Period
Cypro-Classical
c. 480–310 BCE (end date debated)
The last phase of the Cypriot city-kingdoms, c. 480–310 BCE, under loose Persian overlordship, ending when Ptolemy I abolished the kings.
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58 entries in 10 sections
Pottery
23 entriesSection overview
Red Slip WareRed Slip is the name of three separate Cypriot wares with an all-over red slip, one Middle Cypriot, one Late Cypriot wheelmade and one Iron Age.Middle Bronze AgeLate Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Plain White WareThe undecorated, pale-surfaced pottery of Middle and Late Bronze Age Cyprus, made by hand and later wheel-shaped, the first Cypriot ware formed with the wheel.Middle Bronze AgeLate Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Iron Age White Painted WareIron Age White Painted is the wheel-made Cypriot pottery painted in matt black or brown on a pale ground, numbered White Painted I to VII from c. 1050 to 310 BCE.Cypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Bichrome WareBichrome is Cypriot pottery painted in black and red on a light surface, first a Late Bronze Age export ware and later a long-lived Iron Age class.Late Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Grey and Black Polished, Stroke Polished and Polychrome WaresGrey and Black Polished, Stroke Polished and Polychrome are minor wheel-made Cypriot wares of the Geometric, Archaic and Classical periods, defined by Gjerstad in 1948.Cypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Bichrome Red WareBichrome Red is the Cypriot Iron Age wheel-made ware with black and added white paint on a red slip, the sister ware of Black-on-Red.Cypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Greek Pottery in CyprusGreek painted and black-gloss pottery reached Cyprus from the late tenth century BCE, rising from a few Euboean and Attic cups to a flood of Attic ware by the fifth century.Cypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Black Slip WareBlack Slip is the name of two unrelated Cypriot wares, a handmade Middle and early Late Cypriot class and Gjerstad's wheelmade Iron Age class.Early Bronze AgeMiddle Bronze AgeLate Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
BottlesA narrow-necked closed vessel with no handle or with two, made in Cyprus from the Early Bronze Age to the Hellenistic period, mostly as a small container for liquids.Early Bronze AgeMiddle Bronze AgeLate Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-ClassicalHellenistic
Bulls and CattleBulls and cattle in Cypriot art, modelled on Red Polished cult vessels, made as Base Ring rhyta and dedicated as Archaic votives in clay and stone.Early Bronze AgeMiddle Bronze AgeLate Bronze AgeCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Coarse Wares, Pithoi and Cooking PotsThe heavily tempered storage, cooking and utility pottery of Cyprus from the Chalcolithic to the Cypro-Classical period, classified mainly by fabric and function.ChalcolithicLate Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical- Complex VesselsComposite, multiple and ring vessels built by multiplying or joining ordinary shapes, mostly Bronze Age tomb pieces, plus figure vases, arm-vessels, incense burners, stands and miniatures.ChalcolithicEarly Bronze AgeMiddle Bronze AgeLate Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-ClassicalHellenistic
CupsA small open vessel with one or two handles, made for drinking; in Cyprus it runs from Bronze Age handled cups to Iron Age skyphoi and kantharoi.Middle Bronze AgeLate Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Horses and ChariotsThe horse and the two-wheeled chariot as images in Cypriot art, from imported Late Bronze Age kraters to Iron Age clay and limestone models.Late Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Jars and PithoiA symmetrical wide-necked vessel, the family of Cypriot storage and transport jars, pithoi and painted jars, including the amphora.ChalcolithicEarly Bronze AgeMiddle Bronze AgeLate Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-ClassicalHellenistic
Jugs and JugletsA one-handled vessel with a neck, the commonest closed shape in Cypriot pottery, made from the start of the Bronze Age to the Cypro-Classical period.Early Bronze AgeMiddle Bronze AgeLate Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
LampsA small hand-held vessel that burned oil or fat on a wick, made in Cyprus as an open saucer from the Late Bronze Age and as a closed lamp from the Hellenistic period.Late Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-ClassicalHellenisticRoman
Lions, Sphinxes and GriffinsLions, sphinxes and griffins, a borrowed Near Eastern repertoire used in Cyprus on seals, gold, pottery, metal bowls and limestone sculpture.Late Bronze AgeCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical- Lotus Flowers and Lotus Friezes on Cypriot Iron Age PotteryThe lotus flower and lotus-and-bud frieze, the chief plant motif of Cypriot Iron Age painted pottery, of Egyptian and Phoenician derivation.Cypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
SnakesThe snake as a decorative and figural motif in Cyprus, from relief bands on Early Bronze Age Red Polished pottery to Archaic terracottas and Classical limestone.Early Bronze AgeMiddle Bronze AgeLate Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical- The Pottery of Ancient CyprusSectionThe pottery made and used in Cyprus from the Ceramic Neolithic onward, the island's most abundant artifact class and the basis of its chronology.NeolithicChalcolithicEarly Bronze AgeMiddle Bronze AgeLate Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-ClassicalHellenisticRoman
The Tree and the Sacred TreeThe tree motif in Cypriot art, alone or flanked by animals as a sacred tree, on seals, gold, silver bowls, stone and painted pottery from the Late Bronze Age to the Cypro-Classical period.Late Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Types of WareSectionThe families of Cypriot pottery, grouped by clay, surface finish and decoration, from Neolithic Combed ware to Iron Age Black-on-Red.NeolithicChalcolithicEarly Bronze AgeMiddle Bronze AgeLate Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Statues
10 entriesSection overview
Bronze FigurinesSmall solid-cast bronze figures of gods, worshippers and animals, made in Cyprus from the Late Bronze Age and dedicated in sanctuaries or placed in tombs.Late Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Herakles-MelqartA Cypriot limestone sculptural type of a god wearing a lion skin and often brandishing a club, fusing the Greek Herakles with the Phoenician Melqart.Cypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Large Terracotta SculptureLarge hollow clay statues and heads, from about half life-size to over life-size, made in Cyprus from the mid-7th century BCE for sanctuaries.Cypro-ArchaicCypro-ClassicalHellenistic
Painted Stone: Colour on Cypriot Limestone SculptureThe painting of Cypriot limestone sculpture with red, black, yellow, green and blue, of which usually only traces now survive.Cypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Reliefs and StelaeCarved limestone reliefs, funerary stelae and relief plaques from Cyprus, made from the 6th century BCE into the early Roman period.Cypro-ArchaicCypro-ClassicalHellenisticRoman
Ring-Dance GroupsSmall Cypriot votive models of dancers on a shared base circling a piper, lyre player or tree, made in clay and later in limestone.Cypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Snowman FigurinesHand-modelled terracotta votaries and musicians of Iron Age Cyprus, built up from a columnar lump of clay with a pinched beak nose and pellet features.Cypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Temple BoysSmall limestone votive statues of crouching young children, dedicated in Cypriot sanctuaries from the mid-5th century BCE into the Hellenistic period.Cypro-ClassicalHellenistic- Terracotta FigurinesSmall clay figures made in Cyprus by hand, on the wheel or in moulds, from Chalcolithic birthing figures to the Cypro-Archaic sanctuary votives.ChalcolithicEarly Bronze AgeMiddle Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-ClassicalHellenistic
The Statues of Ancient CyprusSectionThe statues and figurines of ancient Cyprus, in stone, clay and metal, from Neolithic pebble figures to Hellenistic and Roman limestone votives.NeolithicChalcolithicEarly Bronze AgeMiddle Bronze AgeLate Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-ClassicalHellenisticRoman
Jewelry
2 entriesSection overview
SealsEngraved stone stamps and cylinders used in Cyprus from the Late Chalcolithic to the Classical period, often worn or set in gold.ChalcolithicLate Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
The Jewelry of Ancient CyprusSectionThe personal ornaments of ancient Cyprus, from Chalcolithic picrolite pendants to Late Bronze Age goldwork and the jewellery of the city-kingdoms.ChalcolithicEarly Bronze AgeLate Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Weapons and Armour
2 entriesSection overview
Arms and Armour of Iron Age CyprusThe iron and bronze weapons, armour and chariots of Cyprus from the first iron daggers of c. 1100–1050 BCE to the end of the city-kingdoms around 310 BCE.Cypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Fortifications in Ancient Cyprus: From Khirokitia to the Siege of PaphosThe walls, forts and enclosures Cypriots built in a few distinct episodes, from Aceramic Khirokitia to the city walls of the Iron Age kingdoms.NeolithicMiddle Bronze AgeLate Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Tools and Technologies
5 entriesSection overview
Decoration TechniquesThe techniques used to decorate Cypriot pottery, terracottas, stone and metalwork from the Late Neolithic to the Classical period, and how the catalogue groups them.NeolithicChalcolithicEarly Bronze AgeMiddle Bronze AgeLate Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Glass in Ancient CyprusGlass vessels found on Cyprus from the Late Bronze Age to the Roman period, mostly from tombs, with local workshops argued but never excavated.Late Bronze AgeCypro-ClassicalHellenisticRoman
Gold, Silver, Tin, Arsenic and Iron in Ancient CyprusThe metals other than copper used by Cypriot smiths from the Philia facies to the Hellenistic period, including arsenic, tin, gold, electrum, silver, lead and iron.Early Bronze AgeMiddle Bronze AgeLate Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-ClassicalHellenistic
Seafaring and Ships in Ancient CyprusThe evidence for boats and seafaring around Cyprus from the first crossings to the Classical period, from anchors, models and graffiti to wrecks and shipsheds.NeolithicEarly Bronze AgeMiddle Bronze AgeLate Bronze AgeCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Stone VesselsContainers ground or carved from stone, the main vessel type of Neolithic Khirokitia and a prestige and cosmetic class again in Late Bronze Age Cyprus.NeolithicChalcolithicLate Bronze AgeCypro-Classical
Cultures
3 entriesSection overview
Achaemenid PersiaThe Persian Empire, which held the Cypriot city-kingdoms as tribute-paying client states from c. 545 or 525 BCE until 332 BCE.Cypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
EgyptAncient Egypt, Cyprus's partner in copper, pottery and prestige goods from the Middle Kingdom to the Ptolemies, who annexed the island.Middle Bronze AgeLate Bronze AgeCypro-ArchaicCypro-ClassicalHellenistic
The PhoeniciansThe Iron Age city-states of the Levantine coast, whose traders and settlers made Kition a Phoenician kingdom and shared a hybrid culture with Cyprus.Cypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Architecture
3 entriesSection overview
Iron Age Cities and PalacesThe capitals of the Iron Age kingdoms of Cyprus, their palaces at Vouni, Amathus, Idalion and Palaepaphos, their houses, and the volute and Hathor capitals of the period.Cypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Iron Age SanctuariesThe Cypriot Iron Age sanctuary was a walled open-air court with an altar, sacred trees and small roofed rooms; Greek-style temples arrived only under Rome.Cypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-ClassicalHellenisticRoman
Royal and Built TombsTombs built of cut stone in Cyprus, from the ashlar tombs under Late Bronze Age houses at Enkomi to the royal tombs of Salamis and Tamassos and the rock-cut courts of Nea Paphos.Late Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-ClassicalHellenistic
Daily Life
7 entriesSection overview
Clothing and Dress in Ancient CyprusWhat Cypriots wore from the Neolithic to the Cypro-Classical period, reconstructed from figurines, statues, textile tools and metal fasteners.NeolithicChalcolithicEarly Bronze AgeMiddle Bronze AgeLate Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Coins of Ancient CyprusThe coins struck in Cyprus from the late sixth century BCE by the city-kingdoms, then by Alexander, the Ptolemies and Rome, and what they record.Cypro-ArchaicCypro-ClassicalHellenisticRoman
Medicine and Healing in Ancient CyprusDisease, drugs, doctors and healing cults in ancient Cyprus, from Neolithic skeletons to the physician Onasilos of Idalion in the early fifth century BCE.NeolithicLate Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Mirrors, Combs and Toilet ObjectsGrooming tools from ancient Cyprus, from Bronze Age razors, tweezers and pins to Late Cypriot mirrors and combs and the strigils of the Archaic to Roman periods.Early Bronze AgeMiddle Bronze AgeLate Bronze AgeCypro-ArchaicCypro-ClassicalHellenisticRoman
Music and Musical Instruments in Ancient CyprusLyres, double pipes, frame drums, cymbals and clay rattles in Cyprus from the Late Bronze Age to the Cypro-Classical period, known mostly from terracotta musicians.Late Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Population and Demography in Ancient CyprusThe methods and published estimates for how many people lived in ancient Cyprus, from Neolithic Khirokitia to the Classical kingdoms, where every figure is a model.NeolithicChalcolithicMiddle Bronze AgeLate Bronze AgeCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
Writing and Literacy in Ancient CyprusThe scripts of ancient Cyprus, from undeciphered Cypro-Minoan to the Cypriot Syllabary, Eteocypriot, Phoenician and the Greek alphabet, and who used them.Late Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-ClassicalHellenistic
Environment
1 entrySection overview
Materials
2 entriesSection overview
- MaterialsSectionWhat Cypriot objects were made of, from Troodos copper and local limestone to imported faience, glass and ivory, and where to browse each material in the catalogue.ChalcolithicMiddle Bronze AgeLate Bronze AgeCypro-ArchaicCypro-ClassicalRoman
- Stone in Ancient CyprusCypriots worked local chert, igneous rocks, picrolite and limestone from the Neolithic onwards, and imported marble, alabaster and gemstones.NeolithicChalcolithicLate Bronze AgeCypro-ArchaicCypro-ClassicalHellenisticRoman