Kythira

• It can be reached by plane from Athens or by boat from Piraeus or Peloponnese.
• Merging elements from the coexistence of the Venetian and Greek culture.
• The local economy is based on agriculture and lastly on tourism.

According to Hesiod's Theogony, Aphrodite was born in the wave foams of the Kythera, when Uranus genitals fell into the sea (his son Cronus has cut off them and throw them into the sea). The waves swept away, and according to the legend, the goddess reached the island. Kythera hosted the first sanctuary of Ourania (Heavenly) Afrodite who then went to Paphos of Cyprus into a shell.

The Byzantine era on Kythera is related to a strong religious activity, which established more than 300 worship places. There is even a local legend according to which there were 365 churches, one for each day of the year.

Similarly to the other Ionian Islands (Heptanese) Kythera united with Greece on the 21st of May 1864. The British, who have occupied the Ionian Islands since 1809, "gifted" them to the new Greek King, George I.

A large part of the modern history of the island deals with the great migration that began in the 18th century and intensified in the 19th century. It was mainly bound to Smyrna in Asia Minor (coast of Turkey), and after the Asia Minor Catastrophe, migrants turned towards major Greek cities and Egypt. The early 20th century marked the second wave of immigration from Kythera with main destinations the US, Australia, and Latin America.

The symbolism of Kythera, as a distant and imaginary place, inspired the painter of the 18th century, Jean-Antoine Watteau's painting "The Embarkation for Cythera". While the internationally acclaimed Greek director Theo Angelopoulos in the film "Voyage to Cythera", which is the parallelism of Kythera and Ithaca.

Access to Cythera is easy since it is connected by boat with Piraeus, Kastelli on Crete, as well as Githeio and Neapolis which are located at the nearest coasts in Peloponnese. The island has also an airport connection, with flights from and to the airport of Athens during the whole year.