Today, we associate the Mediterranean island of Cyprus with Greece, with whom it shares language, religion, and culture. But prior to the conquests of Alexander the Great, which brought Greek rule to the entire Eastern Mediterranean and beyond, the island had far more in common with the nearby local cultures of Syria and Egypt than with faraway mainland Greece.

         With Greece still a group of relatively weak, fragmented city-states in the Late Archaic Period, Cyprus was dominated by Middle Eastern powers. First, the mighty Neo-Assyrian empire conquered the island under Sargon II (r. 721-705 BC). The island was inhabited by a polyglot mix of ethnic Greeks, Syrians, and Egyptians; while most of the names of cities were Greek, the chief deity of the island was the Babylonian goddess Ishtar. There was, at this time (ca. 600 BC), perhaps no greater cultural melting pot in the world than Cyprus.

         After the collapse of Assyria, the Egyptian pharaoh Amasis II conquered the island in 570 BC. Though Egyptian rule proved brief, it left a significant mark on Cypriot art for several generations. We can see Greek but also Egyptian influence in the Cypriot “big heads,” marble and limestone sculptures that date to just after the Egyptian withdrawal (ca. 540 BC). A Greek king, Euelthon (r. 550-525 BC) came to power in the major city of Salamis and struck coins, such as this one, that bear an Egyptian ankh (hieroglyphic symbol of good luck) on the reverse. Egyptian influence on Cyprus persisted until at least the end of the Persian Wars (480 BC).

         This very rare coin is a wonderful symbol of Cyprus’ multiculturalism and diverse artistic influences before the island was thoroughly Hellenized. The legends on this coin are written not in Greek, but Cypriot Syllabic script, which traces its roots to the Minoan system Linear A (ca. 1800 BC). The ram, an uncommon motif in Greek coinage of the time, may have had local significance, while the Egyptian ankh was a legacy of pharaoh Amasis’ short-lived conquest.