Petra tou Romiou / Aphrodite’s Birthplace, Cyprus
Before driving across the country to join the Classics Department, I spent five weeks this summer on Cyprus as a fellow at the Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute (CAARI) to conduct research on the relationships between Cypriot and Egyptian burial practices during the Hellenistic Period (323 – 30 BCE). Cyprus was the major overseas territory of the Ptolemaic Empire and had always been a crossroads of the cultures of the Eastern Mediterranean. Though many (but not all) ancient Cypriots were Greek speakers, the material culture of the island exhibits influence from Anatolia, Egypt, and the Levant, as well as from the Greek cities of the Aegean.
The double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt that this sphinx wears makes this sculpture particularly “Egyptianizing.” Sphinx from Tamassos, 6th c. BCE. Cyprus Museum.
During the Hellenistic period, the capital of Cyprus was located at Nea Paphos, on the west coast of the island. The burial practices of the elites of the area exhibit clear connections with contemporary practices at Alexandria in Egypt. This is especially the case at the “Tombs of the Kings” – something of a misnomer as no kings were buried there. These are a series of elaborate tombs cut directly into the limestone bedrock which take as inspiration some of the more elaborate rock-cut tombs from Alexandria.
Tomb 3, Tombs of the Kings
For comparison, Mustafa Kamel, Tomb 1, Alexandria
Some of these tombs contained explicit “Egyptian” (as opposed to just Alexandrian) imagery. Tomb 8 included a pair of limestone hawk statues, which bear more than a passing resemblance to Egyptian statues of Horus.
Paphos Museum, “Hawk” from Tomb of the Kings, Tomb 8
Statue of Horus, Temple of Horus at Edfu, ca. 3rd c. BCE Source: Wikimedia Commons Author: Olaf Tausch
Paphos was fantastic for other things as well. Cyprus has some amazing mosaics, and the excavated portion of Paphos has some of the best I’ve seen, most dating from the 4th-5th centuries CE.
Depiction of poor Marsyas being hauled before Apollo. Nea Paphos Archaeological Park, House of Aion, 4th c. CE.
I’m looking forward to going to back to Cyprus sometime this year to give a talk at CAARI to report on my research from this past summer.