Pre-history and ancient era The pre-history of Amathus survives in both myth and
archaeology. No traces of human activity was detected in the site before the earliest
Iron Age, , and no town is mentioned in the space between
Kition and
Kourion in the list of Cypriot cities from
Medinet Habu. According to a version of the
Ariadne legend noted by
Plutarch,
Theseus abandoned Ariadne at Amathousa, where she died giving birth to her child and was buried in a sacred tomb. According to Plutarch's source, Amathousians called the
sacred grove where her shrine was situated the Wood of Aphrodite Ariadne. myth would have Amathus settled instead by one of the sons of
Heracles, thus accounting for the fact that he was worshiped there. Another ancient legend claims that the city was named after
Amathusa, the mother of
Cinyras. Amathus was built on coastal cliffs with a natural harbour and flourished at an early date, soon requiring several cemeteries. Greeks from
Euboea left their pottery at Amathus from the 10th century BC. During the post-Phoenician era of the 8th century BC, a
palace and port were constructed. The port served the trade with the
Greeks and the
Levantines. A special burial ground for infants, a
tophet served the
Phoenicians. A temple was built high on a cliff for the Hellenes, which became a worship site devoted to
Aphrodite, in her particular local presence as
Aphrodite Amathusia along with a bearded male Aphrodite called
Aphroditos. The excavators discovered the final stage of the Temple of Aphrodite, also known as Aphrodisias, which dates approximately to the 1st century BC. According to the legend, it was where festive
Adonia took place, in which athletes competed in hunting wild boars during sport competitions; they also competed in dancing and singing, to honour Adonis. The earliest remains found on the site are tombs of the early
Iron Age period of Graeco-
Phoenician influences (1000–600 BC). Amathus is sometimes identified with
Qartiḫadasti (Phoenician "New-Town") in the Cypriote tribute-list of
Esarhaddon of
Assyria (668 BC) and some Phoenician inscriptions from the island, although others identify this
Qartiḫadasti with
Kition or a part of it. It certainly maintained strong
Phoenician sympathies, for it was its refusal to join the philhellene league of
Onesilos of
Salamis which provoked the revolt of Cyprus from
Achaemenid Persia in 500–494 BC, when Amathus was unsuccessfully besieged and avenged itself with the capture and execution of Onesilos. Herodotus reports :"Because he had besieged them, the Amathusians cut off Onesilos’ head and brought it to Amathous, where they hung it above the gates. As it hung there empty, a swarm of bees entered it and filled it with honeycomb. When they sought advice about this event, an oracle told them to take the head down and bury it, and to make annual sacrifice to Onesilos as a hero, saying that it would be better for them if they did this. The Amathusians did as they were told and still perform these rites in my day." (
Histories 5.114) Amathus was a rich and densely populated kingdom with a flourishing agriculture (grain and sheep) and copper mines situated very close to the northeast
Kalavasos. found in Amathus integrates Greek, Eteocypriot and Oriental features
Hellenistic era Around 385–380 BC, the philhellene
Evagoras of Salamis was similarly opposed by Amathus, allied with Kition and
Soli; and even after
Alexander the Great the city resisted annexation, and was bound over to give hostages to
Seleucus. Its political importance was over but its temple of
Adonis and
Aphrodite Amathusia remained famous in
Roman times. The epithet
Amathusia in Roman poetry often means "Cypriote," attesting to the city's fame.
Roman era In the
Roman era Amathus became the capital of one of the four administrative regions of Cyprus. A Roman temple was built in the 1st century AD on top of the Hellenistic predecessor. The temple facilities remained so important in Roman times that 'Amathusia' was used as a synonym for 'Cypriot'.
Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages Later, in the 4th century AD, Amanthus became the see of a Christian bishop and continued to flourish until the
Byzantine period. Of its bishops, Heliodorus was at the
Council of Chalcedon in 451 and Alexander at the
Second Council of Nicaea in 787. In the late 6th century, Saint Ioannis Eleimonas (John the Charitable), protector of the
Knights of St. John, was born in Amathus and after 614 sent Theodorus, bishop of Amathus, to Jerusalem to ransom some slaves. Today, Amathus is a see of the
Church of Cyprus and is also listed (under the name "Amathus in Cypro", to distinguish it from "
Amathus in Transjordan") as a
titular see by the Catholic Church, which however, in line with the practice adopted after the
Second Vatican Council, has made no appointments to the bishopric since the death of the last
titular bishop of the
Latin Church in 1984.
Anastasius Sinaita, the prolific 7th-century monk of
Saint Catherine's Monastery, was born here. It is thought that he left Cyprus after the 649 Arab conquest of the island, setting out for the Holy Land, and eventually becoming a monk on Sinai. Amathus declined and was already almost deserted when
Richard Plantagenet took Cyprus in 1191. The tombs were plundered and the stones from the edifices were brought to
Limassol to be used for new constructions. Much later, in 1869, a great number of blocks of stone from Amathus were used for the construction of the
Suez Canal. A ruined
Byzantine church marks its site.
In modern times A new settlement close to Amathus but further inland, Agios Tychonas, is named after the bishop
Tychon of Amathus. The site of the ruins is within the borders of this village, though the expansion of the Limassol tourist area has threatened the ruins: It is speculated that some of the hotels are on top of the Amathus necropolis. ==The site and archaeology==