Listed 3 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for destination: "ARSINOE Ancient city CYPRUS".
There were at least three towns so named, all three on the coast.
A fourth one in the interior is rather doubtful. One was formerly Marion on the
NW coast near Cape Arnauti, another at modern Famagusta on the E coast, and the
third somewhere between Old and New Paphos on the SW coast. As to the fourth,
it is said to be at Arsos in the Limassol district. Of the four, only the first
has been explored.
The best known Arsinoe is the former Marion (q.v.). After Alexander
the Great, Stasioikos II, the last king of Marion, sided with Antigonos against
Ptolemy. In 312 B.C. the city was razed by Ptolemy and its inhabitants were transferred
to Paphos. On the ruins a new city was founded about 270 B.C. by Ptolemy Philadelphus
who renamed it after his wife and sister. We probably know more of this Arsinoe
than of its predecessor Marion.
The ruins of this town are to be found to the N of the modern village
of Polis. Part of the site is now a field of ruins under cultivation and part
is inhabited, but the town may have extended S under the modern village. The necropolis,
also the Classical necropolis of Marion, lies mainly to the S. This Arsinoe is
well known to geographers and historians (Strab. 14.683; Ptol. 5.14.4; Plin. HNT
5.130; Steph. Byz.). The Stadiasmus (309) and inscriptions record it. The town
flourished during the Hellenistic and Graeco-Roman era, and in Early Christian
times it became the seat of a bishop. The site has never been excavated. Some
soundings made in 1929 were intended to locate the earlier city.
From an inscription of the 3d c. B.C. we know that there was a Hellenistic
gymnasium but its position remains unknown. There was probably a theater but we
have no evidence although its position can be conjectured. We learn from Strabo
that there was a Sacred Grove to Zeus and from an inscription of the time of Tiberius
we are told of the existence of a Temple of Zeus and Aphrodite. The site of a
sanctuary is known at the far end of a small ridge at Maratheri, E of the ancient
town. This sanctuary may well be that of Zeus and Aphrodite mentioned in the above
inscription, which almost certainly came from this site. This cult may be earlier
for on some coins of Stasioikos II is shown on the obverse the head of Zeus and
on the reverse that of Aphrodite. In fact, casual finds also date this sanctuary
from the archaic to the Graeco-Roman period. The site is the most important town
in Cyprus of this name and as we know of many Arsinoeia in the island we may presume
that there was one here too.
A number of tombs of the Hellenistic and Graeco-Roman era were excavated
in the necropolis S of Polis. These tombs contain the familiar Hellenistic and
Roman pottery and other furniture and very often are rich in jewelry. However,
there is nothing to be seen at present above ground.
K. Nicolaou, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
On the NW coast near the sea. The ruins cover a large area, part of
which is now occupied by the village of Polis. Marion was founded on two low plateaus,
both commanding a wide view over the narrow plain below and the Bay of Chrysochou
beyond. Thus there was an E and a W city, the former being the first to be inhabited.
Similarly its vast necropolis extended E and W. Remains of the ancient harbor
still survive at Latsi.
Archaeological evidence indicates that the city was founded at the
beginning of the Geometric period. The site of the earliest city should be located
on a low hill E of the village of Polis. This is the E city. It is now a field
of ruins under cultivation except for part of its S side, which is occupied by
the modern gymnasium and Technical School of Polis. Close by is the E necropolis
with tombs dating mainly from the Geometric and the archaic period. In late archaic
times Marion spread to the W on a low hill called Petrerades, due N of Polis.
This is the W city. This site too is now under cultivation or partly inhabited.
South of it extends the W necropolis, dating from Classical and Hellenistic times.
The name Aimar appears in an Egyptian inscription at Medinet Habu
of the time of Rameses III (1198-1167 B.C.), if the correlation with Marion were
beyond dispute. The earliest known historical event mentioning Marion belongs
to the Classical period, when in 449 B.C. the Athenian general Kimon freed the
city from the Persians. On coins of the 5th and 4th c. B.C. are given in syllabic
script not only the name of the king but also the name Marieus. Skylax the geographer
(probably mid 4th c. B.C.) speaks of this city as Marion Hellenis (GGM 103).
After Alexander the Great, Stasioikos II, the last king of Marion,
sided with Antigonos against Ptolemy and in 312 B.C. the city was razed by Ptolemy
and the inhabitants transferred to Paphos. About the year 270 B.C. a new town,
renamed Arsinoe (q.v.), was founded on the ruins of Marion by Ptolemy Philadelphus.
This town flourished once more during the Hellenistic and Graeco-Roman periods
and in Early Christian times it became the seat of a bishop.
Marion was one of the ancient kingdoms of Cyprus and we know the names
of most of its kings from the 5th and 4th c. B.C. The city grew in importance
at an early date, drawing its wealth from the nearby copper mines at Limne and
from an intensive trade with Athens. The necropolis has produced large quantities
of imported Attic pottery, an indication that there were close commercial and
cultural relations with Athens. These tombs are also rich in gold jewelry. A fine
marble kouros, now in the British Museum, also comes from Marion.
The earliest coins attributed to Marion date to the second quarter
of the 5th c. B.C. These were struck by Sasmaos son of Doxandros. Coins were also
minted by Stasioikos I (after 449 B.C.), Timocharis (end of the 5th c. B.C.),
and Stasioikos II (330?-312 B.C.). Nothing is known of the kings between Timocharis
and Stasioikos II.
Marion produced a large number of syllabic inscriptions dating from
the 6th to the 4th c. B.C. They are inscribed on stelai found in tombs so that
they are all funerary. None has been found so far on the city site. Alphabetic
inscriptions occur also but they are Hellenistic and later.
Apart from some soundings made in 1929 and in 1960 in the W sector
of the city no excavations were ever carried out within the city site. A large
number of tombs, however, were excavated in the necropolis but none is now accessible.
A general survey of the city site and its immediate surroundings was carried out
in 1960 with interesting results. Surface finds dating from the Protogeometric
period down to Hellenistic times were found at Peristeries, thus supporting the
theory that the site of the earliest Marion should be sought here. The soundings
at Petrerades N of Polis simply proved that at least part of the late archaic
and Classical city is buried below the remains of Hellenistic Arsinoe.
The site of a sanctuary is known at the far end of a small ridge at
Maratheri between the E and W cities. Casual finds date it from the archaic to
Graeco-Roman times. This sanctuary may well be that of Zeus and Aphrodite, known
from an inscription of the time of Tiberius which almost certainly came from this
site. Strabo (14.683) speaks of a Sacred Grove to Zeus. It is interesting to note
that some coins of King Stasioikos II show on the obverse the head of Zeus and
on the reverse that of Aphrodite.
The harbor of Marion-Arsinoe lies ca. 4 km W of Polis and still shelters
fishing boats. A massive breakwater still survives for a considerable length;
it must have been much longer in antiquity, since a large part of the harbor has
silted up. It was from this harbor that the trade with the West passed, especially
the exportation of copper.
The finds are in the Nicosia and Paphos Museums.
K. Nicolaou, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited July 2003 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
Arsinoe. A town in the E. of Cyprus, near the promontory of Acamas
(Strab. xiv. p. 682; Ptol. v. 14. § 4), formerly called Marion (Marion Steph.
B. s. v.; comp. Scylax, s. v. Cyprus). Ptolemy Soter destroyed this town, and
removed the inhabitants to Paphos (Diod. xix. 89). For coins of Marion see Eckhel,
vol. iii. p. 86. The name of Arsinoe was given to it in honour of the Aegyptian
princess of that name, the wife and sister of Ptolemy Philadelphus. Hierocles
and Const. Porphyr. (Them. i. 15) place it between Paphos and Soloi. The modern
name is Polikrusoko or Xrisopeou, from the gold mines in the neighbourhood. According
to Strabo there was a grove sacred to Zeus. Cyprus, from its subjection to the
kings of the Lagid family, had more than one city of this name, which was common
to several princesses of that house.
Another Arsinoe is placed near Ammochostus to the N. of the island
(Strab. p. 683). A third city of the same name appears in Strabo, with a harbour,
temple, and grove, and lies between Old and New Paphos. The ancient name survives
in the present Arschelia (D'Anville, Mem. de l' Acad. des Inscrip. vol. xxxii.
pp. 537, 545, 551, 554; Engel, Kypros, vol. i. pp. 73, 97, 137; Marati, Viaggi
vol. i. p. 200).
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited July 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
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