There’s been a bit of noise regarding museums in Kythera lately.

Such noise has come from people trying to generate hype regarding a private commercial venture that has nothing to do with displaying genuine human artefacts that teach us about life on the island over the last 7,000+ years.

Noise from individuals who don’t have the backing of experts on Kytherian history – such as archaeologists who have found “real” evidence in Kythera that tells the “true” story about what life was actually like on the island over the last 7,000+ years.

Take for example the case of Aphrodite and the worship of the island’s most iconic deity.

Thus far, no evidence of any Venus De Milo type statues has been found in Kythera.

The experts say that Aphrodite was a “Mother God” to Kytherians, different from Venus, worshipped by the Romans, (many) hundreds of years later.

Evidence found to date suggests that Venus is very different to Kythera’s Aphrodite.

That’s why reopening a bona fide, national-style, government-endorsed Kytherian museum is extremely important…

Firstly because without the endorsement of the Ministry of Culture & Tourism, genuine, bona fide artefacts, telling the “true” story can’t be exhibited.

Secondly, you can find Venus De Milo style figurines in  large department stores around the world, so why would you want to travel to Kythera to see copies of statues that aren’t relevant to the island?

Hence we need a shrine (national-style Museum) on the island that people can visit and be inspired from. A place in Kythera to display (actual, genuine) objects that speak to us from the past, left by people living on the island over the last 7,000+ years.

This needs to be a place to educate local residents, particularly children, appeal to the 100,000+ people of Kytherian origin around the world and spark the imagination of tourists to daydream about what life was like in Kythera over the millennia.