Religion and Social Transformations in Cyprus: From the Cypriot Basileis to the Hellenistic Strategos (Mnemosyne, Supplements / Mnemosyne, Supplements, History and)

This monograph focuses on religion to explore how the socio-cultural infrastructure of Cyprus was affected by the transition from segmented administration by many Cypriot kings to the island-wide government by a foreign Ptolemaic correspondent. It approaches politico-religious ideological responses and structures of symbolism through the study of sacred landscapes, specific iconographic elements, and archaeological contexts and architecture, as well as through textual and epigraphic evidence. A fresh approach to the transition is put forward, connecting the island more emphatically with its longue duree. Moving beyond the field of Cypriot studies, this work also serves as a paradigm for the study of religion in relation to social power in other fields of classics and, in particular, for the enrolment of other areas of the Mediterranean into the political and cultural Hellenistic oikoumene. Religion and Social Transformations in Cyprus: From the Cypriot Basileis to the Hellenistic Strategos 4 Contents 8 Acknowledgements 10 Preface 14 List of Abbreviations 16 List of Tables, Charts and Figures 18 Chronological Table 26 Map of Cyprus 28 Introduction 30 From Basileis to Strategos: ‘Minding the Gap’ 30 1. ‘Setting the Scene’: Historical Narratives, Theoretical Considerations and a Methodology for Interpretation 36 1.1. From Basileis to Strategos: Telling the Story 36 1.2. Continuities and Interruptions: Towards an Archaeology of Religion 44 1.3. History of Research, Methodological Problems and Limitations 50 1.4. From a Cypriot to a Pan-Hellenistic Context and Back: Hellenistic ‘Hellenisations’ and Cultural Koine 57 1.5. From Cypriot to Hellenistic Koine 81 1.6. Social Power and the Archaeology of Religion 83 1.7. Methodology 98 2. Sacred Landscapes 102 2.1. Introduction 102 2.2. Theoretical Background to the Study of Sacred Landscapes 103 2.3. Survey Analysis and Its Implications for the Study of Cypriot Sacred Landscapes 108 2.4. Cypriot Sacred Landscapes of the Transition 113 2.4.1. The Sacred Landscapes of the Cypriot City-Kingdoms 115 Cypro-Classical Landscapes in Transition 115 Sanctuaries and Territorial Claims 119 Regional Styles and Their Implications on Sacred Landscapes 126 Case Studies 135 Résumé of the City-Kingdom Sacred Landscapes 142 2.4.2. The Hellenistic Sacred Landscapes 145 Hellenistic Urbanisation and Settlement Archaeology 146 Back to the Sacred Space: Social Memories and the Construction of Hellenistic Identities 157 The Cases of Kafizin and Geronisos: Windows to Ptolemaic Ideologies? 170 Towards a More Unied Space: The Voice of Epigraphy and Religious Iconography 180 Résumé of the Hellenistic Sacred Landscapes 186 2.5. Concluding Remarks on the Cypriot Sacred Landscapes of the Transition 189 3. Case Studies: Change and Variation 192 3.1. Introduction 192 3.2. Soloi 195 3.2.1. History of Research and Topography 195 3.2.2. The Temples at Cholades 196 3.2.3. ‘Revisiting’ Soloi-Cholades: ‘Syncretism’ of Cults, Power and Ideology 201 Identification of Cults 201 Ptolemaic Power and Ideology 219 Further Discussion 232 3.3. Amathous 237 3.3.1. History of Research and Topography 237 3.3.2. The ‘Palace’ and Its Sanctuaries 238 The ‘Propylon’ Sanctuary 240 The ‘Kouros’ Sanctuary 242 The ‘Baetyl’ Sanctuary 242 3.3.3. The Sanctuary of Aphrodite 243 The City-Kingdom Period 244 The Hellenistic Period 250 3.3.4. The ‘Subterranean Cult Place’ 253 3.3.5. ‘Syncretism’ of Cults 262 ‘Reading’ Terracotta Figurines 262 Cypro-Archaic and Cypro-Classical Terracotta Figurines 264 Hellenistic Terracotta Figurines 274 Further Discussion 286 From ‘Astarte’/‘Hathor’ to Aphrodite/Isis? Royalty and Ideology 291 The City-Kingdom Period 291 The Hellenistic Period 311 Further Discussion 317 3.4. Concluding Remarks on Soloi and Amathous Studies 319 4. Cypriot ‘Portraits’ 324 4.1. Introduction 324 4.2. Ptolemaic Cult 325 4.3. ‘Portraiture’ and Hellenistic Royal Sculptures. 331 4.4. Hellenistic ‘Portraits’ in a Cypriot Context 338 4.4.1. History of Scholarship 339 4.4.2. A Typological-Stylistic Approach 343 4.4.3. Materialisation of Ideologies: An Alternative Approach? 355 4.5. Concluding Remarks on Cypriot ‘Portraiture’ 380 5. Conclusions 384 5.1. Religion and Social Transformations from Basileis to Strategos 384 5.2. Power, Religion and Ideology 385 5.3. From Cypriot to Hellenistic Koine: ‘Material Homogeneity’ and ‘Cultural Identities’ 387 5.4. From Segmentation to Unification: ‘Bridging the Gap’ 390 5.5. New Avenues for Cypriot and Mediterranean Archaeology 394 Epilogue 398 ‘Playing the Endgame’: From Strategos to Proconsul and from ‘Detached Academia’ to a ‘Personalised Perspective’ 398 Appendix 1: Landscapes 402 Appendix 2: ‘Portraits’ 424 Bibliography 440 Figures 512 Index 620 This monograph focuses on religion to explore how the socio-cultural infrastructure of Cyprus was affected by the transition from segmented administration by many Cypriot kings to the island-wide government by a foreign Ptolemaic correspondent. It approaches politico-religious ideological responses and structures of symbolism through the study of sacred landscapes, specific iconographic elements, and archaeological contexts and architecture, as well as through textual and epigraphic evidence. A fresh approach to the transition is put forward, connecting the island more emphatically with its longue durée. Moving beyond the field of Cypriot studies, this work also serves as a paradigm for the study of religion in relation to social power in other fields of classics and, in particular, for the enrolment of other areas of the Mediterranean into the political and cultural Hellenistic oikoumene. By Focusing On Religion, This Monograph Represents The First Extended Attempt To Explore How The Socio-cultural Infrastructure Of Cyprus Was Affected By The Transition From Segmented Administration By Many Cypriot Kings To The Island-wide Government By A Foreign Ptolemaic Correspondent.