Ancient period in Cyprus

The island of Cyprus has been under the rule of a number of empires and thus has been through various historical periods. Cyprus ancient period marked the beginning of a rich and long history that is witness to a civilization of 9000 years. The ancient period of Cyprus history can be divided into several parts. Starting with the Neolithic age the ancient period continues till the coming of the Romans into the Island.

The first traces of civilization in Cyprus dates back to approximately 7000 B.C when the settlements came up in the northern and southern coasts of the island. This was the Neolithic age. The second phase of the Cyprus ancient period was Chalcolithic age which was a continuation of the Neolithic era. This period saw the extensive use of copper that brought in a lot of wealth to the island.

It was during this period that the Greeks started settling down in Cyprus. Gradually the whole island was taken over by the Greeks and Hellenism was firmly established in Cyprus. The island became the seat of Greek culture. Geometric period ( 1050-750 B.C), a part of ancient period in Cyprus, featured the flourishing of the cult of Goddess Aphrodite.

During the rule of the Greeks, Cyprus was attacked by Assyria, Egypt and Persia. It then became a part of Alexander's empire. After him, Cyprus came under the control of the Ptolemies of Egypt which was a Hellenistic state. From that time till the coming of the Romans Cyprus was ruled by the Greek Alexandrine empire. This period, the Hellenistic period of the Cyprus ancient history was followed by the Roman period which marked the end of Cyprus ancient period.