A Short History of Cyprus
Name ___________________________
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We’re going on a HISTORY TOUR around the island of Cyprus…… We will learn about the
History of Cyprus and much more...........
OUR JOB: To spot ancient and modern sites so that we can learn about the History of
Cyprus.
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What will you need? Pack your bag.
FIRST STOP: OUR SCHOOL
If you stand in the middle of our school playground you will see two mountain ranges.
Can you name the mountain ranges of Cyprus?
1. ________________________ 2. _____________________________
IN THE BEGINNING LONG TIME AGO......................
DID YOU KNOW?
Many years ago, in fact millions of years ago, before there were any humans on this
earth the island of Cyprus was at the bottom of the Mediterranean sea. Over the
years the sea floor rose out the water and the first parts of Cyprus started to appear.
The parts that rose out first were the two mountain ranges that you can see.
Way back then Cyprus was very green and it was covered in forests. It had rivers and
streams. The first animals in Cyprus were pygmy hippopotamuses and elephants, shrews
and mice.
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Did you know that there were pigmy hippopotamuses in Cyprus? Pygmy means small.
How do you think the hippopotamuses got here?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
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Exercise 1
WORD BANK: Pentadaktylos and Troodos mountain ranges, shrews and mice,
forests , pigmy hippopotamuses, elephants, Mesaoria Plain, millions, years,
Mediterranean Sea.
1) Cyprus was at the bottom of the ____________________ sea. It rose out of the water
_________________ of ___________ ago.
2) The first parts of Cyprus to appear when Cyprus started to rise out of the water were
_______________ and _____________ ___________.
3) In between the two mountain ranges of Cyprus there is flat land. It is called the
M_____________ p________.
4) In the olden days Cyprus was covered in lush and green ___________.
5) The first animals in Cyprus were _________ ___________________,______________
________________ and ______________________.
GREEN, GREEN CYPRUS
Draw the lush green forests of Cyprus.
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SECOND STOP: KHIROKITIA ANCIENT SITE
Let's continue on our journey.............. Now we will take the highway from Nicosia to
Limassol. We will stop halfway between these two cities. There we will find the ancient
settlement of Khirokitia.
People started living in Khirokitia in 6000 BC. (BC stands for Before Christ)
Look at the aerial photograph below.
The ruins of the Khirokitia ancient settlement were covered by layers and layers of
soil. These ancient houses were dug up or unearthed by archeologists. Would you like to
be an archeologist? _____
Archeologists found a fascinating settlement of probably the first civilization on this
island. The most fascinating fact about these houses is that they were actually round.
Is your house round? I didn’t think so!
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About 300 people lived in the ancient site in flat roofed houses built of stone and other
materials which they collected from the river nearby and the hills. The houses were
built in groups around an open courtyard.
This settlement was built near a river that used to flow in winter and in summer.
Nowadays, rivers in Cyprus are always dry during the summer months. They used to
catch fish in the river and also hunt in the luscious forest nearby that is also not
there.
The lives and homes of the ancient Cypriots were very different to ours.
Compare and contrast your house to the houses in Khirokitia.
House in Khirokitia
Your house
1._______________________________
1._______________________________
2._______________________________
2._______________________________
3.______________________________
3.______________________________
Drawing/photo of a Khirokitia house
Drawing/photo of your house
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WEAPONS AND TOOLS
The villagers needed many tools and weapons for their daily lives. They needed bows and
arrows to hunt, skewers to put the meat on to cook, axes to cut the trees, sickles to harvest
the wheat, stones to grind the wheat and other weapons for catching fish. It wasn’t easy to
make all of these weapons and tools. They used stone, bones, wood and clay or mud to make
them.
Here are some Stone Age weapons. Colour them either black ,grey or brown.
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DAILY LIFE (Fill in)
WORD BANK: fishing, weapons, hunters, farmers, jewellery, stone, goats, pots,
boars, deer, goats, gatherers, vegetables, fruit, bread, fire, sheep, tools, pigs.
The Stone age Cypriots were h____________ and g_________________. They used
s_____________ to make w__________, tools, j__________ and p______. The men from
the village went to the nearby forests and hunted wild g________, d ________ and wild
b_______. They also went f__________ in the river nearby. The villagers also grew their
own food. The women picked v_______________ and f___________. The men and women
planted wheat seeds and harvested it to make b___________.They also kept s_________ ,
p_______ and g_________ so that they could have milk,eat meat, and use their hides(skin)
for making clothes. They used to make a ________ to cook their food.
[H] COMPARE AND CONTRAST
What did a family in Khirokitia need to do
to have something to eat?
What does your family have to do to make
sure you have food on the table?
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
Which animals were used for food?
What animals do you eat?
________________________________
_______________________________
________________________________
_______________________________
________________________________
_______________________________
_________________________________
________________________________
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ARTS AND CRAFTS
The Stone age Cypriots also made jewellery. Small stones and shells were used for necklaces
and bracelets. Some of their pots had fancy designs. It seems people have always enjoyed
arts and crafts because the villagers made figurines by carving the stone. You can see many
of these at the Archaeological Museum in Nicosia.
Figurine made of stone
Make your own copy of this stone sculpture.
JOBS
The people in Khirokitia were hunters, gatherers and farmers.
While the men were away hunting the women were in charge of the house.
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They prepared the food
made the bread
sewed clothes using animals skins
They used tree bark for thread
The needles were made of bone
made pots
brought up the children and looked after the animals.
Jobs in Khirokitia
Jobs today
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BURIAL OF THE DEAD
One of the most fascinating facts about the Khirokitia stone age Cypriots is that they
buried the dead under the floors of the house. They also placed other objects like pots and
jewellery. A large stone was placed over the dead body and it was covered with soil. You can
see the actual skeletons that were unearthed by archeologists at the Archeological museum
in Nicosia.
1)What do you see in this picture?
_____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
2) Where did the people of Khirokitia bury their dead?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
3) Why do you think they did this?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
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KHIROKITIA REVIEW
Circle the correct answer or answers.
1. What shape are the houses in Khirokitia?
a. Square
b. Round
c. rectangular
2. Where was Khirokitia built?
a. On flat land (a plain)
b. On a hill
c. Near the river
3. What was used to build the Khirokitia houses?
a. Bricks
b. Metal
c. Stone
4. The roof of the houses was:
a. Flat
b. Rounded
c. Pointed
5. The roof of the houses was made using:
a. Branches and clay
b. Stones
c. Tiles
6. How many rooms made up each house?
a. Three
b. Five
c. One
7. What were the seats made of in the house?
a. Stone
b. Wood
c. Bricks
8. The ancient villagers of Khirokitia used stone to make:
a. Pots
b. Weapons
c. Fireplaces
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THE ANCIENT VILLAGE ON THE HILL
Here is an aerial view of the ancient settlement of Khirokitia.
1. Colour the road that runs through the middle of the village red.
2. Colour the round houses on either side of the road brown.
Why do you think the houses were built close together?
1)_____________________________________________________________
2)_____________________________________________________________
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RELIGION
In the ancient times all people believed and worshipped various gods. The people of ancient
Khirokitia made stone representations of their gods. You can see these at the Cyprus
Archeological museum in Nicosia.
OTHER STONE AGE SETTLEMENTS
Who were the settlers of Khirokitia? Where did they come from?
Some say they came from other parts of Cyprus, others say that they came from the
neighbouring countries of Cyprus but nobody can say for sure. Khirokitia was not the only
stone age settlement in Cyprus. Settlements were found in 1) Khirokitia 2) Sotera 3) Petra
tou Limniti 4) Kythrea and 5) Kalavasos. Write the names on this map.
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3
2
5
1
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A comic about the Stone Age (Neolithic Age).
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THIRD STOP - COPPER MINES
This is copper. Have you ever
seen a copper object?
We will continue our HISTORY TOUR to visit the copper mines of Cyprus. Some are
still working today. Let's go to Tamassos. It's not very far from our school. Find it on
the map.
COPPER ISLAND 2500 BC
When copper was discovered in Cyprus in 2500 BC it became rich and famous.
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Copper was taken from copper mines. These copper mines were in Polis Chrysochous , in
Karavostasi, Skouriotissa and in Tamasos (today this village is called Politiko). Look on
the map of Cyprus to see where these places can be found.
The mine at Skouriotissa is still active to this day.
Hard work
• Many people worked in the mines and it was hard work.
• Copper couldn’t be used in the form it was found.
• Copper had to be melted and poured into special containers.
• They had to make a very strong fire to melt the copper. This meant that they cut all
the trees in the area around the mines.
Activity
Complete the following words.
1. An ancient copper mine that can still be found today.
2. A person who works at a mine.
M _ _ _ r
3. Today this village is called Politiko.
T_ _ _ _ _ s
4. This metal made Cyprus famous.
C _ _ _ _ r
S_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ a
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COPPER AND BRONZE TOOLS
Copper can be found by digging in the ground in copper mines. At first copper tools
were used but they kept on rusting and they weren’t very sturdy. It was discovered
that if copper was combined with another metal it makes BRONZE. Bronze was much
stronger.
• Stone tools were replaced by copper and bronze tools.
Draw some copper and bronze tools. Colour them brown just like the colour of copper.
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WEALTH and THE GODS
LARGER HOUSES
Cypriots started to build larger houses with many rooms
unlike the one house rooms in Khirokitia.
GODS
They even made little statues like the one in the picture
to honour the gods.
TRAVELLING
Cypriots made boats out of wood and travelled to neighbouring countries to trade
copper. They traded copper for precious stones and food.
These remains were
found off the coast
of Kyrenia and can
be seen at the
Kyrenia museum.
403 clay pots were
found with the ship
and even some
ancient almonds!!
Remains of a Greek trade ship.
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THE
CYPRIOT
LANGUAGE
Cypriots even had their own written language during the Bronze age. This language is in
syllables.
The Cypriot syllabary or Cypro-Minoan writing is thought to have developed
from a script used in Crete, though its exact origins are not known. It was used
from about 800 to 200 BC.
Notable Features - Normally written from right to left in horizontal lines.
Word breaks were not indicated.
Alphabet
Write your name in the Cypriot language. _________________________
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FOURTH STOP - The City Kingdoms
The Mycenaean Civilization
The great ancient Mycenaean civilization (people) had their base on the island
of Crete and the capital was in Knossos. The king build a great palace in
Knossos. If you go to Crete today you can see this palace that has now been
reconstructed. The Mycenaean civilization lasted for 500 years from about
1580 BC to 1100 BC.
EXERCISES
[A] Fill in.
1) The capital of the Mycanean civilization was in _________________.
2) Here are some Mycanean names. Highlight the names that are used here in
Cyprus today.
Agamemnonas Atreas Egisthos Eleni Electra Clytemnestra Orestis
Pyladis Chrysothemis
Menelaos
[B] Find a picture of Knossos palace and insert it here.
Palace of Knossos
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The Mycenaeans come to Cyprus
The Mycenaean civilization spread to other parts of mainland Greece. They
travelled with their boats to the surrounding areas. The Mycenaeans were
tradesmen. The bought and sold various goods such as oil, wine, pottery, bronze
and copper. First they arrived in Rhodes and then Cyprus. They liked Cyprus and
soon discovered the wealth and prosperity the island was enjoying because of
the copper mines. So instead of just trading, the Mycenaeans decided to settle
in Cyprus. The people of Cyprus and the Mycenaeans became friends and some
Cypriots even travelled with the Mycenaeans and learned how to trade.
When the Mycenaeans came to Cyprus they brought with them their families
and way of life. This included their religion and their language, Greek. The
Greek language gradually replaced the local Cypriot language. The Mycenaeans
were famous for their decorative pottery. At first this pottery was brought to
Cyprus from Greece. Later on Mycenaean potters made this pottery here in
Cyprus. Huge Mycenaean kraters (vases used to mix wine and water) can be
seen at the Archeological museum in Nicosia. Here is an example in box 1. Find
another example and copy/ paste it in box 2.
Box 1 Mycenaen krater
Box 2
Describe what you can see on the krater in box 1 and box 2.
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THE TROJAN WAR
The Trojan war took place at the same time as the Mycenaens(Achaeans) were
trying to conquer various cities so that they could carry on with their trading.
The Mycenaean culture spread away from Crete and onto the mainland. The
great poet Homer wrote about the importance of the Mycenaen trading. The
Trojan war took place at this time. According to Homer the Trojan war took
place because Paris the prince of Troy fell in love with the beautiful Queen
Helen. Helen was the wife of the Spartan king Menelaos. Together they
eloped(ran away). The whole of Greece sent their armies with their leader, king
Agamemnon, to have a war with Troy to bring Queen Helen back. Cyprus did not
take part in the Trojan war.
EXERCISE
Use the following words to complete the sentences.
Mycenaens, tradesmen, Cyprus museum, pottery, Greek, kraters.
1) Huge vases used by the Mycenaens to store wine were called _________.
2)The _____________ were also known as Achaeans.
3)The Mycanean _______________ was beautiful.
4)The Cypriots who travelled with the Mycaneans became___________.
5)When the Mycaneans/Achaens came to Cyprus the Cypriots started speaking
in ______________________.
6)You can see some of the Mycanean pottery at the ____________________.
THE END OF THE TROJAN WAR
It has been said that at the end of the Trojan war many war heroes and their
wives came to Cyprus to settle.
Tefkros founded Salamina, Agapinoras- Paphos, Praxandros- Lapithos,
Demophontas - Aipeia, Chytros - Chytrous (Kythrea), Kypheas - Kyrenia, ArgosKourion. All these cities became kingdoms. Each kingdom had its own king.
Write the name of each city on the following map corresponding with the
correct number.
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1.
S
al
a1. Salamina
m2. Palepaphos
in3. Kourion
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CITY KINGDOMS
Each kingdom had a king who owned a lot of land . The king had a lot of power.
He was in charge of the army and took part in wars and battles. It was up to
him to decide what is right and what is wrong and he was the judge. When the
king died his kingdom passed on to his closest heir, usually his son. The kings in
Cyprus were very rich and lived in beautiful palaces. The common people in
Cyprus lived poorly.
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