Miscellaneous

CURIUM by H.B. Walters (from Excavations in Cyprus,published by the British Museum,1900)

In the year 1895 the excavations on the site of Curium extended from January 24th to April 11th, a period of eleven weeks, during which there were practically no interruptions from weather or other causes.

History

Curium is occasionally mentioned by ancient writers. It was one of the ten kingdoms of Cyprus, and as such its boundaries must have corresponded roughly to the western portion of the present Limassol district. Strabo1 tells us that it was a ; and Herodotus2 records the tradition that the inhabitants were . This seems to be borne out by the discovery of Mycenean remains in our excavations, ans by traces of an older Mycenean city at a short distance from the later Greek one. Pliny3 mentions "Curias" among the fifteen cities of Cyprus, and Stephanus of Byzantium (s.v. ) describes it as . It does not appear to have played much part in legendary or classical history, but Herodotus (loc.sit.) describes how, during the revolt of the Greeks against the Persians in B.C.499- 498⁴, Stasanor, King of Curium, went over to the latter with a considerable following, and caused the defeat of his compatriots. Among authors there are Cleon, who wrote a poem on the Argonauts, of which Apollonius Rhodius made use, and Hermeias of Curium, a lyric poet who is quoted by Athenaeus. Aelian5 mentions the deer that were kept in a sacred grove at the temple of Apollo at Curium, and Aristotle6 speaks of a peculiar variety of asp found in the neighbourhood. It is not recorded how or when Curium finally fell into ruin, but probably it shared the fate of its neighbour, Old Paphos, and was devastated by earthquakes. In the middle ages it was replaced by the important village of Episkopi, as Amathus was by Limassol.

The Site

The ancient town of Curium was built on the summit of a rocky elevation some three hundred feet above the sea, almost inaccessible on three sides; the rock is of calcareous sandstone, and has been cut on the east and south sides into a quite perpendicular face. It is at a distance of about ten miles from Limassol and one and a half from the village of Episkopi. It was approached by gates on the north,west and south, on the western side from the sea. The whole extent of this elevation is coered with the debris of buildings, granite columns, etc., and in the centre lies the mosaic pavement under which Cesnola claimed to have found his great treasure. At the northern end is a small theatre, and about a mile thence along the cliff are the ruins of the temple of Apollo Hylates. Towards the end of the excavations the

1xiv.683. 2v.113. 3H.N.v.13. 4See Busolt,Gr.Geschichte,ii.p.546. 5De Nat. Anim.xi.7,cf.v.56. 6Mir.Ausc.142.