Cypriot Autonomous Polities at the Crossroads of Empire: The Imprint of a Transformed Islandscape in the Classical and Hellenistic Periods

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between power and cult, not in the age of the Cypriot city-kingdoms per se but rather in the context of a changing political landscape that eventually led to the abolition of the autonomous polities and the establishment of a new order by the Ptolemaic Empire. In particular, this contribution explores some of the Cypro-Classical kings' internal responses to the changing political map of the Mediterranean, suggesting a shift from eastern to western orientations and cultural and iconographic prototypes. Furthermore, it attempts to put Cyprus in a broader context of Hellenistic monarchies in the Mediterranean, considering the resulting transformations of the island's political geography and cultural identities. Finally, through the medium of sacred landscapes, this article explores the response of Cypriot populations (elite and non-elite) to Ptolemaic power and rule.