Editing Cinyras (section)

=== Priesthood of Paphian Aphrodite ===
Clement of Alexandria in his ''[[Protrepticus (Clement)|Protrepticus]]'' talks about the "Cyprian Islander Cinyras, who dared to bring forth from night to the light of day the lewd orgies of Aphrodite in his eagerness to deify a strumpet of his own country."

In his ''[[Histories (Tacitus)|Histories]]'', [[Tacitus]] relates the account of divination rites at the famous Temple of Venus at Paphos; according to traditional tales, this temple was founded by King Aerias, but others say Cinyras consecrated the temple, which was built right on the spot where the goddess had first stepped on the land after her birth from the sea. Here Tacitus describes him as having come to Cyprus from Cilicia, whence he introduced the worship of Paphian Aphrodite. The divination practices at the temple are said to have been introduced by Tamiras of Cilicia. The office of priesthood became hereditary in the families of both Cinyras (Cinyradae) and Tamiras, but the descendants of the latter were eventually displaced by those of the former; in the times of Tacitus, only the priest of Cinyras' line was consulted.<ref>[[Tacitus]], ''Histories'' 2.3</ref><ref>Pindar, ''Pythian Ode'' 2.26</ref><ref>Scholia ad [[Theocritus]], ''1.109''</ref> The footnotes to this story also state that Cinyras is ''"Another mythical king of Cyprus. [[Hesychius of Alexandria|Hesychius]] calls him a son of Apollo, and Ovid makes him the father of Adonis."''