The Early Iron Age Cypriot City of Amathus

The ancient city of Amathus, located on the southern coast of Cyprus, first emerged as a significant settlement in the 11th century BCE at the dawn of the Iron Age. Over the subsequent centuries of the Geometric and Archaic periods, Amathus developed into one of the prominent city-kingdoms that defined Cyprus' political and cultural landscape [1]. This chapter will explore the origins, rise, and defining characteristics of Amathus during its formative centuries in the Early Iron Age.

The Origins of Amathus

Archaeological evidence indicates that the first settlers arrived at the site of Amathus around 1100-1050 BCE, right after the Bronze Age Collapse. They established their settlement atop a rocky outcrop that would become the city's acropolis, in an area that appears to have been uninhabited since Neolithic times. The earliest traces of occupation include a ceramic deposit dating to around 1100 BCE found in an abandoned pit near the later palace, as well as a possibly contemporaneous tomb on the summit of the acropolis.

These initial Amathusians are believed to have been displaced "Eteocypriots" - descendants of the pre-Greek, pre-Phoenician indigenous population of Cyprus. Ancient sources like Pseudo-Skylax and Stephanus of Byzantium referred to the Amathusians as "autochthons" (natives) and "Cypriots." The Greek historian Theopompus elaborated that they were "descendants of Kinyras' companions, expelled by the Greeks who accompanied Agamemnon" - likely referring to the wave of Mycenaean Greek settlement in Cyprus following the Bronze Age collapse c. 1200 BCE.

Having regrouped in the previously unoccupied Amathus area after withdrawing from other parts of the island, these Eteocypriots preserved elements of pre-Iron Age Cypriot material culture. Archaeologists have uncovered gaming stone slabs with cupulae (small circular depressions) from Amathusian contexts, artifacts primarily known from the Cypriot Bronze Age but still occasionally used in the Iron Age. Later inscriptions also attest that the Amathusians continued using an indigenous Cypriot language (Eteocypriot), such as in Figure 2, alongside Greek as late as the 4th century BCE. Together, this evidence corroborates the ancient testimonies of the Amathusians' deep roots on the island.

Figure 2. Extremely Large Iron Age Jar/Amphora Fragment with earliest Cypro-Syllabic Inscription

The strategic location the Eteocypriots chose for their new settlement laid the foundations for Amathus' future prosperity. The city's acropolisoverlooking the surrounding lowlands offered defensive advantages. A nearby anchorage facilitated seaborne trade. The adjacent hinterlands provided agricultural and timber resources. Most importantly, the copper mines of Kalavassos, which had lost their previous Bronze Age overlords, now fell within Amathus' sphere of influence, giving the polity control over this key source of mineral wealth.

Development in the Geometric Period

Amathus grew rapidly over the ensuing Geometric Period (c. 1050-750 BCE). Excavations of the city's cemeteries have unearthed large quantities of locally-made ceramics starting from around 1050 BCE. These were crafted from a distinctive calcareous clay tempered with black sand from the nearby Yermasoyia riverbed - a signature of Amathusian pottery production. While exhibiting common Cypriot shapes, Amathusian geometric pottery also incorporated unique Syrian-influenced elements and polychrome decoration. Certain vessel forms, like pyxides with figurine-shaped lids, emerged as distinctive Amathusian specialties [2].

The same Geometric tombs attest to Amathus' involvement in inter-regional trade networks from an early stage. Alongside the local wares, the burial assemblages include numerous imported goods: Phoenician and Syrian pottery (particularly in the earlier phases), faience and scarab amulets from Egypt, and metalwork and ceramics from the Aegean, with an influx of Euboean and Attic Greek imports in the later 9th-8th centuries BCE. Amathus clearly served as a nexus for the circulation of goods and influences between the Levant, Egypt, and the Aegean.

Phoenician Presence and Influences

The Phoenicians emerged as an especially prominent foreign presence in Geometric Amathus, beginning in the mid-9th century BCE. In addition to the abundant Phoenician imports in the tombs, archaeologists have uncovered a separate Phoenician cemetery dating to the late Geometric-early Archaic periods. Some of the earliest inscriptions from the Amathus region are also in Phoenician. This evidence points to the establishment of a sizable Phoenician community, possibly even briefly dominating the Amathusian elite.

The Phoenician presence at Amathus coincides with a wider pattern of increased Phoenician activity in Cyprus, exemplified by the rise of Kition as a Phoenician stronghold. Some scholars have proposed that the Amathus mentioned in Assyrian tributary lists of the 7th century BCE is the otherwise unknown "Kartihadasti" - possibly reflecting temporary Phoenician political control under a new dynastic name.

Regardless of the precise political implications, the Phoenician connection profoundly shaped Amathusian material culture. Levantine stylistic elements proliferated in Amathusian pottery and metalwork in the late Geometric period, including complex figural scenes, sphinx and lion motifs, and double-bowl forms. The Phoenician god Adonis began to be worshipped alongside the local Amathusian goddess (who would later be identified with Aphrodite). More broadly, Amathusian kingship took on an increasingly Near Eastern model possibly influenced by the Phoenician monarchical system.

Cultic Life and the Great Goddess

While direct evidence is limited, the religious practices of the early Amathusians appear to have centered on a fertility goddess and a bull-horned male god - deities with roots in Bronze Age Cypriot religion. The goddess, probably the predecessor of the later Amathusian Aphrodite, may have been worshipped in aniconic form as a cult stone and as a Minoan-style upraised arm figurine, both types well-represented in the city's tombs and sanctuary deposits. The male god is depicted on a late 6th century BCE stone statuette as a masked priest wearing bull horns, possibly a continuation of an earlier Cypro-Minoan tradition.

The main sanctuary of the Amathusian goddess was likely established on the upper acropolis in the Geometric period, based on 9th-8th century BCE votive deposits found at the site (although no Geometric architecture has been uncovered). This sanctuary would later become renowned for its worship of Aphrodite, with the goddess perhaps already bearing the name "Ana" based on inscribed dedications. According to a possibly aetiological myth recorded by Pausanias and Stephanus of Byzantium, Adonis was also worshipped here alongside Aphrodite, reflecting the syncretic impact of Phoenician religion.

Beyond the civic cult, early Amathusians engaged in a diverse range of religious practices visible in the richer tomb assemblages. Egyptian-style cult paraphernalia like Bes figurines and scarab amulets accompanied high-status burials, pointing to the adoption of Egyptian apotropaic magic by the Amathusian elite. A unique 11th century BCE tomb built of ashlar masonry on the acropolis summit, identified by some as the burial place of the mythical princess Ariadne, may represent an early royal or aristocratic funerary monument.

Rise of the Amathusian Polity

By the 8th century BCE, Amathus had grown into a fully-fledged city-kingdom on par with other major Cypriot polities like Salamis, Paphos, and Kourion. The site expanded beyond the acropolis to include a lower town, while larger and richer tombs clustered in the surrounding necropolis. Locally-minted silver coinage bearing the city's name and iconography of its patron goddess began to circulate in the late 6th century BCE, marking Amathus' evolution into an autonomous political entity.

Amathus' prosperity in this period stemmed from its dual role as a hub for the copper trade and a major center for craft production. The Kalavassos mines, already linked to Amathus from the first settlement at the site, provided a rich source of copper ore that Amathusian workshops refined and exported. By the late 8th-7th centuries BCE, a flourishing metallurgical industry had developed, fashioning prestige goods like silver bowls and elaborate gold jewelry. Ceramics, glass, and textiles were also produced on a large scale for local consumption and trade.

The Amathusian elite increasingly invested this wealth into monumental building projects and lavish funerary rites that proclaimed their power. Excavations on the acropolis have revealed remains of a late 8th/early 7th century BCE "palace" complex, one of the earliest examples of large-scale stone architecture in Iron Age Cyprus. Elite burials of the Cypro-Archaic period contained gold diadems, ivory furniture, and bronze banqueting equipment, accompanied by sacrificed horses that conveyed an unmistakable message of royal or aristocratic status.

Politically, Amathus seems to have maintained generally close ties with the Phoenician-controlled city of Kition throughout the Cypro-Archaic period. During the Persian subjugation of Cyprus in the late 6th century BCE, the Amathusian kings stayed determinedly loyal to their Persian overlords, in contrast with other Cypriot polities that rebelled. Royal inscriptions of this era written in the Phoenician-derived Cypriot Syllabic script emphasize the Amathusian rulers' allegiance to the "King of Kings" - the Persian Great King. Amathus' pro-Persian alignment, while surely motivated by self-interest, may also reflect the enduring legacy of Phoenician political and cultural influence on the Amathusian court.

Conclusion

From its origins as a refuge for displaced Eteocypriots at the onset of the Iron Age to its later status as a thriving, internationally-connected city-state, Amathus stood as a microcosm of Early Iron Age Cyprus. Indigenous Cypriot cultural traditions, Phoenician and Greek influences, and a strategic position at the crossroads of Eastern Mediterranean trade routes all converged to shape Amathus' distinct identity. The same factors that made Amathus a multi-cultural melting pot - its location, resources, and openness to outside contacts - also fueled its transformation into one of the preeminent kingdoms of ancient Cyprus. In Amathus' formative centuries, we witness the birth of the Iron Age Cypriot city-states that would dominate the island's political order until the rise of Hellenistic and Roman imperial rule, on the one hand rooted in the legacies of Late Bronze Age Cyprus, but on the other hand already engaged with the wider currents sweeping the Early Iron Age Mediterranean world.

Finds from Amathus can be seen in museums across the globe, however the Limassol Archeological Museum has special sections containing incredible Amathusian artifacts that are well worth a visit.