Cyprus Mail 18 June 2020 - by Bejay Browne
The group, which was formed three years ago, has held a number of fundraising events to pay for the work of art, and Avraam said that the women were focused on improving the cultural life in the area.
A new sculpture of a mythical queen created by renowned artist Yiota Ioannidou was placed in Latsi harbour in Polis Chrysochous on Wednesday.
Donated to the area by the women of the Arsinoe inner wheel club of Polis Chrysochous, the large sculpture is made of bronze and depicts Regina, a beautiful and mysterious queen with close connections with the Akamas and surrounding areas.
“We wanted to create something for the area that would be of benefit and remain as a legacy. The statue will also attract tourists. We picked Regina as she is so connected to the area and we wanted to offer something that would stay forever,” Katerina Avraam told the Cyprus Mail.
The group, which was formed three years ago, has held a number of fundraising events to pay for the work of art, and Avraam said that the women were focused on improving the cultural life in the area.
Inner Wheel is an international women’s organisation created to foster friendship, service and understanding. It has clubs in over 100 countries with over 100,000 members.
“It took around a year to create Regina and she is cast in bronze. The women form this group are all from the Polis Chrysochous area and they are doing a great job,” artist Yiota Ioannidou said.
The popular artist has a number of striking public art pieces in Paphos. They include ‘The Circle’, The Girl with a Sparrow, The Little Fisher Boy and Sol Alter, an homage to Aphrodite, and all attract hundreds of visitors. Another of her sculptures is located in Argaka and honours rural mothers.
Regina is mentioned in many of the myths and traditions of Cyprus.Some depict her as very rich and others as kind and compassionate. In other depictions, she is cruel, vindictive or weak. She is also associated with medieval buildings, castles, towers, caves, churches, villages and mountains.
There are many towers in Cyprus connected with Regina, and according to tradition, one of these is in the Akamas, close to the Baths of Aphrodite. However, archaeological research found that the tower, Pyrgos tis Regina, was in fact part of a Byzantine monastery.
