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Amathus (Modern Greek Αμαθούς) was one of the most ancient royal cities of Cyprus, on the southern coast in front of Agios Tychonas, about 24 miles west of Larnaca and 6 miles east of Limassol. Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía Larnaca, ( Greek: Λάρνακα, Turkish: Larnaka) is a City of the Republic of Cyprus situated on the southern coast Limassol or Lemesos ( Greek: Λεμεσός, Lemesos; Turkish: Limasol, alt Its ancient cult of Aphrodite was the most important in Cyprus, her homeland, after Paphos,[1] though the ruins of Amathus are less well-preserved than neighbouring Kourion. Paphos (Paphos is usually written Paphos or Paphus in English, ( Ancient Greek:; Modern Greek Πάφος Páfos; Latin Kourion (Κούριον also Curias ( Pliny v 13 or Latin: Curium, was a city in Cyprus, which endured from antiquity until

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Pre-history and ancient era

Ancient Amathus outside Limassol.
Ancient Amathus outside Limassol. Limassol or Lemesos ( Greek: Λεμεσός, Lemesos; Turkish: Limasol, alt

The pre-history of Amathus mixes myth and archaeology. Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek grc ἀρχαιολογία archaiologia – grc ἀρχαῖος archaīos Archaeology has detected human activity that is evident from 1100 BC. Its legendary founder was Cinyras, linked with the birth of Adonis, who called the city after his mother Amathous. According to Greek mythology, the king Cinyras (in Greek, Κινύρας &ndash Kinuras) of Cyprus was a son of Adonis (Άδωνης also Άδωνις is a figure of West Semitic origin where he is a central cult figure in various Mystery religions, who enters According to a version of the Ariadne legend noted by Plutarch,[2] Theseus abandoned Ariadne at Amathousa, where she died giving birth to her child and was buried in a sacred tomb. Ariadne, in Greek mythology (Latin Arianna French Arianne was daughter of King Minos of Crete and his queen Pasiphaë, daughter Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus ( Greek: Μέστριος Πλούταρχος c For other uses see Theseus (disambiguation Theseus (Θησεύς was a Legendary king of Athens, son of Aethra, and fathered According to Plutarch's source, Amathousians called the sacred grove where her shrine was situated the Wood of Aphrodite Ariadne. A major event leading to the eventual formation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, took place in what is commonly referred to within the Church as The

It was said in antiquity that the people of Amathus were autochthonous, or "Pelasgian". The name Pelasgians (from Ancient Greek grc Πελασγοί Pelasgoí, singular Πελασγός Pelasgós) was used by some ancient Greek Their non-Greek language is confirmed on the site by inscriptions in the Cypriot syllabary used down to the fourth century BC. The Cypriot syllabary is a syllabic script used in Iron Age Cyprus, from ca More purely Hellenic myth would have Amathus settled by one of the sons of Heracles, accounting for the fact that he was worshipped there. In Greek mythology, Heracles or Herakles ("glory of Hera " or

Amathus was built on the coastal cliffs with a view of the sea. It flourished and became a rich kingdom since the early years of its settlement. During the post-Phoenician era of the eighth century a port was also constructed there, which served the trade with the Greeks and the Levantines. The Greeks ( Greek: Έλληνες) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions See also Names of the Levant The Levant (lə'vænt is a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia, roughly bounded on the north by the High on the cliff a temple was built, which became a special worship site to Aphrodite, the goddess of Beauty and Love. The excavators discovered the final stage of the Temple of Aphrodite, which dates approximately to the first century BC. According to the legend, it was where Adonia took place, in which athletes competed in hunting wild boars during sport competitions; they also competed in dancing and singing, all to the honour of Adonis. This article refers to the ancient festival The cruise ship Sea Princess operated under this name between 2003 and 2005

Apollo Temple at Amathus-Limassol.
Apollo Temple at Amathus-Limassol. Limassol or Lemesos ( Greek: Λεμεσός, Lemesos; Turkish: Limasol, alt

The earliest remains hitherto found on the site are tombs of the early Iron Age period of Graeco-Phoenician influences (1000-600 B.C.). This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age for the mythological Iron Age see Ages of Man. Phoenicia ( Phoenician: Phoenician nunsvg|12px|נ]]Phoenician nun Amathus is identified[3] with Kartihadasti (Phoenician "New-Town") in the Cypriote tribute-list of Esarhaddon of Assyria (668 B. Esarhaddon (Greek and Biblical form Akkadian Aššur-ahhe-iddina " Ashur has given a brother to me" was a king of Assyria who reigned Early history The most Neolithic site in Assyria is at Tell Hassuna, the center of the Hassuna culture C. ). [4] It certainly maintained strong Phoenician sympathies, for it was its refusal to join the philhellene league of Onesilos of Salamis which provoked the revolt of Cyprus from Achaemenid Persia in 500-494 B. Phoenicia ( Phoenician: Phoenician nunsvg|12px|נ]]Phoenician nun Onesilus or Onesilos ( Greek: Ονήσιλος (d 497 BC was the brother of king Gorgos (Gorgus of the Greek city-state of Salamis on the island of Salamis was an ancient City-state on the east coast of Cyprus, at the mouth of the river Pedieos 6 km north of modern Famagusta. The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenid Persian Empire ( haχɒmaneʃijɒn (558–330 BC was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over significant portions of C,[5] when Amathus was besieged unsuccessfully and avenged itself by the capture and execution of Onesilaos. Herodotus reports

"Because he had besieged them, the Amathusians cut off Onesilaos’ head and brought it to Amathous, where they hung it above the gates. As it hung there empty, a swarm of bees entered it and filled it with honeycomb. When they sought advice about this event, an oracle told them to take the head down and bury it, and to make annual sacrifice to Onesilaos as a hero, saying that it would be better for them if they did this. The Amathusians did as they were told and still perform these rites in my day. " (Histories 5. 114)

About 385-380 B. C. the philhellene Evagoras of Salamis was similarly opposed by Amathus, in conjunction with Citium and Soli[6]; and even after Alexander the city resisted annexation, and was bound over to give hostages to Seleucus[7]. Evagoras (in Greek Εὐαγόρας was the king of Salamis (410 - 374 BC in Cyprus. Larnaca, ( Greek: Λάρνακα, Turkish: Larnaka) is a City of the Republic of Cyprus situated on the southern coast Soli or Soloi ( Greek: Σόλοι) is an ancient Greek city in the island of Cyprus, located south-west of Morphou and on the coast Alexander the Great ( or, Mégas Aléxandros; July 20 356 BC June 10 or June 11 323 BC also known as Alexander III of Macedon (el Ἀλέξανδρος Γ'

Its political importance now ended, but its temple of Adonis and Aphrodite (Venus Amathusia) remained famous in Roman time. Adonis (Άδωνης also Άδωνις is a figure of West Semitic origin where he is a central cult figure in various Mystery religions, who enters The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial The epithet Amathusia in Roman poetry often means little more than "Cypriote," attesting however the fame of the city.

The wealth of Amathus was derived partly from its grain[8] partly from its copper mines and sheep[9], of which traces can be seen inland. Copper (ˈkɒpɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol Cu (cuprum and Atomic number 29 [10]

Amathus was a rich and densely populated kingdom with a flourishing agriculture and mines situated very close northeast Kalavasos. In the Roman era it became the capital of one of the four administrative regions of Cyprus.

In Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages

Later, in the fourth century AD Amasus became the see of a Christian bishop and continued to flourish until the Byzantine period. In the late sixth century AD, Ayios Ioannis Eleimonas (Saint John Charitable), protector of the Knights of St. John, was born in Amathus. The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta (known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta ( SMOM) Order of Malta

Amathus still flourished and produced a distinguished patriarch of Alexandria (St. John the Merciful), as late as 606-616, and a ruined Byzantine church marks the site; but it declined and was already almost deserted when Richard Plantagenet won Cyprus by a victory there over Isaac Comnenus in 1191. Alexandria ( Egyptian Arabic: اسكندريه Eskendereyya; Standard Arabic: ar الإسكندرية Al-Iskandariyya; Ἀλεξάνδρεια Saint John the Merciful (also known as John the Almsgiver, John the Almoner, John V of Alexandria, John Eleymon, and Johannes Eleemon Richard I (8 September 1157 &ndash 6 April 1199 was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death Isaac Komnenos or Comnenus ( Greek: Ισαάκιος Κομνηνός Isaakios Komnēnos) (c The tombs were plundered and the stones from the beautiful edifices were brought to Limassol to be used for new constructions. Limassol or Lemesos ( Greek: Λεμεσός, Lemesos; Turkish: Limasol, alt Much later, in 1869, a great number of blocks of stone from Amathus were used for the construction of the Suez Canal. The Suez Canal is a Canal in Egypt. Opened in 1869 it allows Water transportation between Europe and Asia without circumnavigation


In modern times

A new settlement close to Amathus but further inland, Agias Tychonas, is named after St. Tykhon, a bishop of Amathus. Saint Tikhon of Moscow ( January 19, 1865 &ndash April 7, 1925) born Vasily Ivanovich Bellavin (Василий Иванович The site of the ruins is within the borders of this village, though the expansion of the Limassol tourist area has threatened the ruins (it is speculated that some of the hotels are on top of the Amathus necropolis).

The city had vanished, except fragments of wall and of a great stone cistern on the acropolis. A similar vessel was transported to the Musée du Louvre in 1867, a limestone dim, used for storing the must from the grapes, which dates to the sixth century BC. The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre located in Paris is the world's most visited art museum a historic monument and a national museum of France It is 1. 85 m. high and weighs 14 tons. It was made from a single stone and has four curved handles bearing the head of a bull. In the 1870s Luigi Palma da Cesnola carried out excavations in the necropolis of Amathus, as elsewhere in Cyprus, enriching the early collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; some objects went to the British Museum. A necropolis (plural necropoleis or necropoles) is a large Cemetery or burial place (from Greek nekropolis "city of the dead" The Metropolitan Museum of Art is an art museum located on the eastern edge of Central Park, along what is known as Museum Mile in New York City, The British Museum is a Museum of human history and culture in London. More modern archaeological joint Cypriote-French excavations started in 1980 and continue. The Acropolis, the Temple of Aphrodite, the market, the city’s walls, the basilica and the port have all been excavated. The Latin word basilica (derived from Greek, Basiliké Stoà, Royal Stoa) was originally used to describe a Roman Further archaeological objects found during the excavations are conserved at the Cyprus Museum in Nicosia, as well as at the Limassol District Archaeological Museum.

In the market marble columns are decorated with spiral ornaments; there are huge paved precincts. At the coastal side of the city there are indications of an Early Christian basilica with mosaic floors decorated with semi-precious stones. Farther, near the terraced road leading to the Temple, situated on the top of the cliff, several houses built in a row dating to the Hellenistic period have been discovered. In the east and west extremes of the city the two acropoleis are situated, where a number of tombs have been found, many of which are intact.

Two small sanctuaries, with terracotta votive offerings of Graeco-Phoenician age, lie not far off, but the location of the great shrines of Adonis and Aphrodite have not been identified (M. Ohnefalsch-Richter, Kypros, i. ch. 1).

Notes

  1. ^ Walter Burkert, Greek Religion 1985, p. Walter Burkert (born Neuendettelsau, Bavaria, February 2, 1931) a scholar of Greek mythology and cult, is an emeritus 153; J. Karageorghis, La grande déesse de Chypre et son culte, 1977.
  2. ^ Plutarch, vita of Theseus (20. 3-. 5), citing the lost text of an obscure Amathusan mythographer, Paeon.
  3. ^ For eample by E. Oberhummer, Die Insel Cypern, i. , 1902, pp. 13-14.
  4. ^ But see Citium. Larnaca, ( Greek: Λάρνακα, Turkish: Larnaka) is a City of the Republic of Cyprus situated on the southern coast
  5. ^ Herodotus, v. Herodotus of Halicarnassus ( Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek Historian who lived in the 5th century BC ( 484 BC&ndash 105
  6. ^ Diodorus Siculus xiv. 98.
  7. ^ Diodorus xix. 62.
  8. ^ Strabo 340, quoting the mid-sixth century writer Hipponax. Strabo ( Greek: Στράβων 63/64 BC – ca AD 24 was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher. Hipponax of Ephesus was an Ancient Greek Iambic Poet. Expelled from Ephesus in 540 BC by the tyrant Athenagoras, he took refuge
  9. ^ See Ovid, Metamorphoses x. Publius Ovidius Naso ( March 20, 43 BC – 17 AD was a Roman poet known to the English -speaking world as Ovid who wrote on many topics including 220, 227. 531.
  10. ^ G. Mariti, i. 187; L. Ross, Inselreise, iv. 195; W. H. Engel, Kypros, i. 111 ff.

References

External links

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