The destruction of the Hyksos Kingdom and the revival of Egypt as the leading
power in the eastern Mediterranean created for Cyprus, at the beginning of
the Late Bronze Age, favourable circumstances for its development into a
flourishing commercial centre. The island also became a stepping stone for
eastern and western cultural exchange.
The advent of Mycenaean traders, who took over from the Minoan Cretans, introduced
a Greek element which left a permanent imprint on the cultural development
of the island, and which entered into a fruitful dialogue with the neighbouring
oriental cultures. These Mycenaeans, who settled in the Late Bronze Age towns
of Enkomi, Hala Sultan Tekke, Paphos and Kition, brought with them a style
of pottery whose figurative designs of warriors and chariots, fishes and
birds, were highly prized in the Levant.This style constitutes the main mass
of Late Bronze Age pottery, but its production, aimed at oriental markets
and tastes, was largely confined to Mycenaean centres.
The period between 1500 and 1200 BC saw the fusion of design elements from
both East and West into the traditional Cypriot forms as evinced in finds
at Enkomi, Akdeniz (Ayia Irini), and Toumba tou Skourou. Religious practices
too combine elements from both the Qrient and the Aegean.
Around 1500 BC, a script similar to the Linear A found in Crete, appeared,
known now as Cypro-Minoan script.
The prosperity of the Late Bronze Age, as reflected in tomb and city architecture
as well as rich grave finds, was disrupted at the end of the 13th century
by the so-called sea people, whose origin is still a matter of conjecture.
Cities were abondoned or fortified, destroyed and rebuilt. The turbulance
of the period is revealed by the increased number of swords and other weapons
found in the graves.
At the same time, following the Dorian invasion of Mycenaean centres in the
Pelloponese, Achaean seniers landed on the coasts of Cyprus. This Achaean
colonisation is the historical basis connecting the Trojan war with the foundation
of certain Cypriot cities by Trojan heroes. Thus Salamis was believed to
have been founded by Teucer, Paphos by Agpenor of Tegea, SoIl by Akamas,
and Lapta by Praxanor of Laconia.
The newcomers brought with them their burial customs and Mycenaean chamber
tombs can be seen alongside the traditional Cypriot graves. Terracotta figures
of a female deity with upraised arms, reminiscent of Cretan models have been
found in these tombs. In Enkomi the figure of a god wearing a horned helmet
and standing on an ingot of copper was recovered, and has been identified
by some as Apollo Kereates, an idol of the shepherds of Arcadia.
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North Cyprus
