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CYPRUS

(Gk. Kýpros)

Legendary site of Wanassa/Aphrodite’s birth “from the foam,” near Paphos (Phoenix Data Systems, Neal and Joel Bierling)

The crossroads of the Eastern Mediterranean, an island 70 km. (44 mi.) from the south coast of Anatolia and 95 km. (64 mi.) from the Levant, making it an obvious stop for both traders and invaders. Prehistory of the island appears to date to ca. 8000-10,000 b.c.e. Its earliest prehistoric connections appear to be with Anatolia from the Neolithic period through the Middle Bronze Age. Its connections with the Levant and the greater Near East appear not to become close until the Late Bronze Age, when Aegean contacts also become apparent.

The geology of Cyprus has been particularly influential in its history. The primary formative process was the volcanic formation of the Troodos massif in the southwest — the greatest magnetic anomaly on the face of the earth. The Kyrenia mountain range by contrast is a long string of uplifted sedimentary rocks, formed during the Late Miocene period. Along the north coast, N of the Kyrenia range, is the northern coastal plain. The other major arable plain is the Mesaoria Plain, lying between the two mountain ranges. This severely divided landscape led to a particular relationship of the geographical locations of the island with one another, and with outside influences. Where people settled coastal sites, the sites seem to focus outward in the historical periods, being more heavily influenced by foreign cultures than the people of the inland sites. Sites of the Mesaoria and sites SW of the Troodos focused inward or were more purely Cypriote in culture.

The culture of the Chalcolithic period is known as the Erimi culture, after the site of Erimi Pamboula. During this period the first evidence of metal use appears in the form of copper. Some scholars claim the copper objects found in Erimi sites were not made of native Cypriote copper, implying international trade.

The Chalcolithic period produced the earliest acknowledged evidence of religious practice on the island, cruciform female figurines carved in picrolite. What appear to be cult objects, or at least a birthing ritual, have been attested at Kissonerga Mosphilia, represented by a shrine or house model and clay figurines including one of a birthing woman.

The following transitional period, the Philia culture, is variously described as Late Chalcolithic or Early Bronze. There are clear developments in metallurgy, and strong links with Anatolian material culture appear, particularly in pottery. These are the first murmurings of international connections, which characterize the following Early and Middle Cypriote periods (Early and Middle Bronze).

It is during the early 2nd millennium that the Mari texts first mention “Alašiya,” now generally acknowledged to be the Mesopotamian name for Cyprus. This name also appears in Anatolia, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt after this time, usually in connection with copper and the copper trade. During the Middle Cypriote period the tend toward regional variation emerges on the island, which characterizes Cypriote culture to a greater or lesser extent until the present day. During this period the bulk of the population seems to have been concentrated in the eastern end of the island, perhaps centering on Kalopsidha. It has been suggested that commerce with the Levant played a role in the prosperity of the eastern region of Cyprus, which may explain the development of port cities like Enkomi and Kition at the end of this period. The northern region, represented by Lapethos, Ayia Irini, and the more northwestern Morphou, seems to have begun contacts with the Aegean at this time, in addition to continuing Anatolian contacts.

The beginning of the Late Cypriote period is the era of Enkomi. Ca. 1550 a fort was constructed beside the northern port at Enkomi, and from there the huge urban center developed, presumably based upon the copper trade. From ca. 1400 onward, the Mycenaeans became a strong presence in Cyprus, leaving great quantities of distinctive pottery at southern and eastern coastal sites. Some of those “Mycenaean” forms are known only from examples found on Cyprus. Relations with the Near East continued, with correspondence recorded between the king of Alasia and King Akhenaten of Egypt; some kind of tribute was agreed upon, although there is very little evidence of Egyptian hegemony visible in the archaeological record.

Ca. 1200 when the great urban centers of the Aegean were declining, new centers began to grow on Cyprus. New centers appeared in the southwest at Palaepaphos (Kouklia), at Maa Palaeokastro, and centrally at Sinda. All these sites have fortifications constructed of cyclopean masonry and elite architecture including palaces and temple complexes faced with well-cut ashlar blocks.

Also dating to the end of the 13th century are a number of regional “palace complexes” strongly reminiscent of Minoan culture, most notably Kalavassos Ayios Dimitrios, nearby Maroni, and Alassa Pano Mantilari in the west. Also belonging to this period is the fortified settlement of Pyla Kokkinokremmos, near Larnaca. The picture that emerges is one of regional centers of commerce, competition among which apparently was not always friendly.

Although subsequent upheavals of the eastern Mediterranean did not bypass Cyprus, ending habitation at Enkomi, Kition, and Hala Sultan Tekke, there is ample evidence of continued urban life and commerce all over the island. This continuity is exemplified by recent discoveries at Idalion. Funerary remains give evidence of continuing prosperity and international commerce.

In the 1st millennium the political geography of Cyprus coalesced into the well-known city-kingdoms, each with its own character. At Kition, the Tyrians established a new, Phoenician kingdom perhaps 50 years after the destruction of the cyclopean fortification of the Late Cypriote city. At Salamis arose the successor of abandoned Enkomi. On the south coast Amathus arose, and Idalion, Ledra, Chytroi, and Tamassos in the interior. From this time onward the name Alashiya disappears, and Cyprus is known as Kypros in the west and Yadnana in the east.

Assyrian kings Sargon II (722-705) and Esarhaddon (680-669) claimed to have had hegemony over the island. As with Egypt earlier, there is little archaeological evidence, although general Near Eastern traits appear in the artistic styles and ceramic taste of the period. Phoenician store jars are common, even at inland sites down through the 5th century, and Cypriote sculpture clings to Near Eastern “snail curls” in hair and beads long after other cultures west of the Levant have given them up. At the same time burial customs often follow the Hellenic pattern with a “dromos” leading to a burial chamber.

At the end of the 8th century the so-called Royal Tombs of Salamis with their monumental construction, wholesale sacrifices of horses, and rich grave goods demonstrate a high level of material wealth and cosmopolitan trade. There is no doubt that copper was the source of the widespread prosperity of Archaic Cyprus, with the city kingdoms minting their own coins and trading throughout the Mediterranean. Great quantities of Cypriote artifacts are found in the Levant, Naucratis, and Samos.

Religion in the 1st millennium seems to center around the cult of the Great Goddess, the “Wanassa” in native Cypriote language (except at Kition, where the traditional Phoenician pantheon held sway). The most famous shrine of the goddess was at Paphos, where the kings were priests of her cult and periodic pan-Cypriote festivals took place. The Greeks identified her with Aphrodite, and the legend of her birth in Paphos reflects the antiquity of the cult there.

In 545 Cyrus I of Persia claimed hegemony over Cyprus, but once again the foreign overlord left little mark, and city kingdoms continued to govern themselves and mint their own coins. After 500 and the Ionian Revolt, the regionalism of the island became even more pronounced. Greek influence was strong at Marion and Salamis, while Phoenician culture remained influential at Kition. “Eteocyprian” Amathus had its own Egyptian-influenced autochthonous style, and the eclectic but unmistakable native Cypriote style held sway at Paphos, Idalion, and Tamassos. The copper (Gk. kýpros) industry remained strong, causing many economic and military rivalries. Ca. 450 Kition conquered Idalion and took over Tamassos some time later.

Ca. 300 the Phoenician Kitians were thrown out of Idalion, presumably by the Hellenistic Greeks who then held sway until the advent of the Romans. During the second half of the 1st millennium Greek and Phoenician appear side by side in inscriptions, and presumably were the languages of commerce. At sites like Amathus and Idalion native non-Greek Cypriote inscriptions in the Cypro-syllabic script continue down through the Hellenistic period.

During the Hellenistic period Cyprus truly became a part of the greater Greek world. Only Kition attempted to hold out, whereupon in 312 Ptolemy took the city and destroyed its temples — and its Phoenician character. The Phoenician sacred quarter was never rebuilt. The Hellenistic period lasted 200 years.

In 58 b.c.e. Cyprus became part of the Roman province of Cilicia and the geographical center of gravity shifted to the southwest, with the capital city at Nea Paphos, and another important urban center at Kourion. Romans did not use the old, two-stage method of copper processing, but developed an efficient, high-temperature, one-stage smelting process, all of which was conducted at the mining sites by armies of slaves. The inland cities whose wealth had depended on the second stage of copper processing dwindled into agricultural towns. The Roman methods contributed significantly to the deforestation of the island. The Roman presence was important through the 4th century c.e., with the island regarded as a center of Greek culture in the eastern Roman Empire.

Bibliography. S. Hadjisavvas, “Excavations at the Tombs of the Kings,” in Archaeology in Cyprus, 1960-1985, ed. V. Karageorghis (Nicosia, 1985); V. Karageorghis, Cyprus: From the Stone Age to the Romans (London, 1982); Kition, Mycenaean and Phoenician Discoveries in Cyprus (London, 1976); E. Peltenburg, ed., Early Society in Cyprus (Edinburgh, 1989).

Pamela Gaber

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

CYPRUS

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)