A paper by J.-D. Vigne, et al., concluded in 2004 that the discovery of Near Eastern wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica) remains in a 9,500-year-old grave in Cyprus is the oldest example to date of a cat in close association with humans.

[1][2] There is no evidence that modern cats of any variety are descended from ancient Cypriot wildcats; nevertheless both WCF[3] and TICA[4] have uncritically repeated breeder claims of such descent.

According to Byzantine legend, Helena of Constantinople (Saint Helen) shipped hundreds of cats from Egypt or Palestine to Cyprus in 328 AD to control venomous snakes that had infested the area around the monastery, following a drought lasting 37 years.

The other two organizations' breed summaries are generally consistent with this view,[8][9] though it is uncertain who first produced this account of their origin, or on what basis.

Feral populations are found throughout the island of Cyprus, from mountainous and cooler regions to the lower, hotter areas near the coasts, including in the cities.

[citation needed] As such, this cat has locally adapted to different climates / seasonal change; however, it may be more associated with the mountainous areas.

The WCF standard calls for the Aphrodite's Giant to be large, strong, and muscular but not cobby, and big-boned even as kittens.

In detail, WCF calls for muscular hips and shoulders; back legs slightly longer than front (a trait shared with another insular breed, the Manx); medium-long, "well-plumed" tail, commensurate with body size (and visibly tapering in the shorthaired version); a long-triangular head with straight cheeks, long and straight muzzle, "strong" chin, rounded front of the face, slightly domed forehead and "a very slight dip under the height of the eyes"; wide-based, medium-large ears, forming an open V (rather than being straight upward); and olive-shaped, oblique-set eyes of any uniform color.

[7] Under the TICA definition, Aphrodites may be shorthaired or semi-longhaired and have any color and pattern, except they may not be colorpoint or mink and should not have a "locket" spot on the chest.

On finer points, the TICA standard calls for hips and shoulders of the same width; back legs slightly longer than front; an overall long-triangular, straight-cheeked head with a squared but not flattened muzzle and slight concavity between nose and brow leading to a slightly rounded forehead; wide-based, wide-set and fairly large ears forming an open V; oblique, olive-shaped eyes of any color; a full-width chin of normal depth; medium-long, tapering tail consistent with the body and coat (and plumed in the longhaired version).

[4] WCF and TICA sharply conflict with each other on the cat's speed of maturity, perhaps owing to different foundation stock for their breed variants.

The WCF standard says that they develop quickly,[8] while TICA says they are comparatively slow to mature (another trait shared with the Manx), taking three to five years to reach full size.