Swastikas

The swastika is an ancient symbol, one whose modern history has almost completely eclipsed its origins. Before the 20th century, this simple geometric form—a cross with arms bent at right angles—appeared across the globe for millennia, from the Indian subcontinent to the Americas. In the ancient Mediterranean, it was a common decorative element, found on objects from Neolithic Anatolia to the Iron Age Aegean [1, p. 9]. For archaeologists, its very ubiquity makes it a fascinating, if sometimes frustrating, subject of study. Its journey across cultures offers a lens through which to observe patterns of trade, influence, and local adaptation.

Nowhere is this more apparent than on the island of Cyprus. Positioned at a crossroads of maritime routes, ancient Cyprus was a dynamic meeting point for the civilizations of the Near East, Egypt, and the Aegean [2, p. 311; 3, p. 18]. Its material culture reflects a continuous process of receiving, reinterpreting, and hybridizing external influences while maintaining a distinct local character [4, p. 6; 5, p. 6]. The story of the swastika on Cyprus is a case study in these dynamics. Yet, despite its frequent appearance, particularly on the island’s celebrated Iron Age pottery, its meaning remains a subject of considerable debate, with some of the foremost scholars of Cypriot archaeology admitting the symbol’s significance is unknown [6, p. 26].

This article will trace the chronological path of the swastika motif in Cyprus, from its contested first appearances in the Bronze Age through its flourishing in the Iron Age to its eventual decline in the Archaic period. It will examine the motif’s use across different media, its association with other iconographic elements, and the scholarly interpretations of its potential origins and meanings. In doing so, it will show how this simple geometric form reflects the island’s complex cultural interactions and its independent artistic developments.

The Earliest Appearances: A Bronze Age Debate

The question of when the swastika first appeared in Cyprus is not straightforward. The archaeological evidence is ambiguous, presenting a contradiction between older and more recent findings. For much of the 20th century, the consensus, articulated by John Daniel in his 1937 study of tombs at Kourion, was that the swastika was absent from the pottery of pre-Mycenaean Bronze Age Cyprus [7, p. 77; 8, p. 77; 9, p. 23]. In this view, the motif was an introduction of the Late Cypriot III period (c. 1200–1050 BCE), appearing on locally made pottery that emerged after the major disruptions at the end of the Late Bronze Age [7, p. 77; 8, p. 77].

More recent scholarship, however, has challenged this timeline. Researchers have recorded what appear to be reversed swastikas and related symbols on Red Polished I vases and terracotta spindle whorls from sites like Bellapais Vounous and Margi Alonia, dating to the Early Cypriot I-II periods in the late third millennium BCE [6, p. 25]. If this identification is correct, it pushes the motif’s presence on the island back by more than a thousand years. This earlier appearance would suggest that the swastika was part of Cyprus’s decorative repertoire long before the end of the Bronze Age, perhaps arriving through early contacts with Anatolia, where the symbol had a long and continuous history from the Neolithic period onward [1, p. 9]. The earliest marks on Cypriot pottery, some of which resemble later script signs, appear in the Philia phase (c. 2500–2350 BCE), a time of new metal-working technologies and influences that likely came through Anatolia [10, p. 12; 11, p. 108]. The swastika could well have been part of this early transfer of symbols and ideas.

While the geometric motif’s first appearance remains debatable, a conceptually related form appears much earlier, in the Chalcolithic period (c. 3500–2500 BCE). A small number of distinctive cruciform figurines, carved from picrolite, feature arms bent into what has been termed a “Swastika Position” [12, p. 316; 13, p. 316; 14, p. 17]. On these figures, one arm points up and the other down, a gesture whose meaning is uncertain. Interpretations range from the symbolic holding of a child to a posture associated with a cultic ritual or even a representation of motion [13, p. 316]. Though not a direct graphic representation, the use of the term "swastika" by modern scholars to describe this pose points to an ancient Cypriot understanding of dynamic, rotational forms long before the geometric symbol became common.

By the Late Bronze Age, the swastika motif begins to appear more definitively in the archaeological record, though still sporadically. It is found on a Cypro-Mycenaean vase from the major urban center of Enkomi, where it is described as a religious symbol [15, p. 6]. It also appears in Late Cypriot III tombs at Kourion, where Daniel, unaware of the earlier evidence, considered it an entirely new element alongside other non-Mycenaean motifs [7, p. 77; 9, p. 23]. The swastika is also listed as a motif found on Proto White Painted ware, a locally produced ceramic type that marks the transition from the Late Bronze Age to the Iron Age (c. 1125–1050 BCE) [16, p. 94].

This Late Bronze Age appearance, whether a re-introduction or a revival, occurred during a period of intense international connectivity. The swastika was an “age-old motive found sporadically throughout the Aegean and the East” [7, p. 77]. Its diffusion is thought to be part of an expansive Anatolian trade network that connected Mesopotamia to the Aegean, with Cyprus as a key node [1, p. 20]. The presence of the swastika on a Proto White Painted calathos (a wide-mouthed basin) alongside a goat, a tree, and zigzag patterns has been interpreted as a blend of Syro-Palestinian and Anatolian artistic tastes [16, p. 92]. The evidence from this period suggests that Cypriot artisans were drawing from a wide pool of external symbols. The persistence of a motif, as was later the case for the goat-and-tree icon, points to a particular local affinity and preference [17, p. 4; 18, p. 75]. The swastika’s scattered appearances in the Bronze Age set the stage for its dramatic rise in popularity in the subsequent era.

The Iron Age Efflorescence: A Motif Comes of Age

The Iron Age (c. 1050–480 BCE) marks the high point of the swastika’s use in ancient Cyprus. What had been a rare and contested symbol in the Bronze Age became a standard and frequently used element in the island’s rich decorative vocabulary. Its popularity grew steadily through the Cypro-Geometric period (c. 1050–750 BCE) and peaked during the Cypro-Archaic period (c. 750–480 BCE), after which it faded from use [6, p. 25; 19, p. 24].

In the Cypro-Geometric period, the swastika was a characteristic feature of White Painted Ware, one of the main ceramic classes of the time [20, p. 45]. Its adoption was part of the development of a new, distinctly Cypriot pottery style that synthesized Late Mycenaean and local traditions [20, p. 181]. Crucially, scholars like Einar Gjerstad argued that while the swastika appeared on some early Mycenaean pottery (LH IIA-B), it was absent from the later phases that most influenced Cyprus. This suggests the Iron Age Cypriot swastika was not a direct Mycenaean derivation but was likely drawn from other sources, probably Levantine or Anatolian, or was a revival of a local tradition [20, p. 181].

It was in the Cypro-Archaic period that the swastika became truly ubiquitous. It is very common on the pottery of Type IV, which dates from Cypro-Archaic I, and Gjerstad suggested that Cyprus may have even contributed to the ornament's penetration into Greece during this time [20, p. 188]. The motif is especially prominent in the celebrated pictorial pottery produced in the eastern part of the island, centered around the kingdom of Salamis [21, p. 341]. It is frequently found on Bichrome Ware amphorae, jugs, and footed bowls [21, p. 344; 22, p. 344]. Here, its function was often that of a supplementary or filling ornament. It appears as a small element within panels or used to flank larger, more complex geometric or pictorial scenes [21, p. 344; 20, p. 48]. This integration into a highly structured decorative system shows that it was no longer a novelty but a core part of the Cypriot potter’s toolkit.

One of the most striking aspects of the swastika’s use in the Cypro-Archaic period is its close and repeated association with depictions of birds. A study of bird iconography on Archaic vases found that the swastika was the second most frequent accompanying motif, surpassed only by the lotus flower [23, p. 144; 24, p. 144]. Artists typically placed the swastika by the bird’s head—either above, below, or in front of the beak—or over its back [23, p. 144; 24, p. 144]. This consistent pairing is so strong that it has led some scholars to propose that the swastika was itself a schematic symbol for a bird [6, p. 26]. Supporting this idea, a Bichrome III loop-leg jar depicts figures that are interpreted as birds but have a “distinctly swastika look,” with one even drawn with a full body and shaped head, giving it a more explicit bird-like appearance [6, p. 26].

The motif also appears alongside a wide array of other images, reflecting Cyprus’s role as a cultural filter. These include chevrons, sun motifs, dotted crosses, rosettes, and various floral and tree motifs [21, p. 344; 23, p. 143; 25, p. 5]. On one Bichrome IV "free field" jug, a swastika floats near a male figure sniffing a lotus flower, a scene with clear Near Eastern and Egyptian echoes [6, p. 27]. Its appearance on a wide range of objects, from everyday jugs to elaborate pictorial kraters, indicates its versatility. By the end of the Cypro-Archaic period, however, the swastika’s popularity waned. As the island's artistic tastes shifted in the late sixth and early fifth centuries BCE, away from the Egyptianizing and Near Eastern-inspired styles of the Archaic period and toward Hellenizing themes, the swastika, along with much of the old geometric repertoire, disappeared from use [19, p. 24; 26, p. 9]. Its flourishing was tied to a specific period of Cypriot art, and when that period ended, so too did the motif’s prominence.

The Search for Meaning: Symbol, Sign, or Scribble?

Despite its frequency in the archaeological record, the meaning of the swastika in ancient Cyprus remains an open question. The available evidence allows for several competing interpretations, but provides no definitive answer. Indeed, the symbol’s significance is a matter of such uncertainty that the renowned archaeologist Vassos Karageorghis stated he knew nothing about its symbolism, and other experts have largely ignored it in their surveys of Iron Age pottery designs [6, p. 26]. This scholarly reticence highlights the difficulty of decoding ancient symbols without explicit textual explanations [27, p. 115].

One prominent theory suggests the swastika was a solar or celestial symbol. It is listed alongside the "sun motif" as a characteristic feature of Salaminian pictorial pottery [21, p. 344; 22, p. 344]. This interpretation finds support outside Cyprus; in Anatolia, limestone idols show swastikas in association with suns and crosses, possibly representing different celestial bodies [1, p. 21]. On a clay ball from Troy IV, a swastika is associated with both a sun and wavy lines interpreted as lightning [1, p. 18]. This celestial connection aligns with the symbol's dynamic, rotational form.

A second, and perhaps more compelling, interpretation for Cyprus is that the swastika represented a bird. This idea was first proposed by the French archaeologist Salomon Reinach and is strongly supported by the consistent pairing of the two motifs on Cypro-Archaic pottery [6, p. 26; 23, p. 144; 24, p. 144]. The rendering of schematic birds in a swastika-like form provides a direct visual link between the two [6, p. 27]. In a visual culture that often blended geometric and pictorial elements, a simple, easily repeatable sign for a common pictorial subject like a bird would have been a useful artistic convention.

A third line of inquiry explores the swastika as a marker of identity or status. The enigmatic interpretation offered by Jacqueline Karageorghis—that the swastika had the indeterminate meaning of "a member of the gens" (clan or people)—points toward a role in expressing group affiliation [6, p. 26]. The use of specific motifs can function as an emblem of identity, a visual way of signaling belonging to a particular community or tradition [28, p. 5]. In the broader Aegean and Anatolian world, the swastika often appears in elite contexts, such as on seals made of precious materials found in Cretan tholos tombs or in high-status buildings at Troy. This has led to the suggestion that it carried an "elite symbolism connected to the socio-political sphere" [1, p. 20]. While it is difficult to prove this for Cyprus, its prominent place in the highly valued pictorial pottery styles could indicate a similar association with status.

Finally, it is possible that the swastika’s meaning was fluid, or that in many cases it had no specific symbolic content at all. Its use as a small "filling ornament" in the spaces between larger designs suggests it could function as a purely decorative element, chosen for its geometric simplicity and its ability to fill a square space effectively [21, p. 344; 20, p. 48]. The basic shape of the swastika, a square with extended arms, lends itself naturally to techniques like weaving, which may have contributed to its popularity as a fundamental geometric pattern [29, p. 66]. It is entirely possible that the swastika operated on multiple levels simultaneously: as a specific symbol in some contexts (a bird or a sun), a general good-luck charm in others (as suggested by its appearance on a Trojan idol associated with generative power [1, p. 18]), and as a simple decorative space-filler in many more.

Conclusion

The history of the swastika in ancient Cyprus is a story of adoption, adaptation, and eventual abandonment. From its disputed origins in the Early Bronze Age and its conceptual foreshadowing in Chalcolithic figurines, the motif lay dormant or was used only rarely for centuries. Then, at the dawn of the Iron Age, it emerged as a key component of the island’s ceramic art, flourishing for over 500 years before vanishing as artistic tastes changed. Its trajectory from rarity to ubiquity and back again illustrates the dynamic nature of Cypriot material culture.

The swastika's journey is a microcosm of the island’s unique cultural position. Its likely origin in the East, particularly Anatolia, and its non-Mycenaean character in the Iron Age highlight Cyprus's strong and enduring connections to the Near East, a counterpoint to the more frequently studied influences from the Aegean [1, p. 20; 20, p. 181]. Yet the motif was not simply copied. Cypriot artisans integrated it into their own decorative systems and, in the process, may have given it new meanings. The strong association with birds, for instance, appears to be a particularly Cypriot preference, a local reinterpretation of a foreign symbol [23, p. 144; 6, p. 26]. This process of selective borrowing and local transformation is a defining characteristic of Cypriot art throughout its history [5, p. 6; 30, p. 10].

Ultimately, however, the swastika remains an enigma. The sources provide tantalizing clues—connections to suns, birds, and elite power—but no definitive answers [6, p. 26]. Was it a potent religious symbol, a marker of identity, or a versatile decorative device? The evidence supports all and none of these interpretations conclusively. The very ambiguity of the swastika may have been part of its appeal, allowing it to be imbued with different meanings by different people in different contexts. The questions surrounding its earliest appearance on the island and its precise symbolic function persist, inviting further investigation into the rich and complex material record of ancient Cyprus.