Authorities.—An Attempt at a Bibliography of Cyprus, by C. D. Cobham (4th ed., Nicosia, 1900), registers over 700 works which deal with Cyprus.A Handbook of Cyprus, by Sir J. T. Hutchinson and C. D. Cobham (London), treats the island briefly from every standpoint. See also E. Oberhummer,Die Insel Cypern(Munich, 1903 et seq.), a comprehensive work. The most interesting travels may be found under the names of Felix Faber,Evagatorium(Stuttgart, 1843); de Villamont, Voyages (Arras, 1598); van Kootwyck,Cotovici itinerarium(Antwerp, 1619); R. Pococke,Description of the East(London, 1743); A. Drummond,Travels(London, 1754); E. D. Clarke,Travels(London, 1812); Sir S. Baker,Cyprus in 1879(London, 1879); W. H. Mallock,In an Enchanted Island(London, 1879). The geology of the island has been handled by A. Gaudry,Géologie de l’île de Chypre(Paris, 1862); C. V. Bellamy,Notes on the Geology of Cyprus, to accompany a Geological Map of Cyprus(London, 1905); C. V. Bellamy and A. J. Jukes-Brown,Geology of Cyprus(Plymouth, 1905). Its natural history by F. Unger and T. Kotschy,Die Insel Cypern(Wien, 1865). Numismatics by the Duc de Luynes,Numismatique et inscriptions cypriotes(Paris, 1852); R. H. Lang,Numism. Chronicle, vol. xi. (1871); J. P. Six,Rev. num.pp. 249-374 (Paris, 1883); and E. Babelon,Monnaies grecques(Paris, 1893). The coins of medieval date have been described by P. Lambros,Monnaies inédites(Athens, 1876); and G. Schlumberger,Num. de l’orient latin(Paris, 1878). Inscriptions in the Cypriote character have been collected by M. Schmidt,Sammlung(Jena, 1876); and W. Deecke,Die griechisch-kyprischen Inschriften(Göttingen, 1883); in Phoenician in the C.I.P. (Paris, 1881). J. Meursius,Cyprus(Amsterdam, 1675), marshals the classical authorities; and W. Engel,Kypros(Berlin, 1841), gives a good summary of the ancient history of the island. For the Phoenician element, see F. Movers,Die Phönizier(Bonn and Berlin, 1841-1856). L. Comte de Mas Latrie published between 1852 and 1861 one volume ofHistory(1191-1291), and two of most precious documents in illustration of the reigns of the Lusignan kings. Fra Stefano Lusignano,Chorograffia di Cipro(Bologna, 1573), and Bp. Stubbs,Two Lectures(Oxford, 1878), are useful for the same period; and perhaps a score of contemporary pamphlets—the best of them by N. Martinengo,Relatione di tutto il successo di Famagosta(Venezia, 1572), and A. Calepio (in Lusignan’sChorograffia)—preserve details of the famous sieges of Nicosia and Famagusta. G. Mariti,Viaggi(Lucca, 1769; Eng. trans. C. D. Cobham, 2nd ed., 1909), and Cyprianos,History(Venice, 1768), are the best authorities of Cyprus under Turkish rule. Medieval tombs and their inscriptions are recorded and illustrated in T. J. Chamberlayne,Lacrimae nicossienses(Paris, 1894); and C. Enlart’s volumes,L’Art gothique et la Renaissance en Chypre(Paris, 1899), deal with medieval architecture. For Cypriote pottery in Athens and Constantinople, see G. Nicole,Bulletin de l’Institut Genevois, xxxvii.
Authorities.—An Attempt at a Bibliography of Cyprus, by C. D. Cobham (4th ed., Nicosia, 1900), registers over 700 works which deal with Cyprus.A Handbook of Cyprus, by Sir J. T. Hutchinson and C. D. Cobham (London), treats the island briefly from every standpoint. See also E. Oberhummer,Die Insel Cypern(Munich, 1903 et seq.), a comprehensive work. The most interesting travels may be found under the names of Felix Faber,Evagatorium(Stuttgart, 1843); de Villamont, Voyages (Arras, 1598); van Kootwyck,Cotovici itinerarium(Antwerp, 1619); R. Pococke,Description of the East(London, 1743); A. Drummond,Travels(London, 1754); E. D. Clarke,Travels(London, 1812); Sir S. Baker,Cyprus in 1879(London, 1879); W. H. Mallock,In an Enchanted Island(London, 1879). The geology of the island has been handled by A. Gaudry,Géologie de l’île de Chypre(Paris, 1862); C. V. Bellamy,Notes on the Geology of Cyprus, to accompany a Geological Map of Cyprus(London, 1905); C. V. Bellamy and A. J. Jukes-Brown,Geology of Cyprus(Plymouth, 1905). Its natural history by F. Unger and T. Kotschy,Die Insel Cypern(Wien, 1865). Numismatics by the Duc de Luynes,Numismatique et inscriptions cypriotes(Paris, 1852); R. H. Lang,Numism. Chronicle, vol. xi. (1871); J. P. Six,Rev. num.pp. 249-374 (Paris, 1883); and E. Babelon,Monnaies grecques(Paris, 1893). The coins of medieval date have been described by P. Lambros,Monnaies inédites(Athens, 1876); and G. Schlumberger,Num. de l’orient latin(Paris, 1878). Inscriptions in the Cypriote character have been collected by M. Schmidt,Sammlung(Jena, 1876); and W. Deecke,Die griechisch-kyprischen Inschriften(Göttingen, 1883); in Phoenician in the C.I.P. (Paris, 1881). J. Meursius,Cyprus(Amsterdam, 1675), marshals the classical authorities; and W. Engel,Kypros(Berlin, 1841), gives a good summary of the ancient history of the island. For the Phoenician element, see F. Movers,Die Phönizier(Bonn and Berlin, 1841-1856). L. Comte de Mas Latrie published between 1852 and 1861 one volume ofHistory(1191-1291), and two of most precious documents in illustration of the reigns of the Lusignan kings. Fra Stefano Lusignano,Chorograffia di Cipro(Bologna, 1573), and Bp. Stubbs,Two Lectures(Oxford, 1878), are useful for the same period; and perhaps a score of contemporary pamphlets—the best of them by N. Martinengo,Relatione di tutto il successo di Famagosta(Venezia, 1572), and A. Calepio (in Lusignan’sChorograffia)—preserve details of the famous sieges of Nicosia and Famagusta. G. Mariti,Viaggi(Lucca, 1769; Eng. trans. C. D. Cobham, 2nd ed., 1909), and Cyprianos,History(Venice, 1768), are the best authorities of Cyprus under Turkish rule. Medieval tombs and their inscriptions are recorded and illustrated in T. J. Chamberlayne,Lacrimae nicossienses(Paris, 1894); and C. Enlart’s volumes,L’Art gothique et la Renaissance en Chypre(Paris, 1899), deal with medieval architecture. For Cypriote pottery in Athens and Constantinople, see G. Nicole,Bulletin de l’Institut Genevois, xxxvii.
1M. Ohnefalsch-Richter,Arch. Zeitung(1881), p. 311, pl. xviii. The principal publications respecting this and all sites and phases of culture mentioned in this section are collected in Myres and Ohnefalsch-Richter,Cyprus Museum Catalogue(Oxford, 1899), pp. 1-35.2Myres,Journ. Hellenic Studies, xvii. p. 146.3Sayce,Trans. Soc. Bibl. Arch.v. pp. 441-444. The exact provenance of these cylinders is not known, but there is every reason to believe that they were found in Cyprus.4British Museum,Excavations in Cyprus(London, 1900). The official publication stands alone in referring these tombs to the Hellenic period (800-600B.C.).5E. Oberhummer,Die Insel Cypern(Munich, 1903), i. pp. 1-3 (all the Egyptian evidence).6A. J. Evans,Journ. Anthrop. Inst.xxx. p. 199 ff.; J. Naue,Die vorrömischen Schwerter(Munich, 1903), p. 25.7E. Oberhummer,l.c.p. 5 ff. (all the Assyrian and biblical evidence).8W. H. Engel,Kypros(Berlin, 1841) (all the Greek traditions).9Moriz Schmidt,Z. f. vergl. Sprachw.(1860), p. 290 ff., 361 ff.; H. W. Smith,Trans. Amer. Philol. Assoc.xviii. (1887); R. Meister,Zum eleischen, arkadischen u. kyprischen Dialekte(Leipzig, 1890); O. Hoffmann,Die griechischen Dialekte, i. (Göttingen, 1891); C. D. Cobham,Bibliography of Cyprus, pp. 40-45.10G. Smith,Tr. Soc. Bibl. Arch.i. 129 ff.; Moritz Schmidt,Monatsb. k. Ak. Wiss.(Berlin, 1874), pp. 614-615;Sammlung kypr. Inschriften(Jena, 1876); W. Deecke,Ursprung der kypr. Sylbenschrift(Strassburg, 1877); cf. Deecke-Collitz,Samml. d. gr. Dialektinschriften, i. (Göttingen, 1884); cf. C. D. Cobham,l.c.On its Aegean origin, A. J. Evans, “Cretan Pictographs” (1895),Journ. Hell. Studies, xiv., cf. xvii.; British Museum,Exc. in Cypr.(London, 1900), p. 27.11British Museum,Exc. in Cypr.(London, 1900), p. 95 (Ionic inscriptions of 5th century from Amathus).12M. de Voguë,Mélanges d’archéologie orientale(Paris, 1869); J. Euting,Sitzb. k. preuss. Ak. Wiss.(1887), pp. 115 ff.; Ph. Berger,C. R. Acad. Inscr.(1887), pp. 155 ff., 187 ff., 203 ff. Cf.Corpus Inscr. Semit.(Paris, 1881), ii. 35 ff.13E. Schrader,Abh. d. k. preuss. Ak. Wiss.(1881).14G. Perrot and C. Chipiez,Histoire de l’art dans l’antiquité, iii. (Paris, 1885), interpret these and most other Cypriote materials without reserve as “Phoenician.”15F. Halbherr and P. Orsi,Antichità dell’ antro di Zeus Ideo in Creta(Rome, 1888). Cf. H. Brunn,Griechische Kunstgeschichte(Munich, 1893), i. 90 ff.16Herod. ii. 182; see alsoEgypt:History(Dyn. XXVI.).17Herod. iii. 19. 91; see alsoPersia:History.18Herod. v. 108, 113, 115.19Herod. vii. 90.20Thuc. i. 94, 112.21M. Schmidt,Die Inschrift von Idalion(Jena, 1874).22G. F. Hill,Brit. Mus. Cat. Coins of Cyprus(London, 1904). Earlier literature in Cobham,l.c.p. 39.23H. F. Talbot,Tr. Soc. Bibl. Arch.v. 447 ff. (translation). For Evagoras and the place of Cyprus in later Greek history, see G. Grote,History of Greece(Index,s.v.), and W. H. Engel,Kypros(Berlin, 1841).241 Macc. xv. 23.25Livy,Epit.104; Cic.pro Sestio, 26, 57.26Dio Cass. liii. 12; Strabo 683, 840.27Dio Cass. liv. 4; Strabo 685.28Acts xiii. 7.29D. G. Hogarth,Devia Cypria, pp. 114 ff. and app.30Corp. Inscr. Lat.2631-2632.31Jos.Ant.16. 4, 5; 19. 26, 28.32Acts iv. 36, xi. 19, 20, xiii. 4-13, xv. 39, xxi. 16.33De Longpérier,Athenæum français(1853), pp. 413 ff.;Musée Napoléon, pls. x. xi.34De Luynes,Numismatique et inscriptions chypriotes(1852).35Archaeologia, xlv. (1877), pp. 127-142.36Trans. Roy. Soc. Literature, 2nd ser. xi. (1878), pp. 30 ff.37Article “Cyprus”ad. fin.38Cyprus: its Cities, Tombs and Temples(London, 1877).39See Cobham,An Attempt at a Bibliography of Cyprus(4th ed., Nicosia, 1900), Appendix, “Cesnola Controversy,” p. 54.40The Lawrence-Cesnola Collection(London, 1881);Salaminia,id.1882.41Myres and Ohnefalsch-Richter,A Catalogue of the Cyprus Museum, with a Chronicle of Excavations since the British Occupation, and Introductory Notes on Cypriote Archaeology(Oxford, 1899).42Mitt. d. arch. Inst.ii. (Athens, 1881).43Mitt. d. arch. Inst.vi. (Athens, 1886);Bemerkungen z. ält Kunsthandwerk, &c., ii. “Der kypr. geometrische Stil” (Halle, 1888).44Summarized inCyprus, the Bible and Homer(London and Berlin, 1893).45Das Gräberfeld von Marion(Berlin, 1888).46Archives des missions scientifiques, xvii. (Paris, 1891).47Journal of Hellenic Studies, ix. (London, 1888).48Id.xi. (1890); xii. (1891).49Id.xii. (1891).50Id.ix. (1888).51Id.ix. (1888).52Id.xi. (1890).53Devia Cypria(Oxford, 1889).54J.H.S.xvii. (1897).55Summarized inCyprus Museum Catalogue(Oxford, 1899).56Excavations in Cyprus(London, 1900).
1M. Ohnefalsch-Richter,Arch. Zeitung(1881), p. 311, pl. xviii. The principal publications respecting this and all sites and phases of culture mentioned in this section are collected in Myres and Ohnefalsch-Richter,Cyprus Museum Catalogue(Oxford, 1899), pp. 1-35.
2Myres,Journ. Hellenic Studies, xvii. p. 146.
3Sayce,Trans. Soc. Bibl. Arch.v. pp. 441-444. The exact provenance of these cylinders is not known, but there is every reason to believe that they were found in Cyprus.
4British Museum,Excavations in Cyprus(London, 1900). The official publication stands alone in referring these tombs to the Hellenic period (800-600B.C.).
5E. Oberhummer,Die Insel Cypern(Munich, 1903), i. pp. 1-3 (all the Egyptian evidence).
6A. J. Evans,Journ. Anthrop. Inst.xxx. p. 199 ff.; J. Naue,Die vorrömischen Schwerter(Munich, 1903), p. 25.
7E. Oberhummer,l.c.p. 5 ff. (all the Assyrian and biblical evidence).
8W. H. Engel,Kypros(Berlin, 1841) (all the Greek traditions).
9Moriz Schmidt,Z. f. vergl. Sprachw.(1860), p. 290 ff., 361 ff.; H. W. Smith,Trans. Amer. Philol. Assoc.xviii. (1887); R. Meister,Zum eleischen, arkadischen u. kyprischen Dialekte(Leipzig, 1890); O. Hoffmann,Die griechischen Dialekte, i. (Göttingen, 1891); C. D. Cobham,Bibliography of Cyprus, pp. 40-45.
10G. Smith,Tr. Soc. Bibl. Arch.i. 129 ff.; Moritz Schmidt,Monatsb. k. Ak. Wiss.(Berlin, 1874), pp. 614-615;Sammlung kypr. Inschriften(Jena, 1876); W. Deecke,Ursprung der kypr. Sylbenschrift(Strassburg, 1877); cf. Deecke-Collitz,Samml. d. gr. Dialektinschriften, i. (Göttingen, 1884); cf. C. D. Cobham,l.c.On its Aegean origin, A. J. Evans, “Cretan Pictographs” (1895),Journ. Hell. Studies, xiv., cf. xvii.; British Museum,Exc. in Cypr.(London, 1900), p. 27.
11British Museum,Exc. in Cypr.(London, 1900), p. 95 (Ionic inscriptions of 5th century from Amathus).
12M. de Voguë,Mélanges d’archéologie orientale(Paris, 1869); J. Euting,Sitzb. k. preuss. Ak. Wiss.(1887), pp. 115 ff.; Ph. Berger,C. R. Acad. Inscr.(1887), pp. 155 ff., 187 ff., 203 ff. Cf.Corpus Inscr. Semit.(Paris, 1881), ii. 35 ff.
13E. Schrader,Abh. d. k. preuss. Ak. Wiss.(1881).
14G. Perrot and C. Chipiez,Histoire de l’art dans l’antiquité, iii. (Paris, 1885), interpret these and most other Cypriote materials without reserve as “Phoenician.”
15F. Halbherr and P. Orsi,Antichità dell’ antro di Zeus Ideo in Creta(Rome, 1888). Cf. H. Brunn,Griechische Kunstgeschichte(Munich, 1893), i. 90 ff.
16Herod. ii. 182; see alsoEgypt:History(Dyn. XXVI.).
17Herod. iii. 19. 91; see alsoPersia:History.
18Herod. v. 108, 113, 115.
19Herod. vii. 90.
20Thuc. i. 94, 112.
21M. Schmidt,Die Inschrift von Idalion(Jena, 1874).
22G. F. Hill,Brit. Mus. Cat. Coins of Cyprus(London, 1904). Earlier literature in Cobham,l.c.p. 39.
23H. F. Talbot,Tr. Soc. Bibl. Arch.v. 447 ff. (translation). For Evagoras and the place of Cyprus in later Greek history, see G. Grote,History of Greece(Index,s.v.), and W. H. Engel,Kypros(Berlin, 1841).
241 Macc. xv. 23.
25Livy,Epit.104; Cic.pro Sestio, 26, 57.
26Dio Cass. liii. 12; Strabo 683, 840.
27Dio Cass. liv. 4; Strabo 685.
28Acts xiii. 7.
29D. G. Hogarth,Devia Cypria, pp. 114 ff. and app.
30Corp. Inscr. Lat.2631-2632.
31Jos.Ant.16. 4, 5; 19. 26, 28.
32Acts iv. 36, xi. 19, 20, xiii. 4-13, xv. 39, xxi. 16.
33De Longpérier,Athenæum français(1853), pp. 413 ff.;Musée Napoléon, pls. x. xi.
34De Luynes,Numismatique et inscriptions chypriotes(1852).
35Archaeologia, xlv. (1877), pp. 127-142.
36Trans. Roy. Soc. Literature, 2nd ser. xi. (1878), pp. 30 ff.
37Article “Cyprus”ad. fin.
38Cyprus: its Cities, Tombs and Temples(London, 1877).
39See Cobham,An Attempt at a Bibliography of Cyprus(4th ed., Nicosia, 1900), Appendix, “Cesnola Controversy,” p. 54.
40The Lawrence-Cesnola Collection(London, 1881);Salaminia,id.1882.
41Myres and Ohnefalsch-Richter,A Catalogue of the Cyprus Museum, with a Chronicle of Excavations since the British Occupation, and Introductory Notes on Cypriote Archaeology(Oxford, 1899).
42Mitt. d. arch. Inst.ii. (Athens, 1881).
43Mitt. d. arch. Inst.vi. (Athens, 1886);Bemerkungen z. ält Kunsthandwerk, &c., ii. “Der kypr. geometrische Stil” (Halle, 1888).
44Summarized inCyprus, the Bible and Homer(London and Berlin, 1893).
45Das Gräberfeld von Marion(Berlin, 1888).
46Archives des missions scientifiques, xvii. (Paris, 1891).
47Journal of Hellenic Studies, ix. (London, 1888).
48Id.xi. (1890); xii. (1891).
49Id.xii. (1891).
50Id.ix. (1888).
51Id.ix. (1888).
52Id.xi. (1890).
53Devia Cypria(Oxford, 1889).
54J.H.S.xvii. (1897).
55Summarized inCyprus Museum Catalogue(Oxford, 1899).
56Excavations in Cyprus(London, 1900).
CYPRUS, CHURCH OF.The Church of Cyprus is in communion and in doctrinal agreement with the other Orthodox Churches of the East (seeOrthodox Eastern Church), but is independent and subject to no patriarch. This position it has always claimed (see, however, W. Bright,Notes on the Canons, on Ephesus 8). At any rate, its independence “by ancient custom” was recognized, as against the claims of the patriarch of Antioch, by the council of Ephesus,A.D.431, by an edict of the emperor Zeno (to whom the church had sent a cogent argument on its own behalf, the alleged body of its reputed founder St Barnabas, then just discovered at Salamis), and by the Trullan Council in 692. Attempts have been made subsequently by the patriarchs of Antioch to claim authority over it, the last as recently as 1600; but they came to nothing. And excepting for the period during which Cyprus was in the hands of the Lusignans and the Venetian Republic (1193-1571), the Church has never lost its independence. It receives the holy ointment (μῦρον) from without, till 1860 from Antioch and subsequently from Constantinople, but this is a matter of courtesy and not of right. Of old there were some twenty sees in the island. The bishop of the capital, Salamis or Constantia, was constituted metropolitan by Zeno, with the title “archbishopof all Cyprus,” enlarged subsequently into “archbishop of Justiniana Nova and of all Cyprus,” after an enforced expatriation to Justinianopolis in 688. Zeno also gave him the unique privileges of wearing and signing his name in the imperial purple, &c., which are still preserved. A Latin hierarchy was set up in 1196 (an archbishop at Nicosia with suffragans at Limasol, Paphos and Famagusta), and the Greek bishops were made to minister to their flocks in subjection to it. The sees were forcibly reduced to four, the archbishopric was ostensibly abolished, and the bishops were compelled to do homage and swear fealty to the Latin Church. This bondage ceased at the conquest of the island by the Turks: the Latin hierarchy disappeared (the cathedral at Nicosia is now used as a mosque), and the native church emerged into comparative freedom. In 1821, it is true, all the bishops and many of their flock were put to death by way of discouraging sympathies with the Greeks; but successors were soon consecrated, by bishops sent from Antioch at the request of the patriarch of Constantinople, and on the whole the Church has prospered. The bishops-elect required theberatof the sultan; but having received this, they enjoyed no little civil importance. Since 1878 theberathas not been given, and the bishops are less influential. The suppressed sees have never been restored, but the four which survive (now known as Nicosia, Paphos, Kition and Kyrenia) are of metropolitan rank, so that the archbishop, whose headquarters, first at Salamis, then at Famagusta, are now at Nicosia, is a primate amongst metropolitans. There are several monasteries dating from the 11th century and onwards; also an archiepiscopal school at Nicosia, founded in 1812 and raised to the status of a “gymnasion” in 1893; and a high school for girls.
Authorities.—Ph. Georgiou,Εἰδήσεις Ἱστορικαὶ περὶ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τῆς Κύπρου(Athens, 1875); K. Kouriokurineos (Archbishop of Cyprus),Ἱστορία χρονολογικὴ τῆς νήσου Κύπρου(Venice, 1788); de Mas Latrie,Histoire de l’île de Chypre sous les princes de la maison de Lusignan(Paris, 1852 f.); H. T. F. Duckworth,The Church of Cyprus(London, 1900); J. Hackett,History of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus(1901).
Authorities.—Ph. Georgiou,Εἰδήσεις Ἱστορικαὶ περὶ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τῆς Κύπρου(Athens, 1875); K. Kouriokurineos (Archbishop of Cyprus),Ἱστορία χρονολογικὴ τῆς νήσου Κύπρου(Venice, 1788); de Mas Latrie,Histoire de l’île de Chypre sous les princes de la maison de Lusignan(Paris, 1852 f.); H. T. F. Duckworth,The Church of Cyprus(London, 1900); J. Hackett,History of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus(1901).
(W. E. Co.)
CYPSELUS,tyrant of Corinth (c.657-627B.C.), was the son of Aeëtion and Labda, daughter of Amphion, a member of the ruling family, the Bacchiadae. He is said to have derived his name from the fact that when the Bacchiadae, warned that he would prove their ruin, sent emissaries to kill him in his cradle, his mother saved him by concealing him in a chest (Gr.κυψέλη). The story was, of course, a subsequent invention. When he was grown up, Cypselus, encouraged by an oracle, drove out the Bacchiadae, and made himself master of Corinth. It is stated that he first ingratiated himself with the people by his liberal conduct when Polemarch, in which capacity he had to exact the fines imposed by the law. In the words of Aristotle he made his way through demagogy to tyranny. Herodotus, in the spirit of 5th-century Greeks, which conventionally regarded the tyrants as selfish despots, says he ruled harshly, but he is generally represented as mild, beneficent and so popular as to be able to dispense with a bodyguard, the usual attribute of a tyrannis. He pursued an energetic commercial and colonial policy (seeCorinth), and thus laid the foundations of Corinthian prosperity. He may well be compared with the Athenian Peisistratus in these respects. He laid out the large sums thus derived on the construction of buildings and works of art. At the same time he wisely strove to gain the goodwill of the powerful priesthoods of the great sanctuaries of Delphi and Olympia. At Delphi he built a treasure-house for Corinthian votive offerings; at Olympia he dedicated a colossal statue of Zeus and the famous “chest of Cypselus,” supposed to be identical with the chest of the legend, of which Pausanias (v. 17-19) has given an elaborate description. It was of cedar-wood, gold and ivory, and on it were represented the chief incidents in Greek (especially Corinthian) mythology and legend. Cypselus was succeeded by his son Periander.
SeeCorinth:History; histories of Greece; Herodotus v. 92; Aristotle,Politics, 1310b, 1315b; P. Knapp,Die Kypseliden und die Kypseloslade(Tübingen, 1888); L. Preller,Ausgewahlte Aufsatze(1864); H. Stuart Jones, inJourn. Hell. Stud.(1894), 30 foll.
SeeCorinth:History; histories of Greece; Herodotus v. 92; Aristotle,Politics, 1310b, 1315b; P. Knapp,Die Kypseliden und die Kypseloslade(Tübingen, 1888); L. Preller,Ausgewahlte Aufsatze(1864); H. Stuart Jones, inJourn. Hell. Stud.(1894), 30 foll.
CYRANO DE BERGERAC, SAVINIEN(1620-1655), French romance-writer and dramatist, son of Abel de Cyrano, seigneur de Mauvières et de Bergerac, was born in Paris on the 6th of March 1619-1620. He received his first education from a country priest, and had for a fellow pupil his friend and future biographer, Henri Lebret. He then proceeded to Paris to the collège de Beauvais, where he had for master Jean Grangier, whom he afterwards ridiculed in his comedyLe Pédant joué(1654). At the age of nineteen he entered a corps of the guards, serving in the campaigns of 1639 and 1640, and began the series of exploits that were to make of him a veritable hero of romance. The story of his adventure single-handed against a hundred enemies is vouched for by Lebret as the simple truth. After two years of this life Cyrano left the service and returned to Paris to pursue literature, producing tragedies cast in the orthodox classical mode. He was, however, as a pupil of Gassendi, suspected of thinking too freely, and in theMort d’Agrippine(1654) his enemies even found blasphemy. The most interesting section of his work is that which embraces the two romancesL’Histoire comique des états du soleil(1662) andL’Histoire comique des états de la lune(1656?). Cyrano’s ingenious mixture of science and romance has furnished a model for many subsequent writers, among them Swift and E. A. Poe. It is impossible to determine whether he adopted his fanciful style in the hope of safely conveying ideas that might be regarded as unorthodox, or whether he simply found in romance writing a relaxation from the serious study of physics. Cyrano spent a stormy existence in Paris and was involved in many duels, and in quarrels with the comedian Montfleury, with Scarron and others. He entered the household of the duc d’Arpajon as secretary in 1653. In the next year he was injured by the fall of a piece of timber, as he entered his patron’s house. Arpajon, perhaps alarmed by his reputation as a free-thinker, desired him to leave, and he found refuge with friends in Paris. During the illness which followed his accident, he is said to have been reconciled with the Church, and he died in September 1655.
M. Edmond Rostand’s romantic play ofCyrano de Bergerac(1897) revived interest in the author of theHistoires comiques. A modern edition of hisŒuvres(2 vols.), by P. L. Jacob (Paul Lacroix), appeared in 1858, with the preface by H. Lebret originally prefixed to theHistoire comique des états de la lune(1656?). For an interesting analysis of the romances see Garnet Smith in theCornhillfor July 1898. See also P.A. Brun,Savinien de Cyrano Bergerac(1894). Other studies of Cyrano are those of Charles Nodier (1841), F. Merilhon (Périgueux, 1856), Fourgeaud-Lagrèze (inLe Périgord littéraire, 1875) and of Théophile Gautier, in hisGrotesques.
M. Edmond Rostand’s romantic play ofCyrano de Bergerac(1897) revived interest in the author of theHistoires comiques. A modern edition of hisŒuvres(2 vols.), by P. L. Jacob (Paul Lacroix), appeared in 1858, with the preface by H. Lebret originally prefixed to theHistoire comique des états de la lune(1656?). For an interesting analysis of the romances see Garnet Smith in theCornhillfor July 1898. See also P.A. Brun,Savinien de Cyrano Bergerac(1894). Other studies of Cyrano are those of Charles Nodier (1841), F. Merilhon (Périgueux, 1856), Fourgeaud-Lagrèze (inLe Périgord littéraire, 1875) and of Théophile Gautier, in hisGrotesques.
CYRENAICA,in ancient geography, a district of the N. African coast, lying between the Syrtis Major and Marmarica, the western limit being Arae Philaenorum, and the eastern a vague line drawn inland from the head of the gulf of Platea (Bomba). On the south the limit was undefined, but understood to be the margin of the desert, some distance north of the oasis of Augila (Aujila). The northern half of this district, which alone was fertile, was known as Pentapolis from its possession of five considerable cities (1) Hesperides-Berenice (Bengazi), (2) Barca (Merj), (3) Cyrene (Ain Shahat-Grenna), (4) Apollonia (Marsa Susa), (5) Teucheira-Arsinoë (Tocra). In later times two more towns rose to importance, Ptolemais (Tolmeita) and Darnis-Zarine (Derna). These all lay on the coast, with the exception of Barca and Cyrene, which were situated on the highland now called Jebel Akhdar, a few miles inland. Cyrene was the first city to arise, being founded among Libyan barbarians by Aristotle of Thera (later called Battus) in the middle of the 7th centuryB.C.(seeCyrene). For about 500 years this district enjoyed great prosperity, owing partly to its natural products, but more to its trade with interior Africa.
Under the Ptolemies, the inland cities declined in comparison with the maritime ones, and the Cyrenaica began to feel the commercial competition of Egypt and Carthage, whence easier roads lead into the continent. After all N. Africa had passed to Rome, and Cyrenaica itself, bequeathed by Apion, the last Ptolemaic sovereign, was become (in combination with Crete) a Roman province (after 96B.C.), this competition told more severely than ever, and the Greek colonists, grown weaker, foundthemselves less able to hold their own against the Libyan population. A great revolt of the Jewish settlers in the time of Trajan settled the fate of Cyrene and Barca; the former is mentioned by Ammianus Marcellinus in the 4th centuryA.D.as “urbs deserta,” and Synesius, a native, describes it in the following century as a vast ruin at the mercy of the nomads. Long before this its most famous article of export, thesilphiumplant, a representation of which was the chief coin-type of Cyrene, had come to an end. This plant, credited with wonderful medicinal and aromatic properties, has not been certainly identified with any existing species. The similarThapsia garganica(Arab.drias), which now grows freely in Cyrenaica, though it has medicinal properties, has not those ascribed to silphium. Henceforward till the Arab invasion (A.D.641) Apollonia was the chief city, with Berenice and Ptolemais next in order. After the conquest by Amr ibn el-’Asi, inland Cyrenaica regained some importance, lying as it did on the direct route between Alexandria and Kairawan, and Barca became its chief place. But with the substitution of Ottoman for Arab empire, resulting in the virtual independence of both Egypt and Tripoli, the district lying between them relapsed to anarchy. This state of things continued even after Mahmud II. had resumed direct control over Tripoli (1835), and in the middle of the 19th century Cyrenaica was still so free of the Turks that Sheik Ali bin-Senussi chose it as the headquarters of his nascent dervish order. All over the district were built Senussi convents (zawia), which still exist and have much influence, although the headquarters of the order were withdrawn about the year 1855 to Jarabub, and in 1895 to Kufra, still farther into the heart of Africa. In 1875 the district, till then a sanjak of the vilayet of Tripoli, was made to depend directly on the Ministry of the Interior at Constantinople; and the Senussites soon ceased to bede factorulers of Cyrenaica. Their preserves have now been still further encroached upon by a number of Cretan Moslem refugees (1901-1902). This is not the first effort made by Turkey to colonize Cyrenaica. In 1869 Ali Riza Pasha of Tripoli tried to induce settlers to go to Bomba and Tobruk; and in 1888 an abortive effort was made to introduce Kurds. To protect the Cretans the Ottoman government has extended the civil administration and created several small garrisoned posts. The district is accordingly safer for Europeans than it was; but these still find themselves ill received. The Ottoman officials discourage travel in the interior, partly from fear of the Senussites, partly from suspicions, excited by the lively interest manifested by Italy in Cyrenaica.
At the present day we understand by Cyrenaica a somewhat larger district than of old, and include ancient Marmarica up to the head of the gulf of Sollum (Catabathmus Magnus). The whole area is about 30,000 sq. m., and has some 250,000 inhabitants, inclusive of nomads. Projecting like a bastion into the Mediterranean at a very central point, Cyrenaica seems intended to play a commercial part; but it does not do so to any extent because of (1) lack of natural harbours, Bengazi and Derna having only open and dangerous roads (this is partly due to coastal subsidence; ancient ports have sunk); (2) the difficulty of the desert routes behind it, wells being singularly deficient in this part of the Sahara. The ivory and feather caravans from Wadai and Borku have latterly deserted it altogether. Consequently Cyrenaica is still in a very backward and barbarous state and largely given up to nomad Arabs. There are only two towns, Bengazi and Derna, and not half a dozen settlements beside, worthy to be called villages. In many districts the Senussi convents supply the only settled element, and the local Bedouins largely belong to the Order. There are no roads in the province, and very little internal communication and trade; but a wireless telegraphic system has been installed in communication with Rhodes: and there is a landline from Bengazi to Tripoli.
Geologically and structurally Cyrenaica is a mass of Miocene limestone tilted up steeply from the Mediterranean and falling inland by a gentle descent to sea-level again at the line of depression, which runs from the gulf of Sidra through Aujila to Siwa. This mass is divided into two blocks, the higher being the western Jebel Akhdar, on which Cyrene was built (about 1800 ft.): the lower, the eastern Jebel el-Akabah, the ancient Marmaric highlands (700 ft.). There is no continuous littoral plain, the longest strip running from the recess of the Syrtis round past Bengazi to Tolmeita. Thereafter, except for deltaic patches at Marsa Susa and Derna, the shore is all precipitous. Jebel Akhdar, being without “faults,” has no deep internal valleys, and presents the appearance of downs: but its seaward face is very deeply eroded, and deep circular sinkings (swallow-holes) are common. There is much forest on its northward slopes, and good red earth on the higher parts, which bears abundant crops of barley, much desired by European maltsters. Plenty of springs issue on the highlands, and wide expanses of grassy country dotted with trees like an English park are met with. Here the Bedouins (mostly Beni Hassa) pasture flocks and herds, amounting to several million head. The climate is temperate and the rainfall usually adequate, but one year in five is expected to be droughty. The southward slopes fall through ever-thinning pasture lands to sheer desert about 80 m. inland. Jebel el-Akabah is much more barren than Jebel Akhdar, and the desert comes right down to the sea in Marmarica, whose few inhabitants are more concerned with salt-collecting and sponge fishing than with agriculture. They have, however, the only good ports on the whole coast, Bomba and Tobruk. Much might be made of Cyrenaica by judicious colonization. All kinds of trees grow well, from the date palm to the oak; and there are over 200,000 wild olives in the country. The conditions in general are very like those of central Italy, and there is ample room for new settlers.
Bibliography.—(1)Ancient Cyrenaica:J. P. Thrige,Historia Cyrenes(1819); C. Ritter,Erdkunde, i. (1822); A. F. Gottschick,Gesch. der Grundung und Blute des hell. Staates in Kyrenaika(1858).(2)Modern Cyrenaica:Paul Lucas,Voyage(1712); T. Shaw,Travels and Observations(1738); J. Bruce,Travels(1790); P. della Cella,Viaggio da Tripoli, &c. (1819); G. F. Lyon,Narrative of Travels(1821); A. Cervelli, inRecueil de voyages, pub. by Soc. de Géog., ii. (1825); J. R. Pacho,Relation d’un voyage(1827); F. W. Beechey,Proceedings of Expedition to explore N. Coast of Africa(1828); H. Barth,Wanderungen, &c. (1849); V. de Bourville,Rapport(1850); J. Hamilton,Wanderings in N. Africa(1856); R. M. Smith and E. A. Porcher,Hist. of Discoveries(1864); G. Rohlfs,Von Tripoli nach Alexandrien(1871); G. Haimann,La Cirenaica(1882); M. Camperio,Una Gita in Cirenaica(1881); H. Duveyrier, “La Confr. musulmane de Sidi Moh. Ben Ali es-Senousi” (Bull. soc. géog., 1884); H. W. Blundell inGeog. Journ.v. (1895) andAnnual Brit. Sch. at Athens, ii. (1895); D. G. Hogarth inMonthly Review(Jan. 1904); G. Hildebrand,Cyrenaïka, &c. (1904); G. de Martino,Cirene e Cartagine(1908).(3)Maps:The best are that by P. Carlo, to illustrate Camperio and Haimann’s Report, in Petermann’sMitth.(1881); and Sheet No. 2 ofCarte de l’Afrique(Service géog. de l’armée, 1892).
Bibliography.—(1)Ancient Cyrenaica:J. P. Thrige,Historia Cyrenes(1819); C. Ritter,Erdkunde, i. (1822); A. F. Gottschick,Gesch. der Grundung und Blute des hell. Staates in Kyrenaika(1858).
(2)Modern Cyrenaica:Paul Lucas,Voyage(1712); T. Shaw,Travels and Observations(1738); J. Bruce,Travels(1790); P. della Cella,Viaggio da Tripoli, &c. (1819); G. F. Lyon,Narrative of Travels(1821); A. Cervelli, inRecueil de voyages, pub. by Soc. de Géog., ii. (1825); J. R. Pacho,Relation d’un voyage(1827); F. W. Beechey,Proceedings of Expedition to explore N. Coast of Africa(1828); H. Barth,Wanderungen, &c. (1849); V. de Bourville,Rapport(1850); J. Hamilton,Wanderings in N. Africa(1856); R. M. Smith and E. A. Porcher,Hist. of Discoveries(1864); G. Rohlfs,Von Tripoli nach Alexandrien(1871); G. Haimann,La Cirenaica(1882); M. Camperio,Una Gita in Cirenaica(1881); H. Duveyrier, “La Confr. musulmane de Sidi Moh. Ben Ali es-Senousi” (Bull. soc. géog., 1884); H. W. Blundell inGeog. Journ.v. (1895) andAnnual Brit. Sch. at Athens, ii. (1895); D. G. Hogarth inMonthly Review(Jan. 1904); G. Hildebrand,Cyrenaïka, &c. (1904); G. de Martino,Cirene e Cartagine(1908).
(3)Maps:The best are that by P. Carlo, to illustrate Camperio and Haimann’s Report, in Petermann’sMitth.(1881); and Sheet No. 2 ofCarte de l’Afrique(Service géog. de l’armée, 1892).
(D. G. H.)
CYRENAICS,a Greek school of philosophy, so called from Cyrene, the birthplace of the founder, Aristippus (q.v.). It was one of the two earliest Socratic schools, and emphasized one side only of the Socratic teaching (cf.Cynics). Socrates, although he held that virtue was the only human good, admitted to a certain extent the importance of its utilitarian side, making happiness at least a subsidiary end of moral action (seeEthics). Aristippus and his followers seized upon this, and made it the prime factor in existence, denying to virtue any intrinsic value. Logic and physical science they held to be useless, for all knowledge is immediate sensation (seeProtagoras). These sensations are motions (κινήσεις) which (1) are purely subjective, and (2) are painful, indifferent or pleasant, according as they are violent, tranquil or gentle. Further they are entirely individual, and can in no way be described as constituting absolute objective knowledge. Feeling, therefore, is the only possible criterion alike of knowledge and of conduct. “Our modes of being affected (πάθη) alone are knowable.” Thus Cyrenaicism goes beyond the critical scepticism of the Sophists and deduces a single, universal aim for all men, namely pleasure. Furthermore, all feeling is momentary and homogeneous. It follows (1) that past and future pleasure have no real existence for us, and (2) that among present pleasures there is no distinction of kind, butonly of intensity. Socrates had spoken of the higher pleasures of the intellect; the Cyrenaics denied the validity of this distinction and said that bodily pleasures as being more simple and more intense are to be preferred. Momentary pleasure (μονόχρονος ἡδόνη), preferably of a carnal kind, is the only good for man. Yet Aristippus was compelled to admit that some actions which give immediate pleasure entail more than their equivalent of pain. This fact was to him the basis of the conventional distinction of right and wrong, and in this sense he held that regard should be paid to law and custom. It is of the utmost importance that this development of Cyrenaic hedonism should be fully realized. To overlook the Cyrenaic recognition of social obligation and the hedonistic value of altruistic emotion is a very common expedient of those who are opposed to all hedonistic theories of life. Like many of the leading modern utilitarians, they combined with their psychological distrust of popular judgments of right and wrong, and their firm conviction that all such distinctions are based solely on law and convention, the equally unwavering principle that the wise man who would pursue pleasure logically must abstain from that which is usually denominated “wrong” or “unjust.” This idea, which occupies a prominent position in systems like those of Bentham, Volney, and even Paley, was evidently of prime importance at all events to the later Cyrenaics.
Developing from this is a new point of practical importance to the hedonism of the Cyrenaics. Aristippus, both in theory and in practice, insisted that true pleasure belongs only to him who is self-controlled and master of himself. The truly happy man must haveφρόνησις(prudence), which alone can save him from falling a prey to mere passion. Thus, in the end, Aristippus, the founder of the purest hedonism in the history of thought, comes very near not only to the Cynics, but to the more cultured hedonism of Epicurus and modern thinkers. Theodorus, held even more strongly that passing pleasure may be a delusion, and that permanent tranquillity is a truer end of conduct. Hegesias denied the possibility of real pleasure and advocated suicide as ensuring at least the absence of pain. Anniceris, in whose thought the school reached its highest perfection, declared that true pleasure consists sometimes in self-sacrifice and that sympathy in enjoyment is a real source of happiness. Other members of the school were Arete, wife of Aristippus, Aristippus the younger (her son), Bio and Euhemerus.
The Cyrenaic ideal was, of course, utterly alien to Christianity, and, in general, subsequent thinkers found it an ideal of hopeless pessimism. Yet in modern times it has found expression in many ethical and literary works, and it is common also in other ancient non-Hellenic literature. There are quatrains in theRubáiyátof Omar Khayyám and pessimistic verses in Ecclesiastes which might have been uttered by Aristippus. (“Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing than to eat and to drink and to be merry; for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life which God giveth him under the sun”). So in Byron and Heine, and, in a sense, in Walter Pater (Marius the Epicurean), there is the same tendency to seek relief from the intellectualcul-de-sacin frankly aesthetic satisfaction. Thus Cyrenaicism did not entirely vanish with its absorption in Epicureanism.
SeeHedonism,Epicurus; histories of philosophy by Zeller, Windelband, Ueberweg; H. Sidgwick,Methods of EthicsandOutlines of the History of Ethics; J. Watson,Hedonistic Theories(1895); James Seth, Ethical Principles, c. i. (A), (1898); A. Wendt,De philosophia Cyrenaica(1841); H. von Stein,De philosophia Cyrenaica(1855); T. Gomperz,Greek Thinkers(Eng. trans., vol. ii. bk. iv.,ad fin., 1905); Beare,Greek Theories of Elementary Cognition; G. van Lyng,Om den Kyrenaiske skole(Christiania, 1868); and general ethical text-books.
SeeHedonism,Epicurus; histories of philosophy by Zeller, Windelband, Ueberweg; H. Sidgwick,Methods of EthicsandOutlines of the History of Ethics; J. Watson,Hedonistic Theories(1895); James Seth, Ethical Principles, c. i. (A), (1898); A. Wendt,De philosophia Cyrenaica(1841); H. von Stein,De philosophia Cyrenaica(1855); T. Gomperz,Greek Thinkers(Eng. trans., vol. ii. bk. iv.,ad fin., 1905); Beare,Greek Theories of Elementary Cognition; G. van Lyng,Om den Kyrenaiske skole(Christiania, 1868); and general ethical text-books.
CYRENE[mod.Ain Shahat-Grenna], the original capital of ancient Cyrenaica (q.v.) and one of the greatest of Greek colonies. The Theraean story of its foundation, as told by Herodotus, runs thus. Battus (whose true Greek name seems to have been Aristoteles), a native of Thera (Santorin), itself a Laconian colony, was bidden by the Delphic oracle, if he wished to put an end to domestic dissensions, to lead a portion of the citizens to Libya and build a city in a “place between waters.” (For other stories seeBattus.) By this he understood an island, and therefore established his followers on the barren islet of Platea in the gulf of Bomba. The colony being unsuccessful made further application to the oracle and was bidden to transfer itself to the mainland. The Libyan barbarians reported that a fertile and well-watered district lay to the west and were induced to act as guides. They brought the Greeks through forests to high ground from various points of which issued springs, and Battus, recognizing “a place between waters,” began to build. This was in the middle of the 7th centuryB.C.
The result was Cyrene, so called (it was said) from a local nymph, who has been shown by Studniczka to have been a Nature goddess, like the Greek Artemis. The point first occupied was probably the hill above the “Apollo” fountain on the west; and there was erected the fortress-palace of the Battiadae, who continued to rule the colony for eight generations. The neighbouring Libyans were conciliated and given a position similar to that of Laconianperioeci, and intermarriage between them and Greeks became so frequent that the colony rapidly assumed a somewhat hybrid character, and while being one of the centres of Hellenic culture, showed barbarian characteristics of violence and luxury. Battus I. reignedc.630 to 590B.C.and was succeeded by his son Arcesilaus (c.590-574) of whom nothing is known. The kings henceforth bore alternately the names Battus and Arcesilaus, of which the first is said to be simply the native Libyan word for “king”: the latter is, of course, Greek. This fact suggests that some compromise with the natives had been come to, resulting, perhaps, in an alternation of the supreme office. Under Battus II. (570B.C.?) a fresh band of settlers was invited from Greece, and the colony tended to become henceforth more maritime and democratic. Its port, Apollonia (Marsa Susa), now rose to importance: and a second (winter) port was created at Naustathmos (Marsa Hilal) about 15 m. E. behind a sheltering cape. Fine roads were cut through the rock connecting these harbours with the capital. Trouble followed, however, with the Libyans, who saw themselves robbed in favour of the new settlers, and they called in Egyptian help; but the force sent by Apries was defeated near the spring Theste, and presently Amasis of Egypt made peace and took a Battiad princess to wife. Under Arcesilaus II. (c.560-550) domestic dissensions and Libyan revolt led to the founding of a rival inland city, Barca, and a severe defeat and massacre. These misfortunes, coupled with the fact that Battus III. was thought to have disgraced the house by his lameness, prompted the Cyrenaeans to send to Delphi for more advice, and as a result Demonax of Mantinea arrived as arbitrator and framed a constitution limiting the monarchy and dividing the citizens tribally according to the date of their settlement and their place of origin. Further attempts of the Battiadae (e.g.of Pheretima, wife of Battus III., and Arcesilaus his son) to annul this constitution, and bitter family dissensions, brought about a Persian invasion and finally the extinction of the dynasty about 450B.C.A republic of more or less Spartan type succeeded, but it was often interrupted by tyrannies; and having made submission by embassy to Alexander in 331, Cyrene passed under Ptolemaic domination ten years later. From this epoch dates a decline which was due to economic causes (seeCyrenaica) and to the Ptolemaic policy of favouring easily controlled harbour-towns rather than an inland place like Cyrene, whose ancient factions still continued to give trouble under the earlier Ptolemies. Apollonia and Berenice gradually superseded Cyrene and Barca respectively, being more in touch with Greece and less exposed to the hostile nomad Libyans, who increased in boldness and power: but Cyrene continued to be a great city after it had passed to Rome (96B.C.), and up to the reign of Trajan, when a Jewish revolt and the repressive measures taken by the imperial government dealt it an irreparable blow. Ere Christianity became the religion of the empire, it was largely a ruin, and henceforward to the epoch of Arab conquest (A.D.641) its Greek life gradually deserted it for Apollonia. At itsacme Cyrene is said to have had over 100,000 inhabitants. It was noted among the ancients for its intellectual life. Its medical school was famous, and it numbered among its celebrities Callimachus the poet, Carneades, the founder of the New Academy at Athens, Aristippus, a pupil of Socrates and the founder of the so-called Cyrenaics (q.v.), Eratosthenes the polyhistor, and Synesius, one of the most elegant of the ancient Christian writers.
The first account of the site in modern times seems to be that of M. le Maire, who was French consul at Tripoli from 1703 to 1708, and twice visited Cyrene. Paul Lucas was there in 1710, and again in 1723, and Dr Thomas Shaw in 1738; an Italian, Dr A. Cervelli, who was there in 1812, furnished some information to the Société de Géographie of Paris; and P. Della Cella published an account of his visit, made in 1817. In 1821-1822 important explorations were made by Lieutenant F. W. Beechey, R.N.; and he was almost immediately followed by a French artist, M. J. R. Pacho, whose pencil preserved a number of interesting monuments that have since disappeared. L. Delaporte, French consul at Tangier, and Vattier de Bourville come next in order of time. H. Barth, the famous African traveller, published an account of his investigations in hisWanderungen durch die Küstenländer des Mittelmeers, 1849, and James Hamilton, who was there in 1851, described the place in hisWanderings in N. Africa. In 1861 excavations were made on behalf of the British Museum by Lieuts. R. Murdoch Smith, R.E., and E. A. Porcher, R.N., the results of which are detailed in their valuableDiscoveries in Cyrene(London, 1864). Since that date, owing to the increase of Senussi influence, and the consequent fears of the Ottoman authorities, the site has been very seldom visited. The Italians, M. Camperio and G. Haimann, leading commercial missions, were there in the eighties, and Mr H. W. Blundell succeeded with a specialfirmanand a strong escort in reaching the place in 1895, but had trouble with the local Senussi Arabs. The prohibition of travel became thereafter more stringent, and it has only been overcome by a party from Mr A. V. Armour’s yacht “Utowana,” which marched up from Marsa Susa in April 1904, and stayed one night. They found some fifty families of Cretan refugees established at Ain Shahat and amudirwith a small guard on the spot: but no inhabited houses, except the Senussi convent and themudiria. Cretans and Arabs live in the ancient rock-tombs. An Italian senator, Chev. G. de Martino, with two Italian residents at Derna, passed through the place in 1907, and found it in Bedouin hands.
The site lies on the crest of the highland of Jebel Akhdar (about 1800 ft.) and 10 m. from the sea. The ground slopes very gradually south, and being entirely denuded of trees, makes good corn land. The northward slope falls more steeply in a succession of shelves, covered here and there with forest. Ravines surround the site on three sides, and there are at least four springs in its area, of which one, having great volume, has been at all times the attraction and focus of the place. This is the so-called “Fount of Apollo,” which issues from a tunnel artificially enlarged, and once faced with a portico. The acropolis was immediately above this on the W., and the main entrance of the city, through which came the sacred processions, passed it. The remains of Cyrene itself are enclosed by a wall having a circuit of about 4 m., of which little remains but the foundations and fragments of two towers; but tombs and isolated structures extend far outside this area. The local Arabs say it takes them six camel-hours to go from one end to the other of the ruins, which they call generally “Grenna” (i.e.Kyrenna). Within the city itself not very much is now to be seen. Below the Apollo fountain on the N. lie a great theatre and the substructures of the main temple of Apollo, both included now in the Senussi convent garden. Above the fountain and by the main road is a smaller theatre. On the E., upon the crown of the plateau, are the sites on which Smith and Porcher placed temples of Bacchus, Venus and Augustus, but they are marked only by rubbish heaps. Remains of a large Byzantine church and a much ruined stadium lie to S.E. On the S. are immense covered tanks of Roman date, with remains of the aqueducts which supplied them. On the W. a fine fragment of a tower, the fortifications of the acropolis, and a pedestal sculptured on four sides in good 3rd century style, are the only things worth seeing. The Cretan occupation is fast obliterating other traces. The great spectacle, however, which distinguishes the site of Cyrene, is provided by its cemeteries, which for extent, variety and preservation are unparalleled in the classic lands. There is one along each of the approaches to the main gates, but the largest and most splendid lies by the Apollonian road which winds by easy curves up the northern buttresses of the plateau. Here the sepulchres rise in tiers one above the other along fully a mile of the way. The most important have pillared façades, Doric, Ionic, and even a hybrid mixture of both orders. Within, they open out either into large halls, leading one out of another with graves in recesses and pits in the floor; or into rock corridors lined withloculi, disposed one above another like pigeon holes. Most of the wall paintings, seen by Beechey and Pacho, have perished or become black with the smoke of troglodytes’ fires; but one tomb below the road at about the middle of the cemetery still retains its decoration comparatively fresh, and seems to be that specially described by Smith and Porcher. The scenes are agonistic,i.e.represent funeral games, in which both white and black persons take part, the latter doubtless Libyanperioeci: but all wear Greek garments. Several tombs are inscribed and on some external paintings are still faintly visible. The commonest type of grave is a simple pit covered by a gabled lid. These occur by hundreds. But not all the sepulchres are rock-cut: altar tombs and other forms ofheroaare found built upon plinths of rock. All visible tombs have long ago been violated, but it is probable that there are others still virgin under thetalusof the hill side. To discover these and determine the topography of the city, excavation is urgently needed.
Many historical and artistic questions concerning Cyrene remain unsettled, but since the discoveries made in Laconia in 1908, the much disputed “Cyrenaic ware” has been ascribed to Sparta. A good deal of Cyrenaic sculpture, all of comparatively late date, was sent to the British Museum by Smith and Porcher. Nothing has yet been found on the site belonging to the great age of the city’s independence, the fine vases sent to the British Museum in 1864, by Mr G. Dennis, having been discovered not there, but near Berenice (Bengazi). The latter site, with Ptolemais and Apollonia, has supplied most of the antiquities found latterly in Cyrenaica.