Cypriot Pottery

Introduction by J.R. Green

It is almost a truism to point out that Cyprus lies between East and West, but its history from at least as early as the Bronze Age has been one of influence from Greece, Asia Minor and the Levant (and at times further afield), while at the same time producing a distinctive character based on a multicultural society. In the Late Bronze Age, Cyprus imported a great deal of Mycenaean pottery, and, towards its close, an apparently considerable number of Greek immigrants who brought with them elements of the palace culture they had known in their Mycenaean homeland. It is arguable that this last is reflected in the division of the island into a number of kingdoms which survived as a mode of social and political organisation until the beginning of the Hellenistic period. It is also worth remembering that, unlike the case in Greece, Cyprus maintained the skill of writing continuously from the Bronze Age. During the Iron Age, links with Greece were never entirely broken, but during the later ninth and more especially the eighth century, the presence and influence of Phoenicians became important. The island became a staging post for their activities in the Western Mediterranean and a significant meeting-place between them and Greek traders. The island was always an important source of bronze, but the key coastal centres also seem to have served as more broadly-based international markets. During the Archaic and Classical periods, Cyprus was often dominated by the Persian Empire, but the island retained its organisation into kingdoms until it was taken over by the Ptolemies of Egypt towards the end of the fourth century. They united the island, making Paphos its capital, and it became a major link on the route to and from Alexandria. Their presence also confirmed the Greek character of the island, a feature which remained through the Roman period and beyond.