CENTRE DTUDES CHYPRIOTES

CAHIER 39, 2009

Diffusion De Boccard
CENTRE DTUDES CHYPRIOTES
CAHIER 39, 2009
 La loi du 11 mars 1957 nautorisant, aux termes des alinas 2 et 3 de larticle 41, dune part, que
les copies ou reproductions strictement prives lusage du copiste et non destines une utilisation
collective et, dautre part, que les analyses ou les courtes citations dans un but dexemple et dillustration,
toute reprsentation ou reproduction intgrale, ou partielle, faite sans le consentement de lauteur ou de
ses ayants droit ou ayants cause, est illicite (alina premier de larticle 40).

Centre dtudes Chypriotes, Paris

et
dition-Diffusion de Boccard, Paris

ISSN 0761-8271

2009

Illustration de couverture : Tte dAphrodite en marbre trouve Amathonte (iie s. av. J.-C.).
Vignette de titre : Temple de Zeus Salamine (fin iie s. av. J.-C.).
C E N T R E D T U D E S C H Y P R I O T E S

CAHIER
39, 2009
Actes du Colloque Chypre lpoque hellnistique et impriale
Recherches rcentes et nouvelles dcouvertes
Universit Paris Ouest-Nanterre et Institut National dHistoire de lArt,
Nanterre-Paris 25-26 septembre 2009
dits par Anne-Marie Guimier-Sorbets et Dmtrios Michaelids

Publi avec le concours de la Fondation A.G. Leventis

dition-Diffusion De Boccard
11, rue de Mdicis, F-75006 Paris
La revue Cahiers du Centre dtudes chypriotes (abrge CCEC) publie des contributions en
allemand, anglais, franais, grec, et rend compte douvrages qui lui sont envoys.
Adresser les propositions darticles au directeur de la revue (Centre Camille-Jullian, Aix).
Directeur de la revue : Antoine HERMARY.
Comit de rdaction : Derek COUNTS, Sabine FOURRIER, Antoine HERMARY, Hartmut
MATTHUS, Robert MERRILLEES, Marguerite YON, qui constituent aussi le Comit de lecture
avec la collaboration de spcialistes extrieurs.
Maquette, mise en page : Marguerite YON.
DAO illustration : Vincent DUMAS.
Centre Camille-Jullian, MMSH, Universit de Provence-CNRS, 5 rue du Chteau-de-lHorloge, B.P. 647,
F-13094 Aix-en-Provence Cedex 2. hermary@mmsh.univ-aix.fr vdumas@mmsh.univ-aix.fr
HISOMA [Histoire et Sources des Mondes Anciens], Universit Lyon 2-CNRS, Maison de lOrient,
7 rue Raulin, F-69365 Lyon Cedex 07. sabine.fourrier@mom.fr marguerite.yon@mom.fr
 Cahiers du Centre dtudes
Chypriotes39, 2009

SOMMAIRE
Avant-propos, par A. Hermary, Prsident du Centre ...................................................... 7

ACTES DU COLLOQUE
Chypre lpoque hellnistique et impriale:
recherches rcentes et nouvelles dcouvertes,
Nanterre-Paris, 25-26 Septembre 2009
Introduction au Colloque, par A.-M. Guimier-Sorbets et D. Michaelides ................... 9
Evangline Markou, Production et politique montaires Chypre
lpoque hellnistique et sous lEmpire .............................................................. 11
Pierre Aupert,Amathonte hellnistique et romaine: lapport des travaux rcents ..... 25
Despo Pilides, Evidence for the Hellenistic period in Nicosia: The settlement at
the Hill of Agios Georgios and the cemetery at Agii Omologites . ........................ 49
Joan Breton Connelly, Hybridity and identity on Late Ptolemaic Yeronisos ............. 69
Eustathios Raptou, Nouvelles pratiques funraires Paphos
hellnistique et romaine ......................................................................................... 89
Giorgos Georgiou, Three stone sarcophagi from a Cypro-Classical
tomb at Kition ....................................................................................................... 113
Anne-Marie Guimier-Sorbets, Liconographie des mosaques hellnistiques
de Chypre ............................................................................................................ 141
Antoine Hermary, La sculpture en marbre Chypre lpoque hellnistique
et sous lEmpire: essai de bilan ........................................................................... 153
Elena Poyiadji-Richter, Roman portraits on Cypriot grave reliefs ........................... 177
Demetrios Michaelides, A boat-shaped lamp from Nea Paphos
and the divine protectors of navigation in Cyprus ............................................... 197
Miltiade Hatzopoulos, Chypre, de la multiplicit des royaumes lunit
de la province lagide: transition et adaptation . ................................................... 227
Panos Christodoulou, Nicocron, le dernier roi de Salamine de Chypre.
Discours idologique et pouvoir politique ........................................................... 235
Aristodemos Anastasiades, Two Ptolemaic Queens and Cyprus:
Iconographic issues .............................................................................................. 259
Giorgos Papantoniou, Revisiting Soloi-Cholades:PtolemaicPower,
Religion and Ideology .......................................................................................... 271
6 ccec 39, 2009

Marguerite Yon, Le culte imprial Salamine .......................................................... 289

Sidonie Lejeune, Kafizin, portraits dun nymphaion ................................................. 309
Eftychia Zachariou-Kaila, Personal grooming: Metal objects
from Roman Cyprus ............................................................................................. 325
Antigone Marangou, Amphores hellnistiques dAmathonte .................................. 347
Anthi Kaldeli, Trade and the transmission of Roman values to Cyprus,
as evidenced by the amphorae . ............................................................................ 365
Stella Demesticha, Questions of trade: The case of the Mazotos Shipwreck ............ 387

TUDES
Peter Higgs, Thomas Kiely, Four unpublished marble sculptures
of Hellenistic date from Cyprus in the British Museum ...................................... 403
Claire Balandier, Eric Morvillez, Nouvelles recherches archologiques
Paphos: premiers rsultats de la mission franaise sur la colline
de Fabrika (2008-2009) ........................................................................................ 425

COMPTES RENDUS DOUVRAGES

1.Vassos Karageorghis, A Lifetime in the Archaeology of Cyprus,
Medelhavsmuseet, Stockholm, 2007 [H.W. Catling] ......................................... 449
2.Sabine Rogge (d.), Zypern und der Vordere Orient im 19. Jahrhundert.
Die Levante im Fokus von Politik und Wissenschaft der europischen Staaten,
Schriften des Instituts fr Interdisziplinre Zypern-Studien, n 7, Waxmann-
Mnster/New York/Munich/Berlin, 2009 [Sabine Fourrier] . ............................... 452
3.Louise C. Maguire, Tell el-Daba XXI. The Cypriot Pottery
and its Circulation in the Levant, sterreichische Akademie der
Wissenschaften, Vienne, 2009 .S.Merrillees] . .................................................
4.Anja Ulbrich, Kypris. Heilgtmer und Kulte weiblicher Gottheiten
Zypern in der kyproarchaischen und kyproklassischen Epoche
(Knigszeit), Ugarit-Verlag, Mnster, 2008 [A. Hermary] ................................... 458
5.Anna Pouradier Duteil-Loizidou, Consulat de France Larnaca.
Documents indits pour servir lhistoire de Chypre. T. VI (1709-1710),
Publication du Centre de recherche scientifique de Chypre, Sources
et tudes de lhistoire de Chypre LX, Nicosie, 2009 [G. Buti] ............................. 460
 Cahiers du Centre dtudes
Chypriotes39, 2009

REVISITING SOLOI-CHOLADES
Ptolemaic Power, Religion and Ideology *

Giorgos PAPANTONIOU

Rsum. Soloi-Cholades, la Swedish Cyprus Expedition a fouill un vaste ensemble de

temples dats entre 250 avant J.-C. et le ive sicle de notre re. Presque un sicle aprs
cette fouille, il convient de revisiter le site la lumire des connaissances actuelles et
de montrer limportance de ce sanctuaire dans lle de Chypre. On proposera aussi une
interprtation qui met en relation le syncrtisme religieux avec lidologie du pouvoir des
Ptolmes.

Introduction
A large complex composed of temples in use between about 250 BC and the fourth
century AD, at the locality Cholades of Soloi, was excavated and published in detail by
A. Westholm of the Swedish Cyprus Expedition (Fig. 1).1 In comparison with other Iron
Age Cypriot sanctuaries,2 this newly established sanctuary, dating to the early Hellenistic
period, stands alone within the excavated record of ancient Cyprus, both in material and
importance. The temples are not visible nowadays, as they have been reburied after the
excavation.3

* The research and conclusions reflected in this contribution stem from an expanded relevant
chapter of my Ph.D. thesis (Trinity College Dublin, 2008), which is currently being revised for
publication as a monograph (Cyprus, from Basileis to Strategos: Power, Religion and Ideology).
This research would not have been possible without a scholarship from the Centre for Mediterranean
and Near Eastern Studies (CMNES), Trinity College Dublin. The refinement of the present article
has been carried during the tenure of the one-year Postdoctoral Fellowship awarded by the Irish
Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS).
1.Westholm 1936.
2.The problematic nature of the term Iron Age is acknowledged. However, when I use it,
Iinclude within it the Hellenistic period, based on the established Cypriot chronological scheme
proposed by E. Gjerstad. According to this chronological scheme, the Cypriot Iron Age comprises
the islands Geometric, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods: SCE I, p. xvi; see also
the volume entitled Cyprus and the East Mediterranean in the Iron Age, which includes the historic
periods up to the Roman era: Tatton-Brown 1989.
3.Karageorghis 2005, p. 70.
272 ccec 39, 2009

Figure 1.Soloi-Cholades. Analytical plan of the temples

(Westholm 1936, p. 87, fig. 50).
 g.papantoniou, revisiting soloi-cholades 273

Figure 4.Part of
Figure 2. Aphrodite Figure 3.Aphrodite an Eros statue
(Westholm 1936, pl. V, finds 416 (Westholm 1936, pl. VI, (Westholm 1936,
and 463). find466). pl. V, find 464).

Soloi-Cholades. Marble sculptures.

Based on Westholms stratigraphic analysis, dating and identification of cults

(sculptures and architecture), almost a century after the sanctuarys excavation, however,
this contribution aims: firstly, at revisiting the site, putting it within the context of
contemporary scholarship; secondly, at revealing the importance of this sanctuary in
a Cypriot context; and finally, at proposing an interpretation which relates religious
syncretism,4 Ptolemaic power and ideology.

4.As Martin (1987, p. 10-11, 156-157) notes, the notion of Hellenistic syncretism itself derives
from the political model of the Hellenistic period, as a mixture of cultures and people, and does
not suffice as an explanation for the religious transformations that took place during the period.
Although in religious studies the word syncretism is problematic insofar as it passively describes
the influences of one religion upon another, it will be used here as having the connotations of active
parallelism, interaction and identification, all of which have been identified as different forms of
syncretism in their own right rather than as features of something else: Potter 2003, p. 419.
274 ccec 39, 2009

Identification of Cults: Religious Syncretism and Chthonic Associations

Temple A has been associated mainly with the cult of the Cypriot Goddess, fully
Hellenised by the Hellenistic period under the form of Aphrodite.5 Even if the chronology
of Hellenistic and Roman sculpture in Cyprus is sometimes very problematic,6 standard
types of the goddess have been associated with that temple by the excavator (Figs 2, 3).
Three other pieces evidently constitute parts of a statue of one of the goddesses male
companions: a winged, mourning Eros, holding his torch turned down (Fig. 4). The cult
of Cybele is also clearly attested in Temple A (Fig. 5).

Figure 5.Cybele Figure 6.Isis

(Westholm 1936, pl. XII, find 418). (Westholm 1936, pl. XV, find 427).

Soloi-Cholades. Limestone sculptures.

The conclusion that all these statues were transferred from temple A to temple B,7
might also indicate that the same deities were worshiped in temple B. Temple A, in other
words, built around the middle of the third century BC, was replaced by the double temple

5.Papantoniou, forthcoming.
6.Vermeule 1976, p. 45-46; Connelly 1988, p. 7-10; Senff 1989, p. 188; Hermary, this volume.
7.Westholm 1936, p. 143, 149.
g.papantoniou, revisiting soloi-cholades 275

of Aphrodite and Isis (temples B and C), the existence of which was also probably noted
by Strabo, sometime in the first century BC.8 At the same time, temple D was constructed.
A limestone statuette (Fig. 6), found just outside the cella of temple C, has been
related to the myth of Isis and Osiris recorded by Plutarch (Moralia 5. De Iside et
Osiride). Even if there are no attributes indicating the divine nature of the statuette,
Isis is identified on account of her attitude and the drapery of her dress that is gathered
in over her breast with folds hanging down like fringes.9 The statuette represents the
mourning goddess, kneeling on the drum of a column that contains the remains of
her husband. Other heads in limestone, bearing the characteristic Isiac locks and the
crescent, might also attest the presence of Isis in the Cholades temples (Figs 7, 8). It is
not very clear whether these sculptures come from temple C or D. It remains uncertain,
therefore, whether the cult of Isis should be ascribed to one of those temples or to both
of them. The most recent architectural analysis by Kleibl, based on parallels from
elsewhere in the Mediterranean, might confirm the practice of Isiac cult in Temple D.10

Figure 7.Isis, Figure 8.Isis

or a Ptolemaic queen as Isis (Westholm 1936, pl. XVII, find 320).
(Westholm 1936, pl. IX, find 314).
Soloi-Cholades. Limestone sculptures.

8. Strabo (14.6), who may have visited Cyprus at the end of the first century BC, mentions
a sanctuary sacred to Aphrodite and Isis, but he does not give any details as to its position in
relation to the city. At that time, however, temples B and C, had already replaced temple A, and it
is therefore reasonable to identify them with those mentioned by Strabo.
9.Westholm 1936, p. 200-201.
10.
Kleibl 2007, p. 133-137.
276 ccec 39, 2009

By the late Hellenistic/early Roman period at the latest, three female divinities seem
to have been worshipped together at Cholades. Some of their more distinct common
qualities are fertility but also protection of the deceased. Isis, who has many similar
qualities to Aphrodite, had already been associated with Aphrodite in Alexandria by the
third century BC.11 Additionally, in Westholms interpretation, there was a fusion between
the Anatolian goddess Cybele who was usually called Mater Oreia (of the mountains),
and Aphrodite who, on a Roman inscription found in the sanctuary, is also called
Aphrodite Oreia.12 The worship of Isis together with Cybele can be attested during the
Hellenistic period at Alexandria.13 Nonetheless, at Soloi, as A. Anastassiades emphasises,
Aphrodite, Isis, and Cybele kept their iconographic identity and it is therefore difficult to
define whether a pure syncretism or identification existed between these divinities, or
rather a close association.14 Pre-Hellenistic localised goddesses (such as Isis and Cybele)
became sympathetically associated with one another, participating in common structures
and soteriological concerns of universalised syncretistic cultural systems.15 The
associations of these goddesses with Aphrodite, the Cypriot goddess par excellence, in a
Cypriot context are completely understandable.
Since the Ptolemies projected themselves as symbolically offering salvation and
protection, soteriological elements of the Soloi cults are important to the construction
of our argument regarding the relationship between religious syncretism, Ptolemaic
power and ideology. As A. Chaniotis puts it, the power of the king to offer protection
is an essential feature of his mortal divinity.16 Since chthonic religions offer a more
direct relationship between the divine and its human suppliant, they were related to royal
ideology and eventually, became particularly popular in the Mediterranean basin during
the Hellenistic period.17
The provision of a water supply may offer additional support for the chthonic
dimension of the Soloi cults. Channel installations related to the temples of Aphrodite and
Isis carried water to two large interconnected basins at the southeast corner of temples
B and C (Fig. 9).18 Water is very closely associated with ideas of life, and hence has
therapeutic associations beyond being a simple biological necessity.19 Water had been of
special importance since the Bronze Age in Cypriot religion in general, and in the cult

11.
Dunand 1973a, p. 80-85; for the relationship between Aphrodite and Isis in the Graeco-
Roman period see also Daszewski 1989.
12.
Westholm 1936, p. 149; SCE III, p. 626-627.
13.
Fraser 1972, p. 221.
14.
Anastassiades 2009, p. 146.
15.Martin 1978, p. 84.
16.
Chaniotis 2003, p. 433.
17.
Martin 1987, p. 8-10.
18.Westholm 1936, p. 64; Wild 1981, p. 14-16.
19.Horden and Purcell 2000, p. 421.
 g.papantoniou, revisiting soloi-cholades 277

of Aphrodite in particular.20 Water also played a prominent role in the cult of Isis and
Sarapis and was associated with hopes for life beyond the grave.21 They both became
saviour gods, but the diffusion of Isis cult was definitely more successful. The belief
that immortality could be attained through the Isiac religion was the most persistent of
its doctrines. This is why permanent water installations found all over the Mediterranean
in sanctuaries dedicated to Sarapis and/or Isis proved to be of considerable importance.22

channel
installation

interconnected
basins

Figure 9.Soloi-Cholades. Channel installations and interconnected basins

at the southeast corner of temples B and C
(after SCE IV:3, p. 3, fig. 2, and Westholm 1936, p. 81, fig. 45).

Since the material attributed to temple E is definitely of late Roman date, it will not
be discussed here in detail. It should be mentioned, however, that temple E supplies
sufficient archaeological evidence for the cult of Sarapis, the Dioscuroi, Osiris-Canopus,
the snake god Agathos Daimon (who is sometimes associated with Sarapis), and the
mourning Eros, all deities that should be connected with chthonic elements. Additionally,
another fourth century AD limestone statue from that temple has recently been associated
with Isis, the symbolisms of which, based on the decoration of its clothing, strongly
point to the role of Isis as a goddess of death and the after-life.23 Finally, the presence of

20. Hermary et al. 2006, p. 155-160. Water is an important element in the majority of cults,
but in the ancient Greek and Mediterranean world, it was perhaps more notable in those of female
deities, and was particularly associated with ritual purification in mystery cults: see Cole 1988; for
the importance of water in the ancient Greek world, and particularly its therapeutic connotations
see Ginouvs et al. 1994.
21.Wild 1981.
22.Wild 1981, p. 163-166.
23.Anastassiades 2001; 2009, p. 146-147.
278 ccec 39, 2009

chthonic beasts, like sphinxes and sirens among the finds (both of Hellenistic and Roman
chronology) also point to that direction. The practice of such chthonic cults during the
Roman period, in a sacred place founded during the Hellenistic era, should definitely be
put in the context of the long-term perspective. Let us, however, turn our attention to the
Hellenistic sculptures from Cholades, which seem to supply a more direct reference to
Ptolemaic politico-religious ideology and possibly to the ruler cult.

Ptolemaic Power and Ideology

A limestone head, unique in the total corpus of Cypriot sculpture, comes from the
Cholades sanctuary (Fig. 10). It is widely accepted that this head belongs to Alexander
the Great,24 representing the first direct component of Ptolemaic ideology at the site.
Alexander, creating a kind of supranational kingship whose legitimacy rested on military
victory and charismatic rule, was amongst the first Greeks to receive cultic honours.25
Ptolemy I took the decisive step of elevating the dead Alexander to the level of a state
god, a practice that was followed by the next generations of Ptolemaic kings. Alexander
usually appeared as a liberator of lands and not yet as another conqueror. Meanwhile, the
Cypriot Basileis (Kings), amongst them Pasikrates (or Stasikrates)26 of Soloi, supported
Alexander in his campaign. As epigraphy informs us, the Ptolemaic Strategos (General)
of Cyprus held the office of Archiereus (High-priest) and was responsible for all the cults
on the island, including that of Alexander and the Ptolemaic dynasty. Both the Cypriot
Basileis and the Ptolemaic attendants would have acted as agents of Alexanders cult in
Cyprus. On the other hand, the introduction of Alexanders figure in a Cypriot limestone
tradition might be connected with the direct contact and interaction of local people with
that ideology and religious policy.
It is well-known that the Ptolemies associated themselves with Alexander, the son
of Zeus. This is well illustrated on the royal coins where the Soter portrait is normally
accompanied by a reverse showing the eagle of Zeus standing on a thunderbolt. A bird
in limestone, dating to the Hellenistic period, was found at the site and interpreted as
an eagle (Fig. 11). The general cultic and ideological context of its discovery should
probably enhance our argument for a strong presence of Ptolemaic politico-religious
agency on the site.
When it comes to the cult of Ptolemaic queens, however, the evidence from Cholades
could further illustrate the relationship between religious syncretism, Ptolemaic
power and ideology: within the context of Ptolemaic ideology and propaganda and the

24.
For discussion of the problems of Alexanders iconography, see Ridgway 2001, p. 108-148.
25.
For general reviews on Alexanders cult and its relation to the Ptolemaic ruler cult see: Pollitt
1986, p. 271-273; Hlbl 2001, p. 93-94; Chaniotis 2003, p. 435.
26.
Textual evidence mentions Pasikrates as the Basileus of Soloi. This evidence however, which
is already very problematic, is contradicted by the epigraphic one. It has therefore been argued that
the texts must be emended to read Stasikrates for Pasikrates as the Basileus of Soloi during this
period: for further discussion see Miller 1988, p. 154-155 and Stylianou 1989, p. 111, no. 480a.
g.papantoniou, revisiting soloi-cholades 279

new dynastic demands of the Hellenistic period, the visibility of royal women grew
significantly; as a consequence, Ptolemaic queens obtained an increasingly powerful role,
the queen usually having power equal to that of the king.27 The queen honoured as a wife,
mother, sister, daughter and finally as a goddess, acquired a significant role in Ptolemaic
ideology, having protective connotations of political, public, familial, personal values
and mores.

Figure 10.Alexander the Great Figure 11.An eagle

(Westholm 1936, pl. XIV, find 520). (Westholm 1936, pl. XI, find 533).

Soloi-Cholades. Limestone sculptures.

Epigraphic evidence from Cyprus clearly suggests not only a pattern of reproduction of
that aspect of Ptolemaic royal ideology on the island, but also, probably, a politico-religious
symbolism associated with the cult of Aphrodite.28 The cult of Arsinoe Philadelphos in
particular, enjoyed special attention and eventually became of great politico-economic
importance for the state. The understanding of the queens cult is crucial in approaching
Ptolemaic power and ideology. As Marquaille puts it, the cult of Arsinoe associated with
Aphrodite provides a better understanding of how contemporaries grasped the realities of
power than does the imposition of modern theories of imperialism.29


.Wikander 1996; Hazzard 2000; Hlbl 2001, p. 257-258; van Bremen 2003, p. 326-330.
28.
Marquaille-Telliez 2008.
29.
Marquaille 2001, p. 194.
280 ccec 39, 2009

Textual and epigraphic evidence inform us that Arsinoe, already during her lifetime,
was associated with Aphrodite Euploia, saviour of the shipwrecked and protectress of
sailors and the navy, all of whom would have acted as agents of her cult promotion.30
During Hellenistic times, with the great mobility of people for various military and
economic reasons, the cult of such saviour divinities was very popular. A temple
dedicated to queen Arsinoe Kypris therefore directly referring to Aphrodite of Cyprus
by the nauarchos Kallikrates of Samos, at cape Zephyrion near Alexandria is conclusive
enough for her association with Aphrodite.31 The queen was officially associated with the
protectress of seafarers by a Ptolemaic admiral and consequently, by a key figure in the
construction of royal power and ideology. Although here we do not wish to simply focus
on the perception of Arsinoes cult in relation to Ptolemaic maritime power, it has to be
mentioned that the cult of Arsinoe was particularly widespread in harbours and coastal
cities. Soloi, also a harbour city, could thus provide a basis for an Arsinoe cult.
Additionally, in this context it has to be said that both the cults of the Dioscuroi
and Sarapis, which are present at Soloi, also relate to sailors. Even if we do not have
evidence for the cult of the Dioscuroi from the site during the Hellenistic period, their
presence during the Roman period at Cholades should probably be put in the context of
the longue dure. During the Hellenistic period, the Dioscuroi were associated with Isis
and Aphrodite as saviour gods and protectors of travellers and the family. In Egypt itself
the connection of the Dioscuroi cult with the Ptolemies, and especially with that of queen
Arsinoe, is well attested by epigraphic and textual evidence.32
Arsinoe was also associated with Isis and Sarapis.33 In contrast to the association
of the queen with Aphrodite during her lifetime, her association with Isis probably
happened only after her death, when Arsinoe was also worshipped as a beneficent
chthonic goddess.34 As C. Marquaille argues, the cult of Arsinoe thus became a vehicle
for the introduction of Isis, which is also associated with salvation and maritime power
in areas outside Egypt.35 It is important at this stage to restate that the statues related to
Isis were found in temple C and/or D, and are probably of later chronology than those
related to Aphrodite, found in temple A and later transferred to temple B. However,
during the second period that temples B, C and D co-existed, these images were visible
contemporaneously. The merging of the characteristics of the three goddesses (Aphrodite,

30.
Marquaille 2001, p. 195-200; for the relationship of Arsinoe II with Ptolemaic maritime
power, see also Barbantani 2005; for her relation with the protection of sailors, see Fraser 1972,
p.239.
31.
Fraser 1972, p. 239; not surprisingly, a pedestal of the statue of Kallikrates of Samos is found
in the Palaipaphos sanctuary: see Mitford 1961a, p. 9, no. 18.
32.
For a review of the Dioscuroi cult in Alexandria, see Fraser 1972, p. 18-19, 207, 668-9.
33.Dunand 1973a, p. 66-108; Marquaille 2001, p. 223.
34.
Thompson 1973, p. 20, 58-74; for her role as beneficent chthonic goddess, see particularly
Thompson 1973, p. 69; Fraser 1972, p. 243
35.
Marquaille 2001, p. 219-223.
g.papantoniou, revisiting soloi-cholades 281

Isis and Arsinoe) moved beyond the boundaries of the Egyptian kingdom, and it is crucial
to consider that many of these characteristics may also be found in the Cholades cults.

Figure 12.Aphrodite or a Ptolemaic queen Figure 13.A probable Ptolemaic queen

(Westholm 1936, pl. III, find 438). (Westholm 1936, pl. III, find 438).
Soloi-Cholades. Marble sculptures.

In Egypt, Ptolemy Philadelphos decreed that the image of the deified queen should be
placed in all the countrys sanctuaries as a guest-goddess, synnaos thea.36 It is to around
that period that the earliest sculptures from the site date. The female marble head identified
by Westholm as belonging to Aphrodite (Fig. 12), and another fine-grained marble head
(Fig. 13), have usually been re-interpreted as belonging to statues of a Ptolemaic queen
as Aphrodite, because of similar features and characteristics with other probable royal
portraits from Egypt.37 The most widely accepted interpretation is that these heads
represent Arsinoe Philadelphos.38 Although there are no inscriptions mentioning Arsinoe
from the stratified context of Cholades, two unstratified inscriptions bearing her name

36.
Hlbl 2001, p. 101.
37.
See for example the so-called Hirsch (Smith 1988, pl. 37, fig. 2), Kassel (Smith 1988, pl. 37,
fig. 4) and Berlin (Comstock and Vermeule 1976, p. 84, n. 130) queens; further analysis on these
portraits will be included in my forthcoming monograph.
38. Thompson 1955, p. 205; Dikaios 1961, p. 108, nos. 12-13; Senff 1989, p. 191, n. 25;
Demetriou 2000, pl. CXXXIV; Vermeule (1976, p. 55), however, tends to identify the first head
with Berenice II, the wife of Ptolemy III Euergetes.
282 ccec 39, 2009

found in the vicinity could come from the sanctuary itself.39 A stratified inscription from
the nearby sanctuary site of Mersinaki referring to Arsinoe Philadelphos could be seen in
analogy with this unstratified evidence.40
Moving away from the cult of Arsinoe Philadelphos, it has to be said that there is also
strong textual, epigraphic and iconographic evidence for the association of other Ptolemaic
queens with Isis and Aphrodite.41 As Cleopatras VII reign probably coincides with the
construction of the Soloi temples B, C and D, the associations between Isis, Aphrodite
and the aforementioned queen should be borne in mind. At this point, it is also crucial
to emphasise that Cleopatra VII seems to have appropriated symbols and characteristics
of her previous, most powerful female ancestor, Arsinoe II.42 Other female heads from
the Cholades sanctuary might prove thought-provoking for the relation between divine
and royal image. Although Westholm, for instance, regards the aforementioned limestone
head more as a general type of Isis rather than as a portrait of a Ptolemaic queen as
Isis (Fig. 7), he acknowledges that such similar representations could have existed in
contemporary sculptures from Alexandria.43 It should be emphasised that this is a statue,
sculpted in Cyprus on local material and in local techniques. Thus, differences in style
and local variations are to be expected.
The direct relationship and conflation between the divine and royal image should be
kept in mind. Nonetheless, it is indeed dangerous and unrealistic, based on the existing
evidence, to proceed to any further interpretation regarding the identification of the
above portrait-like heads. According to R.R.R. Smith, the majority of the female royal
portraits are highly idealised.44 While one, however, should avoid attributing names to the
sculptures, it is important to note the context of their discovery, their material and their
proximity to other female most probably royal portraits.
Comparative evidence from the city of Alexandria might support the existence of
Ptolemaic cult at Soloi-Cholades.45 At the Alexandrian Sarapeum, a sculptural group of a
king, his queen, and Sarapis has been found: as Smith argues, we might imagine a seated
Sarapis flanked by a standing king and queen.46 Next to Sarapis we also have the cult

39.
Hirschfeld 1996, p. 330, 333; Nicolaou 1966, p. 57-58, no. 3; 1973, p. 212-213, no. 1.
40.SCE III, p. 621-622.
41.
Marquaille 2001, p. 203-207. In Cyprus, for instance, as an inscription from Salamis informs
us, queen Cleopatra III was worshipped as Aphrodite; the Strategos-Archiereus of the island was
also the priest of her cult: Hadjiioannou 1980, p. 187 no. 54.
42.
Anastassiades, this volume.
43.
Westholm 1936, p. 196-198.
44.
Smith 1988, p. 89.
45.
Interestingly, although this remains a speculation Senff (1993, p. 12, n. 95) has even
suggested that room V at Cholades, the find-spot of many of the statues discussed above, including
some badly corroded alabaster sculptures and the marble queen heads, could have been used as
a room for the ruler cult.
46.
Smith 1988, p. 92.
g.papantoniou, revisiting soloi-cholades 283

of Isis and that of the Ptolemies, the latter probably attested not only by sculptural, but
also by epigraphic evidence.47 The worship of Sarapis was mainly an act of loyalty to the
royal house and was closely associated in the public mind with the dynastic cult, both in
Alexandria and outside Egypt.48 A Hellenistic marble bearded head from Cholades has
been interpreted as possibly representing Zeus (Fig. 14). The cultic context in which this
head was found and comparison with other Cypriot votive sculptures further suggests
the identification of this sculpture with a divinity. Nonetheless, the very poor state of
preservation of the head would not exclude the possibility that it could represent some
other deity, such as Asclepios or even Sarapis. While Sarapis is not clearly present in
the Hellenistic sculptural series of Cholades, two inscriptions mentioning this god,
found in the excavation, have been dated by T.B. Mitford to the third century BC.49 In
comparative terms within a Cypriot context, one should probably turn to the coastal site of
Amathous, where epigraphic evidence clearly establishes the official cult of Isis, Sarapis
and members of the Ptolemaic dynasty next to that of Aphrodite, as synnaoi theoi in the
same sanctuary.50 Additionally, the question recently raised by K. Kleibl remains vital: is
there a topographic/symbolic correlation between the Soloi necropolis and the Cholades
sanctuary, as is the case with the Alexandrian necropolis and the Sarapeum?51

Figure 14. Soloi-Cholades.

Marble sculpture interpreted as Zeus
(Westholm 1936, pl. II, find 457).

47.
Fraser 1960, p. 17-18, n. 1.
48.
Fraser 1972, p. 116-117.
49.SCE III, p. 625-626.
50.
Hermary et al. 2006, p. 163-164.
51.
Kleibl 2007, p. 149.
284 ccec 39, 2009

While this might merely be due to the general lack of archaeological visibility on the
island, especially when it comes to pre-Roman periods,52 one cannot underestimate that
the case of Cholades at Soloi stands alone in the excavated record of ancient Cyprus. The
questions remain: Why is a combination of religious syncretism, Ptolemaic power and
ideology attested so strongly at Soloi, in a newly built, sub-urban or peri-urban (broadly
defined)53 sanctuary of early Hellenistic date? By whom were these cults established so
early in a sanctuary founded exnovo?
On the one hand, the diffusion of the Alexandrian cults within the Mediterranean basin
could be attributed to sailors and merchants. The foundation of a cult, on the other hand,
could be attributed to private initiative or to public and civil interest. While the Cholades
cults seem to be addressed and applied to both public and personal needs, they also seem
to be highly politicised and relate to Ptolemaic power and ideology. Building new temples
and setting up new cults, is a very costly undertaking. Additionally, as the excavator
rightly states, the appearance of high quality sculptures of imported marble at the very
beginning of the sanctuarys sculptural series, and at a moment when such imports are
rare, should be noted.54 An inscription referring to Sarapis comprises a dedication by
the non-Cypriot Moschion, son of Kritodemos from Rhodes, but this cannot be related
to an establishment of cult.55 A series of inscriptions from the site, however, probably
refer to the same person;56 amongst them, an inscription on a marble tablet refers to the
dedication of a temple to Priapos by Moschion, built in the third century BC at the order
of Sarapis. The non-Cypriot Moschion could have been a member of a koinon stationed
on the island. The role of such federations in the promotion and expansion of royal
power and ideology outside Egypt is well attested by modern scholarship.57 One should
probably further investigate comparative evidence from other Mediterranean areas, such
as cape Zephyrion, Halikarnassos, Athens and Delos, where the cults of Aphrodite or Isis,
members of the Ptolemaic dynasty and Sarapis are found together or merged.58 In all the
cases, the cults seem to be politically supervised and may relate to those of Cholades.

52.
Iacovou 2002, p. 74-75.
53.
Based on the problematic nature of Cypriot evidence, such clear-cut categorisations, such
as urban, sub-urban, peri-urban and extra-urban, should be used very cautiously/critically.
Ihere consider as urban those sanctuaries clearly lying in a privileged position within the core
of the city.
54.
Westholm 1936, p. 187.
55.
Hirschfeld 1996, p. 330.
56.
Hirschfeld 1996, p. 330; SCE III, p. 625, 630.
57.E.g. Mitford 1961b, p. 119-120; Bagnall 1976, p. 220-224; Anastassiades 2003, p. 116-118;
Mehl 2000, p. 660-661; Hermary 2004, p. 54-55.
58. The aforementioned dedication of Kallikrates temple to Arsinoe near Alexandria, for
instance, should be considered. Similarly, Chairemon established a sanctuary of Sarapis, Isis and
Arsinoe Philadelphos at Halikarnassos (Chaniotis 2003, p. 442). Additionally, during the first half
of the third century BC, Athens had special connections with the Ptolemies. The cult of Sarapis is
g.papantoniou, revisiting soloi-cholades 285

Conclusions
In conclusion, I have argued here that the diachronic study of the Soloi-Cholades
stratigraphy, primarily enhances the chthonic nature of the cults practiced there, and
consequently may relate their initiation and promotion to the Ptolemaic politico-religious
agency and ideology. We might thus deal with a site of much greater importance than
what modern scholarship has hitherto attributed to it: the site could serve as a paradigm
for the study of the relationship between chthonic cults, religious syncretism, Ptolemaic
power and ideology. In addition, it could serve as a case study for understanding the
character of this Ptolemaic politico-religious agency on the island.
Religion can work as a bridge for communication between different groups. The
image of the Cypriot Goddess par excellence, transcends the domain of religion and
diachronically becomes a veritable mark of Cypriot cultural identity. Ptolemaic control
over Cyprus undoubtedly brought significant transformations to the cult of the goddess.
Nonetheless, as during the city-kingdom period, the goddess, now fully Hellenised
under the form of Aphrodite, is taken as the building block of political power and ideology
on the island. In other words, as in the case of Egypt and other Mediterranean areas, local
structures and local conditions (the Cypriot mentalit), are fully taken into consideration
for the construction and reproduction of Hellenistic royal ideology.
The architecture of the Cholades temples comprises the firmest indication of the
above statement: while strong cultural and religious Alexandrian elements are in place,
and while the sanctuary was developed only in Ptolemaic times, its basic and original
architecture follows the model of the traditional Cypriot temenos. In its long period of
use, the cellae increased in number and became more monumental. Nonetheless, like the
sanctuary of Palaipaphos, it never acquired a Greek style temple, a phenomenon attested
only rarely in late Hellenistic Cyprus.
University of Dublin, Trinity College

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