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KIthira[kE´thErA] Pronunciation Key or Cythera[sithEr´u] Pronunciation Key, island (1991 pop. 3,021), c.109 sq mi (282 sq km), S Greece, in the Mediterranean Sea, southernmost of the Ionian Islands, off the S Peloponnesus. Mostly rocky with many streams, it produces wine, goat cheese, olives, corn, and flax. On the south shore is KIthira (1991 pop. 226), the chief village, formerly called Kapsali. Ancient KIthira was a center of the cult of Aphrodite. The island passed to Greece in 1864.
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