Classical Paphos

The by now touristic cliche of Cyprus as birthplace of Aphrodite sometimes figures in works of classical music, such as in the French composer Jean-Joseph de Mondonville's opéra-ballet Les fêtes de Paphos.

[Came across it through this.]

Basil trees etc

at 5:45
'στη σκαλα που ανεβαίνεις ν' ανέβαινα και γω
σε κάθε σκαλοπάτι να σε γλυκοφιλώ'

see also:

Sipsi / μπαντούρα

We were actually surprised to find a video of an instrument like this being played by Cypriots - we're at a loss as to what they call it in Cyprus and whether there might actually be a tradition of playing. It looks like a Turkish sipsi or Cretan bandoura.

Instruments: The tamboutshia (frame drum)

Frame drums exist in most cultures worldwide. Variants with different playing styles can be found e.g. in Irish, Native American, North African, Central Asian, Persian, Kurdish, Azerbaijani, Indian, Siberian, Hungarian, and other cultures (the list could possibly go on indefinitely).
They are often associated with various trance-inducing rituals (e.g. in Shamanism or in Kurdish Sufism).
Apparently, ancient Cypriot women played them, and this had some relation with ritual worship (see Doubleday, V. (1999). The Frame Drum in the Middle East: Women, Musical Instruments and Power. Ethnomusicology, 43(1), 101-134.)

The Cypriot tamboutshia (ταμπουτshιά) is a kind of frame drum. Usually the same structure was made in order to construct a sieve, and tamboutshia is also the name of the sieve that results when one pierces the frame drum's skin.
The tamboutshia was usually played together with pithkiavli, or also according to some sources with the tambouras (before it became extinct around the mid-20th century). According to Anogianakis, some time in the late nineteenth century it was coupled with the violin, and later with the violin and the laouto which is currently the usual setup for 'traditional' cypriot bands.

Crossroads

There's this legend about music making that, interestingly, is to be found in African tribal mythology, blues urban legends, and instructions about learning to play the Cretan lyra. It is most well known in relation to the great blues artist Robert Johnson, who was rumoured to have sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his mad guitar skills. The legend goes that the bargain with the devil took place at a crossroads, and is commemorated in Johnson's 1936 'Cross Road Blues':

Hollywood seems to have thought it interesting enough, and made a movie about it titled 'Crossroads' (1986).

Though the actual lyrics of the song don't say much about bargains with demons, commentaries have sometimes linked the tale of Johnson's crossroad adventures with the Yoruba trickster god/spirit (Orisha) Eshu (who also goes by the names Elegba, Elegbara, or Legba), who governs over crossroads. (See e.g. Cheeseborough, S. Blues Travelling: The Holy Sites of Delta Blues, Missisipi: University Press of Missisipi, p. 84; but see Pearson, B. L. & McCullough, B. Robert Johnson: Lost and Found, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, p. 50.)

A version of the legend somehow found its way to Crete. See for example Psarandonis' retelling of it:

Or Ross Daly's version:

"Ένας νέος μουσικός που θέλει να μάθει να παίζει λύρα, πρέπει να πάει το σούρουπο σε ένα σταυροδρόμι, να χαράξει έναν κύκλο στο χώμα, να καθίσει μέσα του κρατώντας το όργανο και να περιμένει να νυχτώσει. Μόλις σκοτεινιάσει, εμφανίζονται δαίμονες μπροστά του που προσπαθούν να τον σαγηνέψουν και να τον πείσουν να βγει από τον κύκλο του. Αυτός όμως δεν πρέπει να το κάνει γιατί αν βγει αυτοί θα τον φάνε αμέσως μόλις εγκαταλείψει τον κύκλο. Όταν οι δαίμονες καταλάβουν πως δεν μπορούν να τον πείσουν, του ζητάνε να τους δώσει τη λύρα του για να παίξουν γι' αυτόν. Τότε αυτός τους δίνει τη λύρα γιατί ξέρει ότι οι δαίμονες είναι απαράμιλλοι λυράρηδες και θέλει πολύ να τους ακούσει. Ο ένας μετά τον άλλον παίρνουν τη λύρα και παίζουν τις πιο θαυμάσιες και μαγικές μελωδίες όλη τη νύχα για το νέο. Όλα αυτά που θα ακούσει ο νέος πρέπει να τα θυμάται καλά, γιατί αυτό το μάθημα γίνεται ειδικά γι'αυτόν και δεν θα επαναληφθεί. Μόλις χαράξει το πρώτο φως, οι δαίμονες του δίνουν πίσω το όργανο και ετοιμάζονται να φύγουν . Όμως, πριν εξαφανιστούν, ο νεαρός μαθητής της λύρας θα πρέπει να βγάλει έξω από τον κύκλο την άκρη του μικρού του δαχτύλου για να το φάνε οι δαίμονες σαν πληρωμή για το μάθημα. Έπειτα, αυτοί εξαφανίζονται και ο νέος επιστρέφει στο χωριό του έχοντας όλα τα εφόδια για να γίνει ένας καλός λυράρης."

From http://www.rossdaly.gr/el/projects/74-circle-crossroads

[Note: Having started writing this, I found out that these guys had already stumbled across this in this forum. They even take it a step further (though maybe we're already a few steps away from reality) when someone relates Hecate as goddess of crossroads to the story.]