SOLI
The origins of Soli are traced back to an
Assyrian (700 BC) tribute list where it is referred
to as Si-il-lu. The Basilica was constructed in the
second half of the 4th century, and it was one of
the first churches to be built on the island.
Although it was expanded in the 5th and 6th
centuries, it was destroyed by the Arab raids in the
7th century. It is also known that in 580 BC, King
Philokypros moved his capital from Aepia to Si-il-lu
on the advice of his mentor Solon, and renamed the
town after the Athenian philosopher. In 498 BC along
with most of the other city kingdoms of Cyprus, Soli
also rose against its Persian masters and at the end
of the war it was captured.
Soli became a prosperous
city during the Roman period. However by the 4th
century its harbor was already silted up and the
copper mines were closed. It was destroyed by Arab
raids in the 7th century. On the acropolis, which
occupied the top of the hill high above the theatre,
there was a royal palace similar to the one of Vouni,
thought to date from a slightly later period. In
addition to silver and gold jewellers of the
Hellenistic period, excavations have brought to
light a marble statue of Aphrodite from the 1st
century BC and a frieze representing the war of the
Amazons from the 2nd century BC (Cyprus Museum -
Greek sector).
The so-called Fugger sarcophagus in
the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna is also
thought to have come from the necropolis of Soli.
Excavations have also brought to light some
Hellenistic ruins such as the remains of a
colonnaded paved street which leads to an agora with
a marble monumental fountain. Excavations have shown
that a settlement was made here as early as the 11th
century BC owing probably to the existence of a good
water supply, fertile soil and a protected harbour,
the nearby copper deposits and timber to smelt the
copper.
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