Topic
Animals
Wild and domestic animals of ancient Cyprus, from the extinct dwarf hippopotamus to cattle, deer and birds, known from bones, images and figurines.
16 entries in 5 sections
Pottery
8 entriesSection overview
BirdsThe bird on Cypriot pottery, modelled on Bronze Age Red Polished vessels and painted as the main subject of Cypro-Archaic free-field jugs.Early Bronze AgeMiddle Bronze AgeLate Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-Archaic
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
Goats, Deer and IbexWild goats and stags, the commonest wild animals in Cypriot vase decoration, from modelled Bronze Age figures to painted Iron Age friezes and free-field jugs.Early Bronze AgeMiddle Bronze AgeLate Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-Archaic
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
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
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 Pictorial StyleFigured painting on Late Bronze Age kraters found in Cyprus, first on Mycenaean imports and then on the locally made Rude or Pastoral Style kraters.Late Bronze Age
Tulip Bowls and Cult VesselsDeep, conical, black-topped Red Polished bowls of Early Cypriot I–II, and their elaborate protome-rimmed form, known mostly from the tombs of Vounous.Early Bronze Age
Statues
3 entriesSection overview
Base Ring Bull VesselsHand-built Base Ring ware pouring vessels in the form of a bull, made in Late Bronze Age Cyprus and found in tombs, settlements and sanctuaries.Late Bronze Age
Horse and Rider FigurinesTerracotta figurines of a mounted rider, dedicated in sanctuaries and placed in tombs across Iron Age Cyprus, most abundantly in the Cypro-Archaic period.Cypro-GeometricCypro-Archaic- Red Polished Zoomorphic Vessels and Animal FigurinesRed Polished ware animal figurines, animal protomes applied to vessels, and animal-shaped askoi of Early and Middle Bronze Age Cyprus, mostly from tombs.Early Bronze AgeMiddle Bronze Age
Daily Life
1 entrySection overview
Environment
2 entriesSection overview
- Birds in Ancient CyprusThe birds of ancient Cyprus, known from hunted bones at the earliest sites and from birds modelled, painted and carved in Bronze and Iron Age art.Cyprus Before HumansNeolithicEarly Bronze AgeMiddle Bronze AgeCypro-GeometricCypro-ArchaicCypro-Classical
The Environment of Ancient CyprusSectionThe natural setting of ancient Cyprus, covering its climate, coasts and forests, the earthquakes that struck its towns, and its birds.
Chronology
2 entriesSection overview
Cyprus Before Humans: Dwarf Hippos, Dwarf Elephants and the First VisitorsPleistocene Cyprus, an oceanic island of dwarf hippos, dwarf elephants, a genet and an endemic mouse, and its first human visitors at Akrotiri-Aetokremnos.Cyprus Before Humans
Neolithic CyprusThe period c. 9000–3900 BCE in which farmers from the mainland settled Cyprus, built villages of circular houses, and later adopted pottery.Neolithic