AMATHOUS HARBOUR

Amathous is one of the ancient city-kingdoms of Cyprus. It was also an important site of worship of the Goddess Aphrodite-Astarte. Amathous Harbour was constructed during the Hellenistic period by Demetrios Poliorketes and consisted of two parts; the outer and the inner port.

The external port of the city was situated in front of the agora and its ruins are preserved today under the sea. The port was built at the end of the 4th century B.C. as part of the defence of the town during the period of the quarrel with the Ptolemies for the domination of Cyprus. The port's lifespan was short since it was covered by sand. In front of the agora an internal basin of the port existed where the sailors had the opportunity to pull the ships out of the water in order to better protect them from the wind.