ABSTRACT
The enigmatic figure of Christophakis should now be enabled to emerge from the shadows of the church of Arpera and become somewhat more discernible as an historical actor, after many years of research in pursuit of his sparse historical traces and his activities in Cypriot society during the first half of the eighteenth century. The wife remains unidentified and anonymous, as the couple’s daughters remain unidentified, even if we know their names, at least, from the inscription in the prothesis. On the contrary, the two eldest sons, Konstantinos and Nikolaos, who sign the letter of 20 April 1750 together with their mother, can be identified in the wall painting with exactitude. The letter dated 20 April 1750 makes it clear that their hypothesis about the possible early death of Christophakis’s wife cannot stand. The woman, mother of so many children, outlived her powerful husband.
