This volume, the result of a 2015 conference held in Harvard, is a welcome contribution to the increasing attention being paid to Cyprus in the late antique period. This work adds to L. Zavagno's 2017 Cyprus between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, which examines a period between the seventh and the ninth centuries, and C.A. Stewart et al.'s 2014 edited volume, Cyprus and the Balance of Empires, Art and Archaeology from Justinian I to Coeur de Lion. Nasrallah, Luijendijk and Bakirtzis's collection focuses primarily on the earlier parts of the late antique period, when, within the context of the intensification of the spread of Christianity, there are adaptations to a changing society and external relations become pivotal to this. The chronological focus is from the fourth to the seventh centuries with the Arab invasions of 649 ce as the end point, although frequent reference is made to data from earlier periods (J. Carleton Paget) and the reception of late antique material in later periods (M. Solomidou-Ieronymidou and G. Philotheou).
Nasrallah's opening paper focuses on the Annex of Eustolios as a means of understanding religious change, while providing a pithy overview of the key themes of the twelve papers that follow; in which the story of late antique Cyprus is primarily told from a local perspective using mosaics (H. Maguire and D. Michaelides), curse tablets (A.T. Wilburn), the Lambousa treasure (I. Kalavrezou), wall paintings (Solomidou-Ieronymidou and Philotheou), Bishop Epiphanius (A.S. Jacobs, Y.R. Kim), Bishop Barnabas (Kim, Luijendijk) and the cult of the saints (A. Papageorghiou and N. Bakirtzis, S. Efthymiadis). Altogether, this volume offers a refreshing move away from the more traditional foci on late antique churches and makes a good contribution to diversifying late antique studies in terms of depth of context, material and perspective.
Each paper presents thought-provoking analysis of topics such as continuity, shared traditions and relationships between Christians and non-Christians (Nasrallah, C. Bakirtzis, Michaelides, Maguire, Carleton Paget) through religion, iconography and Christian texts. In doing so, they highlight local understandings of the relationships between the Christian God and the polytheistic gods and note that this level of complexity in divine relationships appears to have been something that the population would have been comfortable with in their daily lives. Papageorghiou & N. Bakirtzis show that Phoebus Apollo was still relevant in the city, and that at Paphos not only did polytheistic themes survive, some such as the mosaic of Theseus and the Minotaur were actually restored in the mid-fourth century. Furthermore, the slow pace of change in religious expression, even when Christianity becomes more intensively adopted, is emphasised. But as Maguire notes through the study of mosaics (in particular those from the House of Dionysus and the House of Aion at Paphos), while there are clear continuities, there were underlying salient differences such as that polytheistic gods were commonly depicted on floors, but not often the Christian God or the Emperor. These considerations of continuity and adaption are pertinent, in particular as studies of late antique communities across the Mediterranean are reaching similar conclusions of an organic transition.
The value of the Cypriot past and how it is manifested in art, architecture as well as literature, is drawn on by Carleton Paget, Efthymiadis as well as Papageorghiou & N. Bakirtzis. Their contributions emphasise the importance of the relics of Barnabus, and the use of the Acts in the fifth and the sixth centuries, to highlight the independence of the Cypriot church from Antioch. The theme of the autocephality of the Cypriot church is found in Luijendijk's examination of the Acts of Barnabas, whose fifth-century author recognised the importance of the text for Cyprus’ claims. This subject is also engagingly presented in Kim's focus on Epiphanius’ role in the consolidation of the Cypriot claim. Here the discussion is contextualised in the framework of earlier scholarship through Syrian or Cypriot perspectives. Kim synthesises the data to suggest that the consecration of Epiphanius as bishop of Salamis was a calculated move to consolidate the claim for autocephality as Epiphanius was an outsider.
These papers are complemented by Jacobs's work on Epiphanius as a positive and inclusive source. Jacobs takes a different view of Epiphanius to the norm; Epiphanius is more commonly read as a source for insights into wider social contexts whereas Jacobs looks at Epiphanius’ bibliography and what can be ascertained about his physical library, which in turn provides a glimpse into local attitudes.
Together, the papers draw on legacy and original data to offer new perspectives and challenge old assumptions. Thorny problems are highlighted early on by Papageorghiou and N. Bakirtzis, who contrast the archaeological and hagiographic evidence for the beginnings of Christianity on the island. The latter point towards a formulaic story of violence and conflict and ultimately triumph, in contrast to the co-existence seen in the archaeology. Thus, these hagiographic sources are useful for their historical value. The idea of coexistence is further emphasised by C. Bakirtzis, Maguire, Michaelides, Wilburn and Jacobs, who note how craftspeople, regardless of the religious context, would have shared resources and inspiration to the point where Michaelides shows the flexibility of mosaicists who were able to negotiate polytheistic domestic space in the Eustolios villa as well as Christian religious space in the Ag Trias, Gialousa Basilica. Jacobs's alternative approach to Epiphanius through his library gives us a glimpse into attitudes in Cyprus and complements Carleton Paget's paper, which takes us on a journey with Luke and sheds light on his reception in Cyprus. This is further contextualised through Luijendijk's presentation of the local geography through the Acts of Barnabas. Luijendijk's work on the use of the holy book as a healing tool and as a relic brings to the fore details that may be Cypriot in nature, but have wider bearings on the late antique world.
Legacy data is re-analysed by contributors such as C. Bakirtzis, who looks at Megaw's work at Ag. Georgios tis Pegeias to discuss the wider role that Cyprus played in networks of pilgrims and trade as marked by the location of its churches. Bakirtzis brings together associations between the island and the sea, economy and pilgrimage, which highlight the well-connected place that Cyprus occupied in this period, but also the carefully planned investment in religious activity.
In re-examining the Amathous curse tablets, Wilburn highlights Cypriot external links through the adaption of Egyptian and mainland Greek curse formulae. Michaelides returns to his previous interpretations of Cypriot mosaics and highlights the wider context of increased production and external links with workshops of Syria-Palestine. Kalavrezou deftly pulls apart a range of theories concerning the Cyprus treasures to reconstruct the iconography to identify David as he became King; and then the historical context to suggest that the treasures can be connected to Herakleios as he sheltered in Cyprus plotting to take down Phocas, and his gifting of the treasure to the governor of Cyprus. In doing so, the importance of memory and its diachronic transition through communities is emphasised, a theme seen in the work by Carleton Paget, Efthymiadis, Papageorghiou & N. Bakirtzis on the claims of Cypriot autocephality and the memory of Barnabus and in the opening chapters by Nasrallah, Michaelides and Maguire. Here, these authors point out that successful adoption of Christianity was in part due to the way in which community memory was retained through iconography, where Christ was seen as successor to Apollo (in Kourion), images of Dionysus in the lap of Hermes displaying parallels with the Virgin and child and the common layout of images of Orpheus and Christ with animals.
The combination of archaeological and literary data works well to give a fuller picture of late antique Cyprus: the archaeology shows evidence for coexistence and adaptation, the former provides evidence for the presence of Christian populations, which the archaeology does not. Both types of evidence, directly and indirectly allow glimpses into everyday life. There are some minor niggles in that the illustrations are all at the back of the volume and organised by author name rather than by chapter number. Overall, the papers complement each other in the material analysed and conclusions reached, and throughout we are taken on a journey through Cyprus to understand internal and external relationships as well as the topographical and social context of the island. The volume as a whole is a significant contribution to scholarship and the fundamentals of late antique society.
