NICOSIA, CYPRUS — The ubiquitous “they” say that we always hurt the ones we love – and if the toll being taken on the tomb of Saint Agapitikos is any example, the hurting doesn’t stop even centuries after death.Agapitikos, whose name means “lover” has become the last refuge for men and women whose luck with love has been less than divine. Dust from his tomb has been popular for centuries as an ingredient in what seems likely to be un-Christian love potions. Slipping a bit of the ground stone into a drink imbibed by one’s disinterested desired is believed to melt their hearts and turn their thoughts toward romance.
According to Matthaios Stefanou, the mayor of Arodes, the Paphos district where the saint’s tomb resides, observes that “A lot of people have said it works. In the last few years I don’t know what’s come over people, but they are flocking to the tomb for the stuff.”
So much of “the stuff” has been carted home that some fear there soon won’t be much left of the tomb. In fact, it is estimated that a good quarter of the tomb’s stone is now gone.
“Just the other day,” Stefanou illustrated, “locals saw some people visiting the tomb and they were there for a very long time. In the end, they walked off with a huge chunk of stone, maybe even a half a kilo of it!”
So concerned about the well-being of the tomb is the island nation’s antiquities department that it has begged to help in preserving it.
“The only thing we can do is examine the damage and try to prevent any further damage” Maria Madjicosti, acting director of the department explains.
Of the burial place, whose resident is believed to have served in the German Crusaders’ army before deciding to be a hermit, Madjicosti says, “You’re very welcome to come and see the tomb, but please don’t go taking any of it with you now.”
