Aphacitis (Ancient Greek: Ἀφακῖτις) was an epithet of the goddess Aphrodite from Greek mythology, derived from the town of Aphaca (modern Afqa) in Coele-Syria, where she had a celebrated temple with an oracle, which was destroyed by the command of the emperor Constantine.1
At the temple there was a small pool into which worshippers would throw offerings. If the offerings sank, it was proof they were acceptable to Aphrodite.2 Delegations would be sent from quite far away to the shrine during festivals to offer donations to the goddess here.3
Notes
Notes
- Zosimus, Historia Novia 1.58
- White, John F. (2015). The Roman Emperor Aurelian: Restorer of the World. Casemate Publishers. p. 91. ISBN 9781473844797. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
- Kennedy, David (2013). Gerasa and the Decapolis. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781472537744. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Schmitz, Leonhard (1870). "Aphacitis". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 1. p. 224.