The aceramic civilisation of Cyprus came to an end quite abruptly around 6000 BC. It was probably followed by a vacuum of almost 1,500 years until around 4500 BC when we have the emergence of Neolithic II.

At this time newcomers arrived in Cyprus introducing a new Neolithic era. The main settlement that embodies most of the characteristics of the period is Sotira near the south coast of Cyprus. It had nearly fifty houses, usually having a single room that had its own hearth, benches, platforms and partitions that provided working places. The houses were on the main freestanding, with relatively thin walls and tended to be square with rounded corners.


This Neolithic II culture was destroyed by an earthquake c.3800 BC. In the society that emerged there are no overt signs of newcomers but signs of continuity, therefore despite the violent natural catastrophe, there is an internal evolution that is formalised around 3500 BC when we have the beginning of the so-called Chalcolithic (copper and stone) period that lasted until about 2500/2300 BC.

Metalwork appears now for the first time and will stamp the future of the island for centuries to come. Cyprus has very few chisels, hooks and jewellery of pure copper but in one example there is a minimal presence of tin, something that may support contact with Asia Minor, where copper working was established earlier.

During the Chalcolithic period changes of major importance took place along with technological and artistic achievements, especially towards its end. The presence of a stamp seal and the size of the houses that was not uniform, both hint at property rights and social hierarchy. The same story is supported by the burials because some of them were deposited in pits without grave goods and some in shaft graves with relatively rich furniture, both being indications of wealth accumulation by certain families and social differentiation.

The Chalcolithic period did not come to an end at the same time all over Cyprus. In the Paphos area it lingered on although in northern Cyprus the Bronze Age came into being.


People introduced this new era from Anatolia who came to Cyprus because of disturbances in Asia Minor. As the newcomers knew how to work with copper they soon moved to the so-called copper belt of the island, that is the foothills of the Troodos Mountains. This movement reflects the increased interest in the raw material that was going to be so closely connected with Cyprus for several centuries afterwards.


The Middle Bronze Age that followed (1900-1600 BC) is a relatively short period and its earlier part is marked by peaceful development in contrast to its final years that were marked by wars.

Unlike the early Bronze Age that furnishes no settlements as yet, the Middle Bronze Age shows several settlements in addition to cemeteries that give us an idea about the architecture of the period.

From Alambra in central Cyprus we know that the houses were rectangular with many rooms, while streets were constructed allowing people to move freely in the community. During the same period fortresses were built in various places, a clear indication of unrest, although one is not sure about its cause.


The beginning of the Late Bronze Age does not differ from the closing years of the previous period. Unrest, tension and anxiety mark all these years, probably because of some sort of engagement with the Hyksos who ruled Egypt at this time but were expelled from there in the mid-16th century. Soon afterwards peaceful conditions prevailed in the Eastern Mediterranean that witnessed a flowering of trade relations and the growing of urban centres. Chief among them was Enkomi the earliest predecessor of modern Famagusta, though several other harbour towns also sprung up along the southern coast of Cyprus.

Rich finds from this period testify to a vivid commerce with other countries. We have jewellery and other precious objects from the Aegean along with pottery that prove the close connections of the two areas, though finds coming from Near Eastern countries are also plentiful.

The years of peace that brought about such a flowering of culture and civilisation did not last. During these years Cyprus reached unprecedented heights in prosperity and it played a rather neutral role in the differences of her powerful neighbours.

In the second half of the 13th century Cyprus suffered because of raids that were intensified and turned into devastating invasions. These were actually ethnic migrations, something like the ethnic migrations of the 4th-5th century AD Europe, that crashed in their way the Hittites, Alasia, Arzawa, Ugarit and other principalities in Syria and Palestine, only to be repulsed with great difficulty at the frontiers of Egypt by Pharaoh Ruses III in 1191 BC.

When those disastrous events came to an end, we observe the massive arrival of the Mycenaean Greeks as permanent settlers to Cyprus, a process that started around 1200 BC and lasted for more than a century. This migration is remembered in many sagas rehearsing how some of the Greek heroes that participated in the Trojan War came to settle in Cyprus.

The newcomers brought with them their language, their advanced technology and introduced a new out look for visual arts. Thus from c.1220 BC Cyprus has remained predominantly Greek in culture, language and population despite various influences resulting from successive conquests.


In the ensuing Early Iron Age (1100-750 BC) Cyprus becomes predominantly Greek. Pottery shapes and decoration show a marked Aegean inspiration although Oriental ideas creep in from time to time. New burial customs with rock-cut chamber tombs having a long 'dromos' (a ramp leaning gradually towards the entrance) along with new religious beliefs speak in favour of the arrival of people from the Aegean. The same view is supported by the introduction of the safety pin that denotes a new fashion in dressing and also by a name scratched on a bronze skewer from Paphos and dating between 1050-950 BC.

This name (O-pe-le- ta-u) is in the Greek language but it is written in the Cypriot syllabify that remained in use down to the 3rd century BC. The alphabetic writing that was adopted from the Phoenicians in the 8th century BC in Greece was introduced to Cyprus as late as the early 4th century BC. In the period under discussion, and in particular in the 9th century BC we witness the arrival of the Phoenicians in Cyprus, who probably came here from their land (modern Lebanon) because they were harassed by the Assyrians.

The Phoenicians brought with them their deities and made their presence felt in minor arts, pottery-shapes and ornamentation.


The 8th century BC saw a marked increase of wealth in Cyprus. Communications with East and West were on the ascent and this created a prosperous society. Testifying to this wealth are the so-called royal tombs of Salamis, which, although plundered, produced a truly royal abundance of wealth. Sacrifices of horses, bronze tripods and huge cauldrons (bowls) decorated with sirens, griffins etc., chariots with all their ornamentation and the horses' gear, ivory beds and thrones exquisitely decorated were all deposited into the tombs' 'dromoi' for the sake of their masters.

The late 8th century is the time of the spreading of the Homeric poems, the 'Iliad' and the 'Odyssey', and this affected Cyprus very much. Funerary customs at Salamis and elsewhere were very much influenced by these poems. The deceased were given skewers and fire logs in order to roast their meat, a practice found in contemporary Argos and Crete, recalling the similar gear of Achilles when he entertained other Greek heroes in his tent. Honey and oil, described by Homer as offerings to the dead are also found at Salamis, and the flames of fire that consumed the deceased were quenched with wine as it happened to Patroclus' body after it was given to the flames. The hero's ashes were gathered carefully wrapped into a linen cloth and put into a golden urn.

At Salamis the ashes of the deceased are also wrapped into a cloth and deposited into a bronze cauldron. Therefore, the Cypriots along with their extravagant display of wealth that bears many oriental features, do not forget their roots for which they must have been very proud. The circulation of the Homeric poems must have revived the interest to their great, great ancestors whose system of government they never lost sight of.

As Mycenaean Greece was divided in small independent kingdoms, so Cyprus kept the tradition alive down to historical times being divided in ten petty kingdoms that were ruled by a king. Kingship was preserved even under foreign occupations, when the cities of Cyprus remained independent even after their submission to the Assyrians in 709, the Egyptians in 569 and the Persians in 545 BC.

The period of Egyptian domination, though brief, left its mark mainly in arts especially in sculpture, where we observe the rigidity and the dress of Egyptians. Soon, however, the Cypriots discarded both for the sake of Greek prototypes.

Under the Persians, the kings of Cyprus retained their independence, although paying tribute to their overlord. They could mint their own coins without even his portrait on it. Thus King Evelthon of Salamis (560- 525 BC) probably the first one to cast silver or bronze coins in Cyprus shows a ram on the obverse and an 'ankh ' (Egyptian symbol of good luck) on the reverse.

In the Persian Empire, Cyprus formed part of the fifth province and in addition to tribute it had to supply the Persians with ships and crews. In their new fate the Greeks of Cyprus had as companions the Greeks of Ionia (west coast of Asia Minor - now Turkey) with whom they forged closer ties. When the Ionian Greeks revolted against Persia (499 BC) the Cypriots except for Amathus, joined in at the instigation of Onesilos, brother of the king of Salamis, whom he dethroned for not wanting to fight for independence.

The Persians reacted quickly sending a considerable force against Onesilos. They won despite Ionian help.


After the Persian defeat, the Greeks mounted various expeditions against Cyprus in order to liberate it from the Persian yoke, but all their efforts bore only temporary results.

Following these events Persian rule became more oppressive and it favoured the Phoenician element at the expense of the Greek. A Phoenician 'usurper' ascended the throne of Salamis and it took several decades before Evagoras, a true scion of the Teucrid family, succeeded in seizing the throne in 411 BC. Evagoras dominated Cypriot politics for almost forty years until he died in 374/3 BC. He favoured everything Greek and he urged Greeks from the Aegean to come and settle in Cyprus. He assisted the Athenians in many ways and they honoured him by erecting his statue in the Stoa (portico) Basileios in Athens.

His successors continued his struggle against the Persians but to no avail until Alexander the Great defeated the Persians at the battle of Issos near modern Alexandretta (Iskenderun) in 333 BC. From then on the Cypriot kings were only too happy to transfer their allegiance to him.

In the sphere of arts we have a definite influence from Greece that was responsible for the production of some very important sculptures. The archaic Greek art with its attractive smile on the face of the statue is found on many Cypriot pieces dating between 525-475 BC, that is the closing stage of the Archaic period. According to Greek tradition men (Kouroi) are mostly presented naked, while women (Korai) are always presented dressed with rich folding of their himations.

The Classical period coincides with the oppression of the Cypriot cities by the Persians because of the revolt they staged a little earlier in 499 BC. Because of this, few works of Greek workmanship have reached Cyprus but their influence was extensively felt.


When Alexander the Great was marching southwards and then towards the heart of the Persian empire and finally India, the Cypriot Kings assisted him in many ways especially with their ships in the siege of Tyre. In appreciation, Alexander set them free. This period however was very brief since the Macedonian King died soon and Cyprus became the bone of contention for his successors. Finally Ptolemy who ruled Egypt where he established a dynasty that lasted for three centuries won over Cyprus in 294 BC.

Ptolemaic rule was rigid and exploited the island's resources to the utmost, particularly timber and copper. A great contemporary figure of Cypriot letters was the philosopher Zeno who was born at Kition about 336 and founded the famous Stoic School of Philosophy at Athens where he died about 264 BC.


In 58 BC the tribune Claudius Pulcher carried a law implemented by Cato, which turned Cyprus into a Roman province attached to that of Cilicia.

During the civil wars, both Julius Caesar and later Mark Anthony briefly gave Cyprus to Cleopatra of Egypt. It was reverted to Roman rule in 30 BC and in 22 BC became a Senatorial Province.

Pax Romana (Roman peace) was only once disturbed in Cyprus in three centuries of Roman occupation. This serious interruption occurred in 115/6 AD when a revolt by the Jews inspired by Messianic hopes broke out. Their leader was Artemion, a Jew with a Hellenised name as was the practice of the time. Historians put the number of those massacred to 240,000. No doubt the number is exaggerated but one must not forget that in Cyprus practically no Roman troops were stationed and this facilitated the Jewish revolt. Soon, however, the then Roman Emperor Trajan, dispatched to Cyprus one of his generals who suppressed the insurrection and expelled all Jews from the island, not allowing them to tread her soil even when ship-wrecked.

No doubt the most important event that occurred in Roman Cyprus is the visit by Apostles Paul and Bar- nabas having with them St Mark who came to the island at the outset of their first missionary journey in 45 AD. After their arrival at Salamis they proceeded to Paphos where they converted to Christianity the Roman Governor Sergius Paulus. In the Acts of the Apostles, St Luke describes vividly how a magician named Bar-Jesus (Elymas) was obstructing the two Apostles in their preaching of the Gospel, so Paul by his word only set him blind for some time. As a result of this, Sergius Paulus believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord. In this way Cyprus became the first country in the world to be governed by a Christian ruler.


The cities of Cyprus were destroyed by two successive earthquakes in 332 and 342 AD and this marked the end of an era and at the same time the beginning of a new one, very much connected with modern life in Cyprus. Most of the cities were not rebuilt, save Salamis but on a smaller scale and renamed Constantia after the name of the Roman Emperor Constantius II, son of Constantine the Great, residing in Constantinople.

The new city was now the capital of the island. It was mainly Christian and due to this some alterations were made during the rebuilding. The palaestra was turned into a meeting place and many architectural elements were used to erect spacious churches decorated with murals, mosaics and marbles.

In 330 AD Constantine the Great transferred the capital of the Roman Empire to the ancient city of Byzantium, which he adorned with magnificent civic buildings and a defensive wall. The newly founded city was named Constantinoupolis (Constantinople) after him although he himself named it New Rome. The citizens used to call it in Greek in an abbreviated form, as "Polis" so when visiting it they were saying. 'Is tin Poli' (to the city) a name that survives in the Turkish name 'Istanbul'.

The truly Byzantine period began in 395 AD when the Roman Empire was divided in two: the eastern part called Byzantium and the western part, which came to an end in 476 AD. Naturally Cyprus became part of the eastern part of the Empire and it remained so for almost nine centuries.

The main event in Cyprus in comparison to older times was the spreading of the Christian faith that created a new attitude towards life since its morality was different than that of paganism.

The political history of the island is one of tranquillity until 649 AD when we have the first Arab invasion. Until then people were engaged very much in matters of faith, especially fighting the effort of the Patriarch of Antioch to put the Church of Cyprus under his control. They were finally successful when Archbishop Anthemius guided by a dream discovered the tomb of St. Barnabas with the Saint's body Lying in a coffin and on his chest a copy of the Gospel by St Matthew in Barnabas' own writing. Having the relics with him, Anthemius dashed to Constantinople and presented them to emperor Zeno in 488 AD. The latter was very much impressed and he not only confirmed the independence of the Church of Cyprus but he also gave to the Archbishop in perpetuity three privileges that are as much alive today as they were then, namely to carry a sceptre instead of a pastoral staff, to sign with red ink and to wear a purple cloak during services.


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