Salamis Ruins

Salamis is an ancient Greek city-state, 6 km north of Famagusta. According to tradition, the founder of Salamis was Teucer, son of Telamon, king of the Greek island of Salamis, who couldn’t return home after the Trojan war because he’d failed to avenge his brother Ajax.
Earliest archaeological finds go back to 11th century BC, when copper made Cyprus an important trading partner. Children's burials in Canaanite jars indicate a Phoenician presence, and a harbour and cemetery from this period have also been excavated.
The town is mentioned in Assyrian inscriptions as one of the kingdoms of Cyprus. Although under Assyrian control, city-states enjoyed relative independence provided they paid their tribute to the Assyrian king. This allowed kings of the various cities to accumulate wealth and power. Certain burial customs observed in the "royal tombs" of Salamis relate directly to Homeric rites, such as the sacrifice of horses in honour of the dead and the offering of jars of olive oil. Most of the grave goods come from the Levant or Egypt. Originally, the town was confined to a small area around the harbour but expanded west to occupy an area which is now forest. The cemetery of Salamis extends from the western limits of the forest to the Monastery of St Barnabas to the west, to the outskirts of the village of Ayios Serghios to the north, and to the outskirts of Enkomi village to the south. It contains tombs dating from the 9th century BC down to the Early Christian period. The earlier tombs are within the forest area, near the boundary of the early town.
Salamis had links with the Near East and the Aegean during the 8th and 7th centuries BC. One royal tomb contained a large amount of Greek Geometric pottery, the dowry of a Greek princess who married into the royal family of Salamis. In 450 BC, Salamis was the site of a simultaneous land and sea battle between Athens and the Persians. Under King Evagoras I (411-374 BC) Greek culture and art flourished in the city. A monument which illustrates the end of the Classical period in Salamis is the tumulus, which covered the cenotaph of Nicocreon, one of the last kings of Salamis, who died in 311 BC. On its monumental platform were several clay heads, some of which are portraits, perhaps members of the royal family who were honoured after their death on the pyre.
After Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire, Ptolemy I of Egypt ruled Cyprus. He forced Nicocreon, the Ptolemaic governor, to commit suicide in 311 BC, because he didn’t trust him anymore. In his place came King Menelaus, who was the brother of the first Ptolemy. Nicocreon is supposed to be buried in one of the big tumuli near Enkomi. Salamis remained the seat of the governor. In 306 BC, It was the site of a naval battle between the fleets of Demetrius I of Macedon and Ptolemy I of Egypt won by Demetrius who captured the island. In 58 BC, the Roman Republic annexed Cyprus and Ptolemy of Cyprus, the last Cypriotic king, committed suicide rather than surrender to Rome. Salamis became part of the Roman province of Cilicia governed from Paphos.
Salamis suffered heavily during the Jewish rising of AD 116–117. Although itt ceased to be the capital of Cyprus from the Hellenistic period onwards when it was replaced by Paphos, its wealth and importance didn’t diminish. The city was particularly favoured by the Roman emperors Trajan and Hadrian, who restored and established public buildings. The "cultural centre" of Salamis during the Roman period was situated at the northernmost part of the city, where a gymnasium, theatre, amphitheatre, stadium and public baths have been revealed. There are baths, public latrines (for 44 users), various bits of mosaic, a harbour wall, a Hellenistic and Roman agora. and a temple of Zeus that had the right to grant asylum. Byzantine remains include the basilica of Bishop Epiphanos (AD 367–403). It served as the metropolitan church of Salamis. St Epiphanios is buried at the southern apse. The church contains a baptistry heated by hypocausts. The church was destroyed in the 7th century and replaced by a smaller building to the south.
There are very extensive ruins, with the theatre and gymnasium extensively restored. Numerous statues are displayed in the central court of the gymnasium, most of which are headless. A statue of Augustus originally belonged here. The theatre is of Augustean date and could house up to 15.000 spectators before it was destroyed in the 4th century. Water came via an aqueduct from Kythrea, destroyed in the 7th century. The water was collected in a large cistern near the Agora. The necropolis of Salamis is west of the town and contains a museum showing some of the finds. The best-known burials are the so-called Royal-Tombs, containing chariots and extremely rich grave gifts, including imports from Egypt and Syria. A tomb excavated in 1965 brought to light an extraordinary wealth of tomb-gifts, which show trade relations with the Near East.
The "First Missionary Journey", was made by Paul the apostle and the Cypriot-born Barnabas, landing in Salamis after heading out from Antioch of Syria. There they proclaimed Christ in the Jewish synagogues before proceeding through the rest of the island (Acts 13:1-5). Tradition says that Barnabas preached in Alexandria and Rome, and was stoned to death at Salamis in about 61 CE. He is considered the founder of the Church of Cyprus. His bones are believed to be located in the nearby monastery named after him.
Several earthquakes led to the destruction of Salamis at the beginning of the 4th century. The town was rebuilt and became an Episcopal seat, the most famous occupant of which was Saint Epiphanius. Emperor Constantius II helped Salamis with reconstruction and tax exemptions, and the town was named Constantia after him. The silting of the harbour led to a gradual decline of the town. Salamis was finally abandoned during the Arab invasions of the 7th century.
Archaeological excavations began in the late 19th century and are now in the British Museum in London. Excavations started again in 1952 and were in progress until 1974 when international embargo prevented continuation. The site and the museums are maintained by the antiquities service, with important archaeological collections kept in the St Barnabas monastery. In the District Archaeological Museum there are marble statues from the gymnasium and the theatre of Salamis, Mycenaean pottery and jewellery from Enkomi. Several of the statues and sculptures from antiquity are disfigured, headless or mutilated, likely by Christian zealots in late antiquity, during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire.
Buildings uncovered show The Temple of Zeus Salaminios must have existed since the foundation of the city. Early excavators discovered in the esplanade of the Temple of Zeus an enormous marble capital carved on each side with a caryatid figure standing between the foreparts of winged bulls. Now in the British Museum's collection, the function of the capital remains unclear, although it does indicate influence from Achaemenid art and is consequently dated to between 300 and 250 BC.