Archaic Cyprus: A Study of the Textual and Archaeological Evidence(Oxford Monographs on Classical Archaeology)

This book examines the textual and archaeological evidence for the history of Cyprus from 750 to 500 BC. This significant period of the island's past is examined in three parts. The first surveys what is known about the local population of Cyprus and the political and social organization of the island. The second offer a narrative account of the period within a chronological framework more detailed than any analysis currently available. It suggests that the defining feature of the Cypro-Archaic period was the way in which local kingdoms adapted to different political and economic conditions in the Near East and Egypt, and took advantage of them. It challenges the prevalent view of a succession of foreign overlords controlling the island through military means. The third part discusses the internal and external relations of Cyprus by studying specific groups of pottery, seals, and sculpture. As a whole, this book provies a more complete picture of Archaic Cyprus than ever previously attempted. Generously illustrated with plates and figures, this will be an invaluable work of reference for archaeologists and ancient historians of both the West and Near East.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: the problems - Gjerstad's views, an alternative view; dating the Cypro-Archaic period. Part 1 The Cypriot Kingdoms: the local populations - Cypriots and Greeks, Eteocypriots, the Phoenicians; culture and society - Cypriot kings and kingdoms, trading communities, Cypriot sanctuaries and votive offerings, architecture, terracotta and ceramic votives, limestone votives, metal dedications and jewellery, Cypriot tombs and burial customs. Part 2 Cyprus, the Near East and Egypt: Cyprus and Assyria - the stele of Sargon II, Sennacherib and the revolt of Luli, Esarhaddon, Ashurbanipal and the "Period of Independence, Assyrian objects and the archaeological record, some claims for Assyrian influence; Cyprus and Egypt - chronology, the political relationship between Cyprus and Egypt, the archaeological evidence; Cyprus and Persia - the Cypriot kings of the sixth century, political organization, the archaeological evidence for a Persian presence. Part 3 Local and foreign contacts: internal relations - the written evidence, archaeological groups, sculpture, ceramics, glyptic groups; external relations - the written evidence, foreign influences in Cyprus, Phoenician influences, Greek influences, foreign imports in Cyprus, Phoenician pottery, Greek pottery, Phoenician glyptic, Greek glyptic, Pheonician statuary, Greek statuary, spheres of influence, Cypriot exports to foreign lands - pottery, statuary, glyptic; summary and conclusions - chronology, Cyprus and the Near East, Egypt and Greece, the Cypriot Kingdoms.

About the Author :
Formerly Rhys-Davids Junior Research Fellow in Archaeology, St Hugh's College, Oxford

Review :
`Perhaps the most important achievement of this book is its identification of a discrete and distinctively Cypriot material culture ... This achievement, combined with Reyes's thorough and accessible presentation of the relevant data, should place this book at the very centre of Cypriot historical scholarship.' Times Higher Education Supplement `carefully researched...this stimulating book that addresses many of the puzzles of Archaic Cypriot history.' Anglo-Hellenic Review `An up-to-date study of this period was [therefore] imperative and Reyes's book should be welcomed as a useful aid for students ... it is a useful and worthy addition to the Cypriot bibliography.' Louise Steel, Palestine Exploration Quarterly, Jan/June 1997