What do a great conqueror, the Greek goddess of love, and I have in common? Maybe just one thing: a special fondness for Cyprus. Alexander the Great once ruled this Mediterranean island, where Aphrodite is said to have ensconced herself long before him; each recognized the value of a good location.

This spot on the map, at the intersection of many civilizations (some more civilized than others, to be sure), made Cyprus a springboard to the lands of classical antiquity. It only achieved its independence in 1960 – for millennia prior it was a sometimes pivotal piece in the puzzle of a mind-boggling array of empires, including Phoenician, Egyptian, Roman, Venetian, and more, and even today Turkey has yet to let go of the island’s northern fringe.

But that didn’t stop the European Union from welcoming the Republic of Cyprus – the island’s Greek Cypriot south – as one of its newest members last year. And though the country may be small, it seems better run than many larger ones. The absence of anything as emblematic as an Acropolis or pyramids to attract tourists en masse lends Cyprus an appealing authenticity. Even the food, an important part of any vacation, is not quite what you would expect. The Cypriots are not big eaters, but they like variety: A single meal comprising more than a dozen meze, or appetizer-sized plates, is nothing unusual. And at least one of them is bound to have halloumi, a marvelously briny cheese made from the milk of sheep grazed on thyme.

While legions of northern Europeans and Russians travel to Cyprus to soak up its sunshine, the island’s archaeological treasures and scenic diversity are the chief draw for many others, including myself. One of the most spectacular ancient sites is Kourion, a complex on a broad seaside cliff-top west of the port city of Limassol. The site includes a ravishing second-century Greco-Roman amphitheater facing the Mediterranean, not more than a two minutes’ walk from in situ Roman mosaics in the fifth-century House of Eustolios and the evocative remains of an early Christian basilica. The Temple of Apollo Hylates (“protector of the woodlands”), which still has some of its Ionic columns standing tall, is nearby. The best way to see the island is by car, generally heading west from the Larnaca International Airport. The island’s many years as a British colony mean that driving is on the left and road signs are in Greek and English; a midsize car rents for about $50 a day. From Larnaca, Limassol is 45 minutes west and the landlocked capital city of Nicosia (Lefkosia in Greek) less than two hours north. Home of the Cyprus Archaeological Museum, Nicosia is encircled by thick Venetian ramparts and divided by a thin United Nations-patrolled Green Line (you can get across with your passport to have a look, but car-rental insurance won’t give you accident coverage in the occupied north).

About a half-hour drive west of Nicosia puts you squarely in the pine-clad Troodos Mountains, home of Cyprus’s very own Mount Olympus (6,403 feet tall) and the province of ancient monasteries and Byzantine churches, many with sumptuously frescoed interiors. But if navigating hairpin turns isn’t appealing – there are a lot of them – try the southern rim of the Troodos, which offers easier driving along the main Limassol-Pafos highway, plus the chance to see vineyards producing Commandaria, the world’s oldest named wine. The sweet red was known in ancient times as Nama but gets its present name from the island’s days as a way station for Crusaders moving on to points east.

It may be a coincidence that my favorite section of Cyprus is the one where, according to myth, a naked Aphrodite drifted ashore in an open seashell around 1200 B.C.E., but the coast at the pebble beach of Petra tou Romiou, about midway between Limassol and Pafos, is certainly unspoiled and stunning. Cypriot legend has it that if you go for a swim between the boulders under a full moon, you will fall in love very shortly thereafter, but then the more Cypriots you talk to, the more legends you’re likely to hear.

Zeus put Aphrodite in charge of wedlock, but she had a pretty fluid vision of it, and a cult developed around her in antiquity. The temple site of Palaia Pafos, slightly inland, was for many years a magnet for vestal virgins from all over the Mediterranean, who came here in the hopes, generally realized, of becoming a little less virginal (the Cyprus Tourism Organization has a brochure, “The Aphrodite Trail,” which will back me on this.) Christianity took hold on Cyprus in 45 C.E., however, spelling an end to goddess worship – at least, officially.

The place in Cyprus that combines the mythological and the modern to best effect is Pafos, a breezy seaside town situated on the far western shore (but only 45 minutes from Limassol by highway). With its truly vast assemblage of ancient Roman floor mosaics, underground “Tombs of the Kings” where early Cypriot monarchs were interred, and important Christian sites such as St. Paul’s pillar, the entire town is aUNESCO World Heritage site. The mosaics are viewed from elevated walkways and depict ancient deities such as Dionysus.

There are lots of decent tavernas in town, but a meal at the restaurant Seven St. Georges Taverna, in a seaside village just outside Pafos, is not to be missed. With his wife Lara, owner George cooks up specialties that change daily but that always use fresh, organic, and local ingredients. Your dining-room partners could include British expats, airline pilots, and police officers – the place is an original (Geroskipou Village, 011-357-2696-3179).

The newest luxury boutique hotel and spa to open in Pafos is Thalassa There’s a personal butler for all but two of its 58 “residences” (Coral Bay, Pafos, 011-357-2688-1500, fax 011-357-2688-1700, www.thalassa.com.cy; room rates $339-$2,610).

But the queen of hotels in these parts is the five-star Anassa (which actually means “queen” in classical Greek), idyllically situated on the edge of the verdant and largely untrammeled Akamas Peninsula, about a 30-minute drive north of Pafos. The hotel has spacious guest rooms with balconies wide open to the private beach and sea beyond (Polis Village, 011-357-2688-8000, fax 011-357-2632-2900, res.anassa@thanoshotels.com; room rates $249-$400 with full breakfast).

From the hotel it’s a five-minute drive to a natural spring somewhat wishfully christened the Baths of Aphrodite. A moderate hike from the parking lot gets you there. But you’ll have to take a much longer hike or 4×4 excursion deep into the rugged Akamas to get within sight of Aphrodite’s potent Fontana Amorosa – if, of course, it really exists.