Temple of Aphaia
The goddess so desperate to escape a man, she fled Crete and changed her identity
The story goes that, when King Minos of Crete, became obsessed with Diktynna, she fled and escaped into the sea where she hid in fishing nets. She was carried to Aegina where a fisherman named Andromedes attempted to assault her. Assisted by Artemis, she ran into the mountains and to the top of Aegina, where her temple currently stands. On the Island of Aegina, she became known as Aphaia. A name that is interpreted as, “she who disappeared.”
The energy at this temple is… special. I’ve been to Greece a few times. I’ve visited numerous temples and none of them affected me quite in the way that this one did.
Maybe it’s the centuries of worship and sacrifice to Goddess of the hunt, wild animals, fertility, childcare, sea faring and warfare.
Maybe it’s the fact that this location was also a sanctuary or that, over time, it became a place to worship both Aphaia and Athena.
Or maybe it was the location, which sits on top of the Island of Aegina, peacefully, in the trees. (It also helps that it’s not nearly as known as many of the more famous temples in Greece.)
Whatever it is, the energy here is, dare I say it, restorative.
It’s worthy of note that Crete and Aegina are not exactly neighbors. Crete is Greece’ southern most island and Aegina is right up next to mainland Greece. The distance of her journey highlights the desperation she felt to get away from an entitled, grabby man.
If I were looking for my own place to go restore and repair after escaping a man, this would be it.
A weekend on Aegina and a picnic with Aphaia and maybe you too will come back with an entirely new identity.
For more on Aegina Island, check out this post.