Quelques jalons pour une histoire de l’identité chypriote à l’époque des royaumes autonomes

The purpose of this paper is to examine how ancient sources can contribute to the further study of the question of Cypriot identity. We shall remark on the original as well as the permanent characteristics of that identity, in an analysis based on evidence dating back to the time of the “autonomous kingdoms”, from the eighth to the fourth century BC. At that time, the civilization of Cyprus reached a climax and the identity of the island was defined by four major criteria: the long survival of the Cypriot syllabary, the political and territorial organization, the existence of the basileia, and the role of Cyprus as a crossroads of trading connections and cultural exchanges in the Eastern Mediterranean. Because it was remote from the great Aegean centres, with connections to the civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean, yet with a majority of its population speaking a variety of Greek (the Arcado-Cypriot dialect), a borderland hellenism and a civilization with customs and original features emerged in Cyprus. That fact gave Cyprus its distinctive identity, as has been acknowledged by the Greek writers themselves.Collombier Anne-Marie. Quelques jalons pour une histoire de l’identité chypriote à l’époque des royaumes autonomes . In: Méditerranée : Ruptures et Continuités. Actes du colloque tenu à Nicosie les 20-22 octobre 2001, Université Lumière-Lyon 2, Université de Chypre. Lyon : Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée Jean Pouilloux, 2003. pp. 139-150. (Travaux de la Maison de l'Orient méditerranéen, 37