Salamis, Cyprus
Salamis was an ancient
city-state on the east coast of
Cyprus, at the mouth of the river Pedieos, 6 km North of
Famagusta.
The earliest archaeological finds go back to the 11th century BCE (Late Bronze Age III). Children's burials in Canaanite jars indicate a Phoenician presence. A harbour and a cemetery from this period have been excavated.The town is mentioned in Assyrian inscriptions as one of the kingdoms of Ia'. The first coins were minted in the 6th century BCE, following Persian prototypes.
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A fragment of 3rd century fresco at the Salamis gymnasium |
Cyprus was under the control of the
Assyrians at this time but the city-states of the island enjoyed a relative independence as long as they paid their tribute to the Assyrian king. This allowed the kings of the various cities to accumulate wealth and power. Certain burial customs observed in the "royal tombs" of Salamis relate directly to Homeric rites, such as the sacrifice of horses in honour of the dead and the offering of jars of olive oil. Some scholars have interpreted this phenomenon as the result of influence of the Homeric Epics in Cyprus. Most of the grave goods come from the Levant or Egypt.
The mythical founder of Salamis is
Teucer, son of Telamon who could not return home after the Trojan war because he had failed to avenge his brother
Ajax.
In
450 BCE Salamis was the site of a
simultaneous land and sea battle between
Athens and the Persians. (This is not to be confused with the earlier
Battle of Salamis in
480 BCE between the Greeks and the Persians at
Salamis in
Attica.)
The history of Salamis during the early
Archaic and
Classical periods is reflected in the narrations of the Greek historian
Herodotus and the speeches of the Greek orator
Isokrates. The city was then the capital of the island and led the other Cypriot cities in their efforts to liberate themselves from Persian rule. The most important ruler of the kingdom of Salamis was
Evagoras (410–374 BCE), who became ruler of the whole island, and won its independence from the
Persian Empire. Salamis was afterwards besieged and conquered by
Artaxerxes III. Under King Evagoras (
411-
374 BC) Greek culture and art flourished in the city and it would be interesting one day when the spade of the archaeologist uncovers public buildings of this period. A monument, which illustrates the end of the Classical period in Salamis, is the tumulus, which covered the cenotaph of
Nicocreon, one of the last kings of Salamis, who perished in 311 BC. On its monumental platform were found several clay heads, some of which are portraits, perhaps of members of the royal family who were honoured after their tragic death on the pyre.
After
Alexander the Great destroyed the
Persian Empire,
Ptolemy I of Egypt ruled the island of Cyprus. He forced
Nicocreon, who had been the Ptolemaic governor of the island, to commit suicide in
311 BCE, because he did not trust him any more. In his place came king
Menelaus, who was the brother of the first Ptolemy. Nicocreon is supposed to be buried in one of the big tumuli near
Enkomi. Salamis remained seat of the governor.
In
306 BCE Salamis was the site of a
naval battle between the fleets of
Demetrius I of Macedon and
Ptolemy I of Egypt. Demetrius won the battle and captured the island.
In
Roman times, Salamis was part of the
Roman province of
Cilicia. The seat of the governor was relocated to
Paphos. The town suffered heavily during the
Jewish rising of AD 116/117. Although Salamis ceased to be the capital of Cyprus from the Hellenistic period onwards when it was replaced by
Paphos, its wealth and importance did not diminish. The city was particularly favoured by the Roman emperors
Trajan and
Hadrian who restored and established its public buildings.
The Cypriot-born
Saint Barnabas, who figures prominently in the
Acts of the Apostles brought Christianity to Cyprus in the first century CE. Tradition says that Barnabas preached in Alexandria and Rome, and was stoned to death at Salamis about 61 CE. He is considered the founder of the
Cypriot Church. His bones are believed to be located in the Monastery named after him.
Several earthquakes led to the destruction of Salamis at the beginning of the 4th century. The town was rebuilt under the name of Constantia by
Constantius II (337-361 AD) and became Episcopal seat, the famous of which was
Saint Epiphanius. Emperor Constantius II helped the Salaminians not only for the reconstruction of their city but also he helped them by relieving them from paying taxes for a short period and thus the new city, rebuilt on a smaller scale, was named Constantia. The silting of the harbour led to a gradual decline of the town. Salamis was finally abandoned during the Arab invasions of the
7th century AD after destructions by
Muawija. The inhabitants moved to Arsinoë (
Famagusta).
The region of Enkomi-Salamis is no doubt one of the most important archaeological areas in Cyprus. An English archaeologist called Salamis the most important archaeological site of the East Mediterranean.
Excavations at Salamis began in 1952 and were in progress until
1974. Before the Turkish invasion there was much archaeological activity there; one French Mission was excavating at Enkomi, another at Salamis and the Department of Antiquities was busy almost throughout the year with repairs and restorations of monuments and was engaged in excavations at Salamis.
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The gymnasium, Salamis |
Most of the extant ruins date to the Roman period.
The public buildings uncovered so far at the city site of Salamis date to the post-Classical period. The temple of Zeus Salaminios whose cult was established, according to tradition, by Teucer himself, must have existed since the foundation of the city; the extant remains date to the late Hellenistic period. The "cultural centre" of Salamis during the Roman period was situated at the northernmost part of the city, where a gymnasium, theatre, amphitheatre, stadium and public baths have been revealed.
There are very extensive ruins. The
theatre, and the
gymnasium have been extensively restored. Numerous statues are displayed in the central court of the gymnasium most of which are headless, destroyed by
Christians. While a statue of
Augustus originally belonged here, some columns and statues originally adorned the theatre and were only brought here after an earthquake in the 4th century.The theatre is of Augustean date. It could house up to 15.000 spectators. It was destroyed in the
4th century.
There are baths, public latrines (for 44 users), various little bits of
mosaic, a harbour wall, a
Hellenistic and
Roman agora and a temple of Zeus that had the right to grant asylum. Byzantine remains include the basilica of Bishop
Epiphanos (AD 367–403). It served as the metropolitan church of Salamis. St. Epiphanios is buried at the southern apse. The church contains a
baptistry heated by
hypocausts. The church was destroyed in the 7th century and replaced by a smaller building to the south.
The town was supplied with water by an aquaeduct from Kyhrea, destroyed in the 7th century. The water was collected in a large cistern near the
Agora.
The
necropolis of Salamis covers ca. 7 km² to the west of the town. It contains a museum showing some of the finds. Burials date from the geometric to the Hellenistic period. The best known burials are the so-called Royal-Tombs, containing chariots and extremely rich grave gifts, including imports from
Egypt and
Syria. A tomb excavated in 1965 by the French Mission of the
University of Lyon brought to light an extraordinary wealth of tomb-gifts, which also attest trade relations with the
Near East.
Though Salamis maintained direct links with the Near East during the
8th and
7th centuries BC, there were bonds with the Aegean as well. One royal tomb contained a large amount of Greek Geometric pottery and this has been explained as the dowry of a Greek princess who married into the royal family of Salamis. Greek pottery was also found in tombs of ordinary citizens. At this time the Greeks were embarking on an eastward expansion by founding colonies in
Asia Minor and Syria; Salamis must have served as an intermediate station; it has even been suggested that Cypriots helped the
Greeks in their venture.
This
11th century BC town was confined to a rather small area around the harbour but soon expanded westwards to occupy the area, which today is covered by forest. The cemetery of Salamis covers a large area from the western limits of the forest to the Monastery of
St. Barnabas to the west, to the outskirts of the village of Ayios Serghios to the north, and to the outskirts of Enkomi village to the south. It contains tombs dating from the 9th century BC down to the
Early Christian period. The earlier tombs are within the forest area, near the boundary of the early town.
After the
Turkish invasion the international embargo has prevented the continuation of the excavations. The site and the museums are maintained by the antiquities service.
Important archaeological collections are kept in the St. Barnabas monastery. In the District Archaeological Museum there are marble statues from the gymnasium and the theatre of Salamis, Mycenaean pottery and jewellery from Enkomi and other objects representative of the rich archaeological heritage of the whole district.
*Vassos Karageorghis,
Salamis in Cyprus, Homeric, Hellenistic and Roman (1969), ISBN 0500390061.
