between Crete and the mainland, making it an important trade center from Greek antiquity up through the 19th century. While there are many interesting historical aspects to Kythira, its greatest claim to fame is that it is the birthplace of the Greek goddess Aphrodite.
Today, Kythira is typically overlooked by international tourists, serving instead as a well-kept secret holiday spot for mainland Greeks. Despite its reputation as a beach destination, Kythira is an archaeology enthusiast’s delight, with plenty of Venetian ruins and several museums to explore. My favorites were the Venetian ruin Castle Chora (which was understandably devoid of art) and the Kythira Archaeological Museum.
The Kythira Archaeological Museum
The Kythira Archaeological Museum is home to both archaeological objects and works of art. When I visited, I was impressed by the detailed level of curation (especially for a small museum), the variety of media, the interactive video displays, and the braille coverage and tactile pottery exhibit, which reproduced ancient vessels for visitors to explore themselves. The exhibition spans Kythira’s history from the 9th millennium BCE through the Roman Empire, highlighting Kythira’s various roles in agriculture, trade, and military activity in various periods.
Greek Sculpture
The museum’s key object is the Lion of Kythira, a large stone sculpture of a seated lion from the 6th century BCE. The Lion of Kythira was discovered in the 19th century near Kastri and likely would have served as a funerary guardian or votive offering. As Kythira was a popular stop on various trade routes, many items discovered in Kythira are from elsewhere; this lion is possibly from Palaiokastro on the island of Crete. The Lion of Kythira now enjoys the stability of a permanent home at the Kythira Archaeological Museum, but experienced a turbulent century of looting and earthquakes after its 19th-century discovery.
The market for ancient Greek sculpture is tightly regulated, as these items are not allowed to be removed from Greece, so the strongest markets are in the US, UK, and France. For collectors interested in this field, provenance is of the utmost importance. There are no direct comparable sculptures for the Lion of Kythira on the market (especially of this size and condition), but there are Greek or Cypriot lions and other similar sculptures from this period available, such as this 6th century BCE Cypriot lion head or this 6th century BCE head of a kouros from the Greek Islands or Sicily.
A Hygieia Sculpture and the Spread of Greek Fashion
The Kythira Archaeological Museum displays an abundance of funerary objects and other artifacts from the Ionian Islands from as early as the 9th millennium BCE, giving insight into the ebb and flow of life on the island, which was much busier during some periods and possibly completely deserted at others. The greatest interest for the earlier objects remains in Greece; the international market is not as strong for this type of ceramics as it is for later Greek pottery. The greatest market interest remains in the later Greek and Roman items, of which the museum had plenty, including an impressive coin collection. There were many later Greek and Roman items to choose from, but one of my favorites was a simpler Hellenistic sculpture of a female torso draped in robes. Made in or near Athens in the late 4th–early 3rd century BCE, it likely represents Hygieia, the goddess of health.
Hygieia caught my attention due to the styling of her robes, a tradition that originated in Greece. As an Asian art specialist, I immediately recognized this is as the Graeco-Roman style that would eventually reach India and appear in Gandharan coins and sculptures of the Buddha, which would be the Buddha’s first andromorphic representation (you can read more about this in my recent article on Gandharan friezes). Later, a version of these robes would reach China via the Silk Road (you can read about an example of this in my recent article on North American museums). Collectors interested in this style of robes do not have to search far, as it is prevalent in the artistic heritage so many cultures (and yet presents itself uniquely in each). This statue of Hygieia is not the flashiest object at the museum, but it is an important reminder of the timelessness of Greek fashion and the longevity of influence, even many centuries later and halfway across the world.
If you ever find yourself in Kythira, take a break from the beach and enjoy the rich history and material culture the island has to offer!
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