Kourion: The Evidence for the Kingdom from the 11th to the 6th Century B. C.

Abstract

The historical and archaeological evidence for the kingdom of Kourion in the Early Iron Age consists of inscriptions in Assyrian and Greek documents; and archaeological evidence from the necropolis of Kaloriziki, rock-cut inscriptions in the area, and the Sanctuary of Apollo. Further information can be cautiously extrapolated from objects in Cesnola's Treasure of Curium in view of recent reassessment of the evidence, as well as from the discovery of royal tomb at Ayios Ermoyenis. Excavation of the Archaic Precinct in the Sanctuary of Apollo in the 1980s provides detailed information on the earliest use of the precinct, what the precinct looked like in the Archaic period, and how the cult functioned. The finds of Archaic date from the sanctuary provide information about contact with lands to east and west, as well as within the island. This supplements and to some extent confirms what can be learned from the evidence of the necropolis.