CYPRUS A Dynamic Island

Ruurd Binnert Halbertsma, Despina Pilides

Cyprus has a long and eventful history. The island lies in the eastern Mediterranean, where the cultures of Anatolia, Assyria, the Levant, Egypt, and Greece flourished in antiquity. Each of these great civilisations has left its mark on the history of Cyprus, through commercial ties, migration, conflicts, and technological innovations. The mining of copper in the Troodos Mountains led to lively trade, greatly boosting the prosperity of the island's various kingdoms. These independent states maintained relations with all the neighbouring states, leading to a cultural melting pot of languages, customs, and religions. Yet certain elements can be seen as truly Cypriot down the ages: the widespread veneration of the goddess Aphrodite, who was born from the foam of the waves off the island's west coast, the unique character of the arts in the Bronze and Iron Ages, and a marked capacity to...