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Different trading routes crossed Cyprus. This sixth-century stone head reveals Eastern influence although it resembles also contemporaneous Greek sculpture. With broad nose and slightly slanting eyes, the head is stylistically representative of Cypriot sculpture. (APM 1386)

Cyprus
The island of Cyprus lies in the eastern Mediterranean basin at the intersection of three continents: Europe, Asia and Africa. Over the centuries, many surrounding peoples have coveted the island, and even today it is divided into Turkish and Greek parts.

Copper
The island owes its wealth to the presence of copper- and tin-ore. The Greek word for copper is kypros. After discovering the way to manufacture bronze out of ores, the wealth of the island increased rapidly. Because the island is situated on a nodal point, it was the crossroad of many people from surrounding areas throughout the ages. The cultures of these people left traces in Cyprus.

Aphrodite
In later times the Greeks regarded Cyprus as the island of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty who, according to tradition, emerged from the sea at Paphos on the southwestern coast . It is certain that fertility goddesses long played a prominent role on the island.

Stone Age
As Cyprus was first inhabited during the late Stone Age the earliest settlers, who crossed over from the Near East in around 7000 B.C., had fixed abodes and practiced agriculture and stockbreeding. Pottery and metal ware were still unknown, however, and vessels were made of stone. This period ended at about 6000 B.C. The next traces of human habitation date from around 4500 B.C. These people made hand-shaped pottery. From 3900 B.C. on, copper was used for jewellery and implements like chisels and hooks.

Bronze Age
The Bronze Age of Cyprus begins about 2900 B.C. The combination of copper and tin yields bronze, which is strong and can readily be worked. From 1900 B.C. on, so much copper was mined that it began to be exported. Also Cypriot pottery discovered in many places across the Near East reflects such trading relations. On Crete and the Greek mainland the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations appeared during the second millennium B.C. In various ways, Cyprus profited from these developments. The Mycenaeans required much bronze, which they imported from Cyprus and for which they exchanged, among other things, their own pottery. Cyprus continued to maintain close links with the east. Syria was the source of a new type of fertility goddess: a standing woman who holds her hands below her breasts. In the ninth century B.C. Phoenicians settled on the island's southern coast.

Iron Age
By 1000 B.C. the inhabitants of Cyprus had mastered the technique of iron working and their prosperity increased further, as shown by the more valuable gifts they gave the dead. The presence of ores caused what important rulers had eagerly in mind for the island: Cyprus was ruled successively by the Assyrians, Egyptians and Persians. In the year 449 B.C. Athens conquered part of it. This caused some cities to become Greek-minded while others remained faithful to the Persians. The reliability of the cities changed from time to time, until Alexander the Great took the island around 328 B.C. Later the island became involved in the disputes between Alexander's successors. Ultimately, it fell to Ptolemy, the new king of Egypt. In 58 B.C. the Romans began to rule and in 30 B.C., after Cleopatra's end, it became a Roman province. By now, the artistic production of Cyprus no longer has anything specifically Cypriot and finds parallels in other parts of the Roman empire. At the division of the empire in A.D. 395. Cyprus fell to the eastern half, centered on Constantinople. The Byzantine history of Cyprus begins.

Pottery from the Bronze to the Byzantine periods shows the development of the Cypriot culture and the influence of inhabitants from surrounding regions. Some vases had a ritual meaning, others were used in daily life. Through the ages nature had been a favorite subject for decorations. Vases were often decorated with painted or plastic animals.


A fertility goddess was worshipped in Cyprus as long ago as 3000 B.C. Cypriot representations of naked females, like this statuette, occur through the ages from the fourteenth to the twelfth centuries B.C. She holds her hands below her breasts and an incised triangle defines her genitals. Such figures are the precursors of the Greek goddess Aphrodite who, tradition says, was born from the sea foam near the coast of Paphos in Cyprus. (APM 757)


Eastern influence marks this small horseman. He wears an eastern cap and tassels embellish his horse's harness. The rider and the horse were fashioned separately. The painting has been well preserved. The figure is, in fact, a toy: the two holes are clearly visible through which the wheels' axles passed. (APM 1881)