BMCR 2024.04.28

Cyprus in texts from Graeco-Roman antiquity

, , , , Cyprus in texts from Graeco-Roman antiquity. Mnemosyne supplements, 467. Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2023. Pp. xviii, 407. ISBN 9789004529489.

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The book Cyprus in the Texts from Greco-Roman Antiquity (Brill, Mnemosyne 2023), edited by Caravounis, Gravielatos, Karla, and Papathomas, emerged from the conference ‘Cyprus: a place and topos in ancient literature’, held in Athens in 2018. It is, therefore, a compilation of proceedings rather than a preconceived book. This origin is evident in the structure and content of the chapters, which often present excellent ideas but are occasionally based on weak evidence, leaving room for further development. Nonetheless, the volume merits recognition for the groundbreaking task of assembling information on Cyprus found in Greek and Latin literature—an area often neglected—bringing to light previously overlooked aspects. Furthermore, the book highlights the crucial role of resources such as ALC (Ancient Cypriot Literature), a comprehensive six-volume corpus authored by A. Voskos, K. Michaelides, and I. G. Taifacos, also available online as DALC.

The book is subdivided into six sections: 1) Myth and Literature; 2) Archaic poetry; 3) Wandering Heroes; 4) Divine presence on the island; 5) Cyprus as a place and topos; 6) Exploring the sources, fragmenta and testimonia.  Following the introduction by Carvounis and Karla (pp. 1-9), section 1 comprises only one chapter by Voskos (pp. 13-46), which delves into various aspects of Greek literature concerning Cyprus. This chapter serves as a prelude to specific topics covered in the subsequent sections.

One of the subjects addressed by Voskos is the existence of local Cypriot Greek literature and its development on the island.[1] Voskos defines Cyprus as a ‘Homeric place’, suggesting that Greek myths began to spread there from the Late Bronze Age onward. Historical evidence of this influence is lacking in Cyprus, however, and even in the Homeric poems, the island is traditionally associated with Kinyras, a mythical and non-Greek king.[2] Undoubtedly, there were cultural exchanges between Greeks, Levantines, and indigenous populations who all inhabited the island during the early Iron Age, resulting in a unique blend of influences. But strong Greek cultural dominance became prevalent from the late archaic period onwards, when the Greek alphabet was introduced on the island, albeit unofficially—for official recognition, we would have to await the legends engraved on the coins of Evagoras I of Salamis (413-374BC). This occurred particularly after the Ionian revolt, when Cyprus intensified its relations with Greece. An example comes from a few Cypriot-syllabic Greek dedications and funerary inscriptions from Golgoi (4th-3rd cent. BC), composed in verses quoting gnomai from Theognis, Anaximandros and Parmenides.[3] Probably starting from these years, any Greek literary production on the island, if it occurred, began to develop.

Voskos also addresses the subject of legends surrounding the foundations of the Cypriot city-kingdoms by Greek heroes returning from the Trojan War, probably an early Classical political and cultural initiative aimed at strengthening Cyprus’ ties with Greece. This topic receives further exploration in Section 3 by: Finglass (pp. 91-103), who examines fragments attributed to Stesichorus, suggesting the presence of the hero Demophon in Cyprus, thus anticipating the development of Cypriot legends of Greek foundations to the Archaic period; Gravielatos (pp. 104-124), who analyzes the myth of Teucer, son of Scamander, the legendary founder of Cypriot Salamis, as portrayed in Roman literature, exploring his association with Aeneas and his connection with the foundation of Carthage; Spencer (pp. 125-154), who investigates the significance of aes, bronze / copper, in Roman culture as a mean of materializing the legend of immigration from Troy of Aeneas, a descendant of Teucer, thus connected with Cyprus, and the symbolism of Venus/Aphrodite.

Similarly, the remaining chapters of the book explore whether the Cypriots engaged with Greek literature from the early Iron Age onwards, or if the portrayals found in older Greek literary sources merely reflect Greek perceptions of the island. In section 2, Kelly (pp. 49-66) discusses the development of the Cypria. He focusses on the dressing of Aphrodite, pointing out that the poem’s various audiences nonetheless share a background that allows them to understand its allusion.

The intriguing chapter by Ristorto and Reyes (pp.67-87) endeavors to establish Paphos as the birthplace of the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite 6, proposing that it may have been recited within the renowned temple at Kouklia-Palaipaphos.[4] This proposition presents a dual challenge. Firstly, pinpointing the exact origin of the Homeric Hymns is a complex task, compounded further by the attempt to associate the cult of Aphrodite with the revered goddess worshipped at the sanctuary of Palaiphos, known in classical times as wanassa.[5] In Cyprus, Aphrodite is only attested in a bilingual Eteocypriot-Greek inscription from Amathus, dated to the very end of the 4th century BC, dedicated by Androcles, the last king of this city-state.[6] Undeniably, the Greek Aphrodite was equated with the Cypriot great goddess called Golgia, Paphia, Kypria, or wanassa on the island—she also bore similarities to the Phoenician Astarte. But Cypriot worship of Aphrodite emerged primarily in the Classical period, as far as known. Therefore, it remains challenging to ascertain whether the Homeric hymn was composed on the island or recited there.

Section 4 and 5 deals respectively with the divine presence on Cyprus, focusing on Aphrodite and Apollo Hylates, and with the perception of Cyprus as a far-away place in Greek comedy and prose fiction of the Roman period. Finally, the last section concerns fragmentary sources on Cypriot characters or authors such as Zeno from Citium, (Vertoudakis pp. 311-325), and a very useful chapter by Papathomas (pp. 362-397) on the presence of Cypriot divinities, characters, places and measurements in papyri and inscriptions, complemented by an appendix / table with all the references analysed.

All in all, although the book may contain some lacunae from a historical standpoint, it remains a valuable and innovative tool. It effectively illustrates how the island was perceived and interpreted in classical Greek and Latin texts, as well as its literary reception over the centuries.

 

Authors and Titles

  1. Introduction, Katerina Carvounis and Grammatiki Karla

Part 1 Myth and Literature

  1. Ancient Cyprus: From Myth to History and Literature, Andreas Voskos

Part 2 Archaic Poetry: Composition and Performance

  1. Cyprias and the Cypria, Adrian Kelly
  2. Reflecting upon Cyprus as a Sacred Place in Homeric Hymn 6, Marcela Ristorto and Silvia Reyes

Part 3 Wandering Heroes

  1. Stesichorus, Cyprus, and the Heroes of Athens, P.J. Finglass
  2. The Theme of Teucer’s Exile and its Reception in Latin Literature, Andreas Gavrielatos
  3. Heroic Mettle and Roman Thought: Cyprian Venus and Foundational Bronze, Diana Spencer

Part 4 Divine Presence on the Island: Literature and Ritual

  1. In the Footsteps of Cypris, Michael Paschalis
  2. On the Track of Venus’ Cult: The Cypriot Stories in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Emilia Savva
  3. Imagined Sacral Landscape? Cult Sites of Apollo Hylates in the Ancient Literary Sources, Fritz Mitthof

Part 5 Cyprus as a Place and topos

  1. “It Was Always Far Away”: Othering Cyprus in Greek Comedy, Antonis K. Petrides Chapter
  2. War and Peace: Cyprus in Greek Comedy, Athina Papachrysostomous
  3. Real and Imagined Geographies of Cyprus in Imperial Greek Literature, William Hutton
  4. Cyprus in Greek Prose Fiction of the Roman Period, Christos Fakas

Part 6 Exploring the Sources: fragmenta and testimonia

  1. A Hellenistic Philosopher from Cyprus in the Greek Anthology: Epigrams on Zeno of Citium, Vassilios P. Vertoudakis
  2. Xenophon the Cypriot and his Novel, Nikoletta Kanavou
  3. Archelaus of Cyprus and Alexander of Paphos: Two Enigmatic Figures in the History of Ancient Scholarship and Rhetoric, Stephanos Matthaios
  4. Cyprus and Cypriots in the Greek Documentary Papyri and Inscriptions, Amphilochios Papathomas

 

Notes

[1] For the existence of Phoenician literature in the Idalion archive (4th-3rd cent. BC), and the presence of letters addressed to the god Baal see Amadasi, M.G. 2017, ‘The Idalion Archive. 2 The Phoenician inscriptions’, in ΑΡΧΑΙΑ ΚΥΠΡΟΣ Πρόσφατες εξελίξεις στην αρχαιολογία της ανατολικής Μεσογείου, (Eds.) Παπαδημητρίου, N., Τόλη, M., (Athens): 274–284.

[2] Franklin, J.C. 2016, Kinyras: The Divine Lyre, (Harvard).

[3] Pestarino, B. 2022, Kypriōn Politeia,(Leiden): 29-332; Petit, T. 2007, ‘Aspects de l’hellénisme chez les dynastes orientaux (Asie Mineure, Phénicie, Chypre) à l’époque classique’, Cahiers de la Villa Kérylos, nº18: 9–31.

[4] Iacovou, M. 2019, ‘Palaepaphos: Unlocking the Landscape Context of the Sanctuary of the Cypriot Goddess’, Open Archaeology 5: 204–234.

[5] See e.g. Egetmeyer, M., Le dialecte grec ancien de Chypre 2010 vol. II, Paphos n°1 = ICS6.

[6] IG XV 1.1 n°2.