The Phoenicians are most famous today for being excellent sailors who dominated much of the trade in the ancient Mediterranean. Unsurprisingly, they established numerous colonies to help them expand their trade and influence. One particularly notable island that they colonized was Cyprus. What do we know about how and when the ancient island of Cyprus was colonized by the Phoenicians?
The ancient connections between Cyprus and the Phoenicians
It is not remotely surprising that the Phoenicians decided to settle on Cyprus. Why can we say this? Put simply, Phoenicia and Cyprus are right next to each other. The Phoenicians lived in the Levant, broadly speaking between ancient Israel and Syria. Their main cities included Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos.
Cyprus, for its part, is the nearest main island to Phoenicia. They are only separated by about 100 miles, which would have been about two days’ sail to the Phoenicians. Therefore, from the very moment they started expanding their trading enterprises to the west, it is inevitable that they would have taken an interest in Cyprus.
Archaeology and Biblical sources correspond very well on this point. The earliest indication from the Bible that the Phoenicians were engaged in long-distance trade to the west comes from the time of King David. He ruled in the 11th century BC. Interestingly, it is in this very century that we find the earliest evidence for the Phoenicians on Cyprus. As one historian explained regarding the earliest Phoenician artefacts on the island:
“A quantity of Phoenician objects made their appearance in the tombs at Palaepaphos-Skales as early as the eleventh century bce.”
This corresponds perfectly with the narrative we see within the Bible. Before then, the Bible does not present the Phoenicians as being involved in sea-going trade to the west. In fact, the Phoenicians of the Bronze Age (which ended in c. 1200 BC) were actually the Canaanites. The Bible depicts the Canaanites as being more interested in war than trade.
When did the Phoenicians colonize Cyprus?
However, a few pieces of pottery do not necessarily equate to a whole settlement. This archaeological evidence does not prove that the Phoenicians had actually colonized Cyprus by that era. What it does show is that they were likely present at least in small numbers. Whether they actually settled there is another matter. Also, there is a difference between small groups of Phoenicians settling on Cyprus, and the Phoenicians actually establishing a full colony on the island.
As we look further forward through the Iron Age, we find more evidence for Phoenician presence on the island. The evidence becomes more compatible with the conclusion that the Phoenicians had actually colonized it by this point. One of the leading experts in the Phoenician settlement of Cyprus is Sabine Fourrier, and she summed up the evidence like this:
“the “Phoenicization” of Kition… cannot antedate the 8th century BCE.”
Kition was the main Phoenician colony on Cyprus in the Iron Age. In other words, it was the eighth century BC that saw the Phoenician properly colonize Cyprus. This century contains what archaeologists refer to as the Kition Horizon. This archaeological era, dated to approximately c. 750 BCE, marks the point at which the archaeology at Kition reveals a truly strong Phoenician presence, indicative of Kition becoming a permanent Phoenician colony.
Pygmalion of Tyre
How does this archaeological evidence tie in with literary evidence from ancient Greek sources? There are many ancient references to a king named Pygmalion. He is most famous today for having fallen in love with a statue. Pseudo-Apollodorus refers to him specifically as the king of Cyprus.
Other sources, such as the third century writer from Tyre named Porphyry, claimed that Pygmalion was a Phoenician king who also ruled over Cyprus. Even earlier than this, the fifth-century BC historian Hellanicus of Lesbos stated that Pygmalion founded Carpasia – a known Phoenician colony – on Cyprus.
This legendary Pygmalion can undoubtedly be identified as the historical Phoenician king named Pygmalion who ruled Tyre. He is traditionally dated to the late ninth century BC on the basis of the king list of Josephus, a Jewish historian from c. 100 AD. However, evidence from contemporary Assyrian inscriptions indicate that he is more likely to have lived nearly a century later, in the middle of the eighth century BC.
This dating corresponds very well with the dating of the archaeological Kition Horizon. Therefore, it would appear that the main Phoenician colonization of Cyprus occurred in c. 750 BC during the reign of Pygmalion. However, there were undoubtedly some Phoenicians already living on the island in small numbers before then.
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