Μάριον | |
 Map showing the ancient city Kingdoms of Cyprus | |
  Shown within Cyprus | |
| Location | Cyprus |
|---|---|
| Region | Paphos District |
| Coordinates | 35°02′15″N32°26′00″E / 35.0375°N 32.4333°E /35.0375; 32.4333 |
Marion (Greek:Μάριον) was one of theTen city-kingdoms ofCyprus. It was situated in the north-west of the island in theAkamas region, close to or under the present town ofPolis.[1] BothStrabo andPliny the Elder mention the city in their writings.
Marion was already inhabited at the end of theNeolithic and through theChalcolithic period. It began to prosper from the Cypro-Archaic period onwards and became one of the most important ancient Cypriot city—kingdoms in the Cypro-Classical period with important commercial relations with the EastAegean islands,Attica andCorinth.
According to tradition, AthenianAcamas, son of Theseus, disembarked near Polis after theTrojan War and gave his name to the Cape ofAkamas and the city ofAkamantis, a legendary city which has never been found. Marion was probably founded by Acamas or a certain Marieus.
InEgypt atMedinet Habu in thetemples ofRamesses III, there is a large 12th-century BC inscription which refers to Cypriot towns including Marion.
TheMycenaeans, orAchaeans settled in Cyprus between 1400 and 1100 BC and Marion was one of the city-kingdoms they founded.
The city became wealthy from the nearby copper and gold mines. It also served as an important trading port for both metal and timber. The foundations of the ancient harbour are visible to this day in the current port of Latchi.[2]
The first definite reference to Marion occurred in 449 BC whenKimon, the great Athenian general, freed the city from thePersians following theBattle of Salamis and in an attempt to re-establish Athenian supremacy in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Later, the ancient geographers spoke of the town as "Marion Hellenikon"—The Hellenic Marion. The Kingdom was rich ingold andcopper ore, mined chiefly in the nearbyLimni Mines. It was the natural wealth which led the city to a period of flourishing trade, especially withAthens, which in its turn, exported manyAttic pots to Marion. Samples of this pottery can be viewed at the Polis Museum.
The battle for Cyprus between the successors ofAlexander the Great,Antigonus andPtolemy, led Marion to destruction in 312 BC. Ptolemy, who finally prevailed, laid waste the city whose last king (Stasioikos II) had taken the side of Antigonus, and transferred its inhabitants to Paphos. Later, another member of the Ptolemy dynasty,Philadelphus, founded anew city on the ruins of Marion in about 270 BC and gave it the name of his wife,Arsinoe.[3] The city, under its new name, prospered during theHellenistic and Roman Ages.
According to Strabo there was a grove sacred toZeus.[4]
Archaeological excavations of the area were first undertaken by theSwedish Cyprus Expedition between 1927 and 1931.[5][6] They were followed by the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus, and since 1983 by thePrinceton Cyprus Expedition.[7][8]
E. Linder and A. Raban carried out the only investigation of the remains of the harbour in 1971.[9]
However very few remains of the city have been found except for a temple toZeus andAphrodite and many tombs, some of whose contents can be seen in the Polis museum. The sanctuary of Zeus and Aphrodite dates from the 6th to 4th c. BC and was burnt and destroyed by the Ptolomies in 312 BC. The colossal terracotta statue found in it was probably a votive gift, and is the largest clay sculpture found in the island.
A fine marblekouros from Marion is now in the British Museum.[10]
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