Synopsis
Written by the celebrated Cypriot artist Stass Paraskos, the Mythology of Cyprus is an immensely readable and truly entertaining journey through the pagan world of ancient Cyprus, when the island really was the Land of Aphrodite, goddess of love. First published in 1981, the book was a pioneering exploration of the way ancient Greek mythology was understood in a regional location such as Cyprus. As Dr Michael Paraskos, of Imperial College London, explains in his new introduction, the book was written at a time when few academics bothered to pay much attention to Cyprus, and many Cypriots themselves preferred to see their island's history and culture as no more than an extension of Greece or Turkey, rather than a unique phenomenon in its own right. The publication of this book set down a challenge to those narratives, presenting for the first time a uniquely Cypriot view of ancient Greek mythology and folklore, written by a Cypriot. With special excursions into surviving influences of pagan belief and practise in modern Cyprus, and a fictionalised journey around pre-Christian Cyprus in the company of a character named Bronteas, the Mythology of Cyprus is joy to read. This book is also available in Greek and Turkish language editions.
About the Authors
Stass Paraskos was one of the leading Cypriot artists of the twentieth century. He was born into a very poor family in Larnaca in Cyprus, in 1933, but arriving as a migrant in England in 1953, he eventually studied painting at the Leeds College of Art (Leeds Art University). He went on to become a lecturer at Canterbury College of Art (University for Creative Arts), and a visiting lecturer at Leeds University, De Montford University, Hornsey School of Art and many other British colleges and art institutes. His exhibition 'Lovers and Romances', held in Leeds in 1966, was raided by the police, and Paraskos was arrested under a charge of obscenity for the paintings on display. The resulting furore around his arrest led to Paraskos being invited to exhibit at the ICA (Institute for Contemporary Arts) in London in 1967. In Cyprus, in 1969, Paraskos started the first art college on the island, the Cyprus College of Art, first in Famagusta, and later in Paphos, which attracted to Cyprus some of the greatest names in world art, including Terry Frost, Anthony Caro, Rachel Whiteread and others. Shortly before his death in 2014, Paraskos was awarded an honorary doctorate for his services in art, by the University of Bolton. His works of art are in numerous collections around the world, including the Tate Gallery in London, and the Arts Council of England Collection at London's Hayward Gallery. Although primarily a painter, Paraskos also produced sculptures, many of which are on display in the sculpture garden at Lempa, near Paphos in Cyprus, and he was a prolific writer of newspaper articles, often on the political life of Cyprus. As in many of his paintings, his newspaper columns often dealt with political and social hypocrisy, human rights abuses, the plight of refugees, and the horrors of war, which he had seen at first hand during the 1974 military coup and war in Cyprus. However, Paraskos also wrote on the comic side of Cypriot life and had a passion for the history, mythology and folklore of Cyprus, which can be seen in his book 'The Mythology of Cyprus', and earlier books on mythology, such as 'Cyprus of Copper.'
Michael Paraskos is the son of Stass Paraskos and lives and works in London, where he is the Head of Adult Education at Imperial College London. An active art historian, he has written extensively on the art theorist Herbert Read, contemporary artists including Clive Head, and anarchist theories of art.
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