Arts and Culture
The oldest traces of human life on Cyprus date from the Neolithic period: for example the settlement at Khirokitfa of the 6th millennium B.C. Under the earth floors of the semi-underground circular dwellings the dead were buried in a tightly contracted foetal position, perhaps in the expectation of later rebirth. The inhabitants of this village commu nity were farmers, and on the evidence of bones found on the site had domesticated wild sheep and goats. Needles and pointed implements made from shells point to the beginnings of spinning and weaving.
Towards the end of the Neolithic period the first pottery vessels appear alongside domestic utensils and implements made from stone and bone. With the help of a comb-like instrument made from shell or bone the pottery was decorated with incised ornament (combed orna ment). The vessels, mostly gourd-shaped, were covered with a red dish-brown glaze. Necklaces of carnelian beads and obsidian blades are evidence of trading contacts with Asia Minor and Syria. Violin shaped stone idols also begin to appear.
In the Chalcolithic period Cyprus has trading contacts with Asia Minor and the Levant. Settlements are established at Erfmi, Lapithos, Kythn3a and other sites. The round dwellings of the Neolithic period increas ingly give place to rectangular houses. The dead are now buried out side the village.
Different types of pottery are now produced. The predominant type is Erfmi ware (Red-on-Whiteware), named after the principal site where it was found. Decoration is mainly linear and geometric. Cross-shaped idols in steatite or clay are increasingly common. They now show female sexual characteristics, pointing to the cult of a mother goddess, predecessor of Aphrodite. Jewellery and implements of beaten copper are thought still to be imports.
Towards the end of the Chalcolithic period occasional alabaster vases begin to appear, showing Egyptian influence. The pottery shows great variety of form, with geometric and plant ornament. Red and black polished ware with incised decoration is now predominant.
In the Early Bronze Age settlements are established at Vounous, Poli tiko, Tamassos and other sites. Copper-mining provides the raw material for metal weapons and domestic requisites and jewellery of copper and silver. The villages are now increasingly fortified, and the dead are buried in dromos tombs outside the settlement.
The Red Polished ware of this period has incised decoration in the form of wavy lines, bands of zigzags or circles.
In the Middle Bronze Age the technique of bronze production is brought to Cyprus by Anatolian merchants. Red Polished ware is pro duced in a great range of forms; the rims and handles of jars are decorated with animal protomes (the upper parts of animals' bodies). Pottery models of cult ceremonies are now found, for example a walled shrine from Vounous (Archaeological Museum, Nicosia). There are also models of scenes from everyday life such as ploughing and baking bread.
The range of pottery forms is extended by the production of compo site vessels, combining several different types. Narrow-necked vases appear for the first time, trading relations with Egypt and Palestine having brought new wares including oils and luxury ointments to Cyprus. Towards the end of the Middle Bronze Age Red Polished ware begins to give place to White Painted ware and Black Slip ware.
Also characteristic of this period are flat-bodied "plank idols" in red pottery with incised decoration and necklaces formed from imported beads of glass paste or faience.
The Late Bronze Age is a period of trading contacts with Minoans, Mycenaeans and Achaeans. Settlements such as Enkomi, Kition and Marion are established as a result of the increasing importance of copper-working. The most important house type in this period is the mega ron house with an antechamber. Settlements are now laid out on a regular plan. The dead are buried in chamber tombs with a long dromos (entrance passage) and several tomb chambers. Gold jewel lery now appears, often made from beaten gold foil and decorated with spiral ornament or animal motifs. Mycenaean influence can be detected in the forms of the jewellery.
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Mycenaean influence also appears in the White Slip and Black Slip ware, which, like the Zeus Crater in the Archaeological Museum in Nicosia, is decorated with mythological scenes and representations of cult ceremonies.
The extraordinary variety of pottery forms in the Late Bronze Age includes full-bodied craters (wide-mouthed jars for mixing water and wine). small decorative vases, jars imitating metal (at this period still very costly) and bird-headed mother figures holding a child. Carved ivories with Oriental motifs like griffins or lions reflect the close links between Aegean and Oriental cultures. Representations of the Egyp tian god Bes become increasingly common. A valuable and magnifi cently decorated rhyton from Kftion (Archaeological Museum, Nicosia) shows that vases were now much more than utility objects. Bronze statuettes such as the horned god from Enkomi (Archaeological Museum, Nicosia) point to an active metalworking industry in the final stages of the Bronze Age.
In the 16th century B.C. the first forms of writing appear in Cyprus. The Cypro-Minoan syllabic script shows close affinities with the Minoan Linear A script. The hundred or so characters ofthe syllabary have not yet been deciphered. Inscribed on everyday objects, they no doubt indicated the contents of a vessel or the name of the owner.
After the coming ofthe Achaeans, bringing with them their beliefs and cults, the Hellenisation of the island begins.
In Cyprus as in Greece a certain cultural stagnation can be observed at the beginning of the Geometric period. A fresh cultural flowering occurs only from the 10th century onwards, influenced by the island's close connections with Phoenicia. Phoenician traders introduce the technique of iron-working and found the first Phoenician city, Kition. The Achaeans build a number of towns - Kourion, Marion, S610i, etc. Tombs now have a long narrow dromos with a pointed roof.
In pottery the predominant types are Red Slip ware and Black-on-Red ware. The decoration consists of both geometric patterns and pictorial scenes. The neck and rim of vases are now also decorated. Occasional gOld, silver and bronze dishes are found.
Assyrian, Egyptian and Persian influences now make themselves felt. City-kingdoms like Salamis and Amathous flourish. Richly furnished tombs at Salamis and Tamassos bear witness to a period of cultural flowering. The grave goods show Oriel'ltal influence, while the archi tecture of the tombs comes from Greece. The dead are no longer buried in a tightly contracted position but lie on their backs in stone sarcophagi. Stelae begin to appear as grave-markers.
In view of the lack of marble on Cyprus large sculpture is mainly in limestone. The dress and hair styles of the statues show Oriental influence. At Ayia Irini more than 2000 terra cotta figures were found, including many small figures of bulls - indicating that the old mother goddess had been displaced by male fertility symbols. In spite of the Assyrian and Egyptian influences Cypriot sculpture shows affinities with the Archaic sculpture of mainland Greece in its intense concern with the human body.
The powerful influence of the city-kingdoms leads to the formation of local styles and the emergence of distinctive artistic personalities. Bichrome vases decorated with flower and plant motifs now appear. The Orientalising style, which had come to the fore in mainland Greece at the end of the Geometric period, begins to establish itself in Cyprus. The "free-field" style also develops. Polychrome decoration with figures of animals and fabulous beasts is found principally on bulbous vases. The rich painted decoration spreads freely over the vessels with no frames to confine it, and the painting of the figures is more con cerned with decorative effect than with anatomical accuracy.
Towards the end of the Archaic period black-figured vases imported from Greece begin to appear. Egyptian glassware, faience and scarabs are common during the period of Egyptian rule.
Imports of Attic black-figured and red-figured vases increase, but Vlllu-painting in Cyprus itself also follows Greek styles. In the reign of King Euagoras of Salamis Greek artists and scholars come to the Illnnd.
From the middle of the 5th century Cypriot sculpture shows Ionian lind Attic influences. Fine bronze sculpture is produced, for example tiln figure of a cow from Vouni (Archaeological Museum, Nicosia).
Afler the death of Alexander the Great Cyprus is held by Ptolemy I of tUYPt. The city-kingdoms are dissolved and the island is ruled from A'"Kandria. At Paphos large peristyle tombs with a colonnaded inner lIourtyard are built, showing Egyptian influence; the architectural 'ecoration, however, is still Greek. The island's close political and Iluitural links with Egypt do not displace Greek cultural influence. Increasing prosperity and the desire for show lead to the building of nnw temples at Paphos and Salamis.
Pottery continues to be imported from Greece or to be modelled on ()roek products. The so-called "Hadra vases" - mass-produced ware in their country of origin - are imported from Egypt. Valuable pieces of Imall sculpture reflect the island's prosperity. One ofthe few surviving morble statues, the Aphrodite of Soloi, can be seen in the Archaeo lugical Museum in Nicosia. Glassware begins to be produced in Cyprus, and pressed glass is used in the manufacture of honey ooloured and sea-green drinking glasses.
As a Roman province Cyprus continues Hellenistic traditions. Towns luch as Paphos, Salamis and Soloi grow in size and are embellished with Roman temples. After a great earthquake in the 4th century many towns are rebuilt. Theatres, gymnasia and palaestras are erected. Under the Ptolemies the peristyle house comes to Cyprus. The peri Ilyle, a colonnaded courtyard, has frequently a colourful mosaic pave ment (fine examples found at Paphos and Kourion). an ornamental pool and flowerbeds.
Salamis now becomes the cultural centre of Cyprus. Public buildings nnd private houses are decorated with sculpture, strongly influenced by Roman models. There are portraits and statues of Emperors, lead Ing citizens, gods and heroes (e.g. the statue of the Emperor Septimius Severus from Kythrea, now in the Archaeological Museum, Nicosia).
The pottery consists mostly of undecorated ware for everyday use, showing Syrian and Cilician influence. Terra sigillata, a red ware with moulded decoration bearing the potter's stamp (sigilla), becomes popular in Cyprus. In the 2nd century A.D. the scale of glass production increases. Undecorated glass for everyday use is manufactured on the island, but glassware is also imported from Syria.