A Brief History of Cypus and its Greek Origin

As far back as ancient times, the classical Greek philosophers had explicitly defined the characteristics which, taken together, divide people into nationalities. Such characteristics are, according to Aristotle, the same language, the same religion and the same blood. Next to these, one could add the same customs, the same traditions, the same cultural elements etc.

All the above and more have been, through the centuries and still are to this day, common to the peoples of Greece and Cyprus.

The Greek language which is spoken in Cyprus to this day and constitutes a local dialect, contains a multitude of words and phrases which belong, having undergone no change, to the ancient Greek language of Homer. That is to say that today's Cypriots, in their day to day conversation, use dozens of Homeric words which have survived without change over the last 32 or so centuries.

The ancient names of towns, villages and sites are, in many cases, common to both Greece and Cyprus. Names such as Kyrenia, Dhekeleia, Dhymes, Pyla, Asinou, Avlona and many others, still in use on the island today, have existed since ancient times, and exactly the same names existed many centuries before Christ in the Peloponnese and other parts of Greece. Other placenames are derived from names of ancient Greek heroes, such as Akamas in western Cyprus, which took its name from that of the Athenian hero, the son of Theseus. A number of other placenames of Cyprus were also placenames of the Greek, during antiquity, area of Asia Minor. Take, for example, the name Soloi, shared by significant cities of both Cyprus and Cilicia in Asia Minor. Let it be noted that the Turks did not make their appearance in Asia Minor until after the 8th Century AD i.e. 16 or more centuries after the Greeks. With reference to Cyprus in particular, which was settled by Greeks during the 14th century BC, the first Turks appeared in 1570 AD., through their invasion of the island. That is to say, 30 whole centuries after the establishment of the Greeks and the Hellenic element on the island.

It is of the utmost significance that the ancient Greeks themselves considered the Cypriots as Hellenes, and that the Cypriots considered themselves as Greeks. The deities of the Greek Pantheon were those which had been primarily adored in Cyprus; Aphrodite and Apollo, Zeus and Hera, Athena, Dionysus, Hermes, Demeter etc. In all the archaeological sites of Cyprus, such as Salamis, Kition, Curium, Amathus, Paphos and Soloi one sees remnants of the adoration of Greek deities and a multitude of inscriptions in Greek confirms and indicates the extent of this adoration. Greek deities and Greek symbols are also encountered on the coins of ancient Cyprus. The ancient theatres and other edifices of Cyprus are also of a Greek character. Furthermore, many ancient Greek and Latin writers offer a spate of information on the Hellenic nature of ancient Cyprus, either through references to wars, significant philosophers, men of science (e.g. physicians), noted athletes, products etc. Among these Greek writers were Plutarch, Hesiodus, Pausanias, Isocrates, Aristotle, Herodotus, Diodorus, Galen, Euripides, Aristophanes, Aeschylus, Homer, Thucydides and many others, while of the Latin writers one can mention Pliny, Ovid, Cicero, Ammianus Marcellinus, Virgil, Horatio, Lactantius, Livy, Ennius, Terentius and others.

Archaeological research confirms the information supplied by the aforementioned writers, and supplies further and abundant information. The observation of an archaeological excavation in progress in Cyprus is always a moving experience; imagine watching the laborers possessing a mere spattering of knowledge, reverently unearthing the statue of some ancient Greek god or the capital of some Greek column, or discovering at a depth of 5-6 metres, an inscription 2,500 years old and being able to read it, since it is written in the same language that they themselves speak to this day.

In addition many ancient inscriptions in Greece make reference to Cypriots and act as testaments to the close and eon-spanning links between the two countries. In the Acropolis museum of Athens, one can see a lengthy inscription through which tribute is paid by the Athenian authorities of the time to king Evagoras I of Cyprus (4th century BC) for his benefactory acts towards the Athenians. Inscriptions were also found in the Peloponnese and these refer to victories of Cypriot athletes in the Olympic Games. As is well known, only free Greeks took part in the Olympic Games of ancient Greece. The fact that Cypriots participated in these Games means that they considered themselves free Greeks and were, in return, accepted as such. During the golden age of Greece, many Cypriots established a career in Athens. Of all these, let us merely mention Zeno, the founder of the school of Stoic Philosophy, a Cypriot hailing from the city of Kition (today's Larnaca).

Following the battle of Plataeae in Greece (479 BC) at which the united forces of the Greeks routed the Persian invaders, the Greek forces were ordered to continue the struggle. The leader of the Greeks during that battle, a Spartan general by the name of Pausanias, was ordered to liberate "all Greek lands still under Persian domination". Pausanias, having received this order, sailed, according to Diodorus and corroborated by Thucydides, "first to Cyprus".

If one delves even further into the past, into the far reaches of History, one comes across references to Cyprus in the works of Homer who, among others, offers an excellent description of the breastplate of Agamemnon, the leader of the Greeks during the Trojan War (Iliad, XI, 15 - 28), saying that the famous breastplate was a "hospitality gift" given to Agamemnon by king Kinyras of Cyprus. One can also encounter many museum artefacts which act as testament to the age-old relations between Cyprus and the Greek world (statuettes and deities, Cretan and Mycenaean vessels and other objects unearthed in Cyprus).

By taking a great leap forward in time and through the perusal of medieval travellers' texts, mainly European pilgrims to the Holy Lands who, en route, passed through Cyprus, one comes across regular references to the Greek inhabitants of Cyprus, their Greek language, their Greek customs and even their Greek garb, in spite of the fact that, during the Middle Ages, Cyprus was an autonomous kingdom where the members of the nobility and the feudal lords were foreigners (from various countries of Western Europe) and the Lusignan royal family itself was of French descent. Furthermore, the legislation of the time, the "Assizes", which had been introduced in Cyprus by the Crusader's kingdom of Jerusalem, had to be translated into Greek, since that was the language spoken by the populace. In addition, the two leading medieval chroniclers of Cyprus, Leondios Machaeras and Georges Bustron, wrote their 15th century works in the Greek language, the language of the people of the island. It is worth mentioning that the latter of these chroniclers, Georges Bustron, belonged to a family of French descent which adopted the Greek way of life and settled in Cyprus.

There are a number of documented cases in Cyprus where Western Europeans adopted the Greek language and Greek mores and customs and these cases constitute a unique phenomenon. It would seem that, instead of the masters imposing their language and customs upon the vassals, it was the vassals who had the greater influence and hellenicised their masters. This phenomenon was not entirely irrelevant to the fact that Hellenicism had a long standing in Cyprus and was therefore deeply rooted and well established. In addition, the correlation between the ancient Greek civilization and the Christian Orthodox religion during the Byzantine era, strengthened the moral fortitude of the Greek inhabitants of Cyprus, helping them to withstand the influence of and survive under numerous foreign conquerors, especially the Turks.

The Ottoman Turks placed Cyprus under their occupation following a harsh war which lasted for approximately one year (1570 - 1571). It was not until then that the first Turks settled in Cyprus, and then again in limited numbers. These comprised administrative officials and a small number of military personnel. However during the Turkish period of rule over Cyprus (I 570/71 - 1878), harsh oppression, heavy taxation and other reasons drove many of the poorer Greeks of Cyprus to apparent conversion to Islam, while still secretly adhering to their Christian religion. There are many accounts of forceful conversion to Islam of many Greek Cypriots and of the gathering, by the Turks, of thousands of young children who the conquerors would then proceed to convert to Islam. This forced conversion to Islam was particularly noticeable following one or another revolt, due to heavy oppression, on the part of the Cypriots; the Turks would send troops to the island to quash the rebellion, and many Greek Cypriots would claim adherence to Islam, in order to save themselves.

This is the reason and explains why approximately 97% of the "Turkish" villages of Cyprus have Greek names. Furthermore, of these, approximately 45% are named after Christian Saints.

This is also the reason for which Turkey, which today, contrary to international conventions and UN resolutions, illegally occupies approximately 37% of Cyprus as a result of her military invasion of the island in 1974, attributes great importance to the alteration of placenames, in an attempt to twist and change historical reality. This attempt is made in conjunction with yet another; the destruction of archaeological sites and invaluable works of art (e.g. the famous 6th century AD Kanakaria mosaics) and churches. In general, Turkey is striving towards the destruction of all well-apparent testimonies to the eternal Greek character of Cyprus.

It is a historical fact that the majority of the present-day Turkish Cypriots is of Greek descent. These Turkish Cypriots are descendants of people who, under miserable conditions of slavery, through weakness, fear and despair, became "Turks" in a desperate attempt to survive. Many of these were known, up to the middle of the 20th century even, "linovamvakoi" (in Greek, linari = flax, vamvaki = cotton), a term coined by the English and used to describe those individuals who, even though considered Turks, were, n actual fact, Greeks.

Following the end of the Turkish rule in 1878, a number of these individuals once again adopted their original Christian religion and returned to the Greek Cypriot community. Many, however, did not return, and this was due to a number of reasons; either the church refused to accept them, or they were encouraged to remain as they were by the British who, as their archives show, favored the existence of a strong "Turkish" element on the island to counterbalance the Greek one, or were even encouraged by Turkey, whose interests were served if these individuals were to remain and be registered as Turks.

It is not postulated that the Turkish Cypriots of today should be considered Greeks. Throughout the course of History, they have become Turks, and that is how they themselves feel, irrespective of what their grandfather or great-grandfather was. However, during the bygone years of peaceful and even brotherly coexistence of all Cypriots, it would not have been at all difficult for them to "return to the fold", so to speak, and that is precisely what Turkey fears: the peaceful, harmonious and brotherly coexistence of the Greeks and the Turks of Cyprus, a coexistence one can observe successfully occurring in Cypriot communities abroad, such as the Cypriot community of London.

Turkey is well aware of the historical realities in play here and fears their results. It is for this reason that she places no trust in the Turkish Cypriots since they, being prepared and willing to live in peace with the Greeks of Cyprus, would not and could not serve her long-term expansionist alms.

This is also the reason for which Turkey is colonising the occupied part of Cyprus with many thousands of settlers, while at the same time leaving the Turkish Cypriots with no other choice but to emigrate. What is currently taking place in the occupied part of Cyprus is a replacement of the population, an alteration of the demographic character of the island. This constitutes none other than an inhuman act, as inhuman as Turkey's entire policy towards Cyprus, a Greek island.

Copyright© hellenic cyprus 2002