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Structure of the exhibition
The exhibition is structured in six major themat-
ic groups:
The history of archaeological research:
From
the era of amateur collectors and “treasure hunt-
ers,” when objects were prized only as works of
art, to the beginning of scientific excavations,
when the context of the finds began to acquire
meaning and its appropriate importance.
The island:
Special emphasis is given to copper
and its exploitation, which made Cyprus a major
centre of trade in the ancient world.
The sea:
From the earliest exploitation of ma-
rine resources in the Neolithic period to the pe-
riod when Cyprus was fully integrated into the
Mediterranean networks of maritime trade (late
3
rd
and 2
nd
millennium BC).
Society and people:
The impact of cultural in-
teraction is evident at all levels of society;
from
official administration and elite ideologies to
daily life and the use of language and script.
Here, we explore how foreign elements were
amalgamated with local traditions.
The world of the dead:
Death was of great im-
portance to the ancient Cypriots. Tomb finds offer
valuable information about the symbolic world
and the status of the deceased and suggest ideo-
logical links with other Mediterranean cultures.
The world of the sacred:
Ancient societies were
open to religious interaction. In Cyprus, local
divinities were frequently assimilated with gods
and goddesses from the wider Mediterranean area
giving rise to new, original forms of religious ex-
pression. The transformations of the Great Cyp-
riot Goddess, commonly known as Aphrodite,
provide one of the most characteristic examples.
An array of extraordinary antiquities
Earrings – gold and glass, with a diameter of
around 3.5 cm from the Hellenistic period (2
nd
century BC)
Apair of earrings provided by the Limassol District
Museum in the shape of dolphins’ heads: the hoop
is twisted and decorated with rectangular green
and deep purple glass beads alternating with four
granulated rings. The pointed end of the hoop is
fastened into a loop below the dolphin´s head.
Earrings consisting of twisted wire and deco-
rated with animal or human protomes, or with
a bent naked, winged Eros, made their appear-
ance in the late 4
th
century BC. The earrings with
a dolphin’s head appear relatively later, namely
during the 2
nd
century BC. The geographic dis-
tribution of the dolphin type earring is limited to
Egypt and Cyprus.
Dolphins are often depicted with Aphrodite, and
their presence may allude to the goddess’s birth
from the sea. The Mallia earrings are typical of
the Hellenistic period; one of the most distinc-
tive features of jewellery in this period was poly-
Pair of earrings with terminals in the shape of dolphins’ heads from the
Hellenistic period – 2
nd
century BC At the Limassol District Museum
Centaur figurine