Salamis
Frieze-Dennison Vergil
- The island of Salamis, in the Saronic Gulf, opposite Eleusis, now Kuluri or Salamis, Plin. 4, 12, 20, § 62; abl. Salamine, Cic. Off. 1, 18, 61; Gr. acc. Salamina, Pac. ap. Cic. de Or. 2, 46, 193 (Trag. Rel. p. 99 Rib.); Verg. A. 8, 158; Hor. C. 1, 7, 21: Salaminem, Att. ap. Non. 259, 26 (Trag. Rel. p. 370 Rib.).—Hence,
- A Să-lămīnĭus, a, um, adj., of or belonging to the island of Salamis: tropaeum, Cic. Tusc. 1, 46, 110; cf. victoria, Nep. Them. 6, 3: Teucer, Hor. C. 1, 15, 23.—In plur. subst.: Sălămīnĭi, ōrum, m., the inhabitants of Salamis, Cic. Arch. 8, 19; Plin. 7, 56, 57, § 208.—
- B Sălămīnĭăcus, a, um, adj., of Salamis: mare, Luc. 5, 109: tropaea, Sil. 14, 282.—
- II The city of Salamis in Cyprus, founded by Teucer of the island of Salamis, Mel. 2, 7, 5; Cic. Att. 6, 1, 6; Ov. M. 14, 760; acc. Salamina, Hor. C. 1, 7, 29; Vell. 1, 1, 1; Plin. 5, 31, 35, § 130.—Hence,
- B Sălămīnĭus, a, um, adj., of or belonging to Salamis in Cyprus: Juppiter, worshipped there, Tac. A. 3, 62 fin.: insulae, lying opposite to the city of Salamis, Plin. 5, 31, 35, § 130.—In plur. subst.: Sălămīnĭi, ōrum, m., the inhabitants of the Cyprian Salamis, Cic. Att. 5, 21, 10; 6, 1, 5; 6, 2, 17.
➳ acc. Salamina Cic. Tusc. 1, 110.
- 1. eiland in de Saronische Golf voor de kust v. Z.W.-Attica; hier versloegen de Grieken onder leiding van Themistocles de Perzen in een zeeslag (480 v. Chr.);
- 2. stad aan de oostkust v. Cyprus, volgens de legende door de Trojaanse koning Teucer gebouwd; / inw. en adj. Salamīnius, ī m resp. a, um.
(Σαλαμίς), a daughter of Asopis, and by Poseidon the mother of Cenchreus or Cychreus. (Paus. 1.35.2; Apollod. 3.12.7; Diod. 4.72.) From her the island of Salamis was believed by the ancients to have received its name. [L.S]
SA´LAMIS (Σαλαμίς, Aesch. Pers. 880; Scyl. p. 41; Ptol. 5.14.3, 8.20.5; Stadiasm. § § 288, 289; Pomp. Mela, 2.7.5; Plin. Nat. 5.35; Horat. Carm. 1.729; Σαλαμίν, Eustath ad Il. 2.558; Σαλαμίας, Malala, Chron. 12. p. 313, ed. Bonn: Eth. Σαλαμίνιος, Böckh, Inscr. nos. 2625, 2638, 2639), a city on the E. coast of Cyprus, 18 M. P. from Tremithus, and 24 M. P. from Chytri. (Peut. Tab. ) Legend assigned its foundation to the Aeacid Teucer, whose fortunes formed the subject of a tragedy by Sophocles, called Τεῦκρος, and of one with a similar title by Pacuvius. (Cic. de Orat. 1.58, 2.46.) The people of Salamis showed the tomb of the archer Teucer (Aristot. Anthologia, 1.8, 112), and the reigning princes at the time of the Ionic revolt were Greeks of the Teucrid Gens,a lthough one of them bore the Phoenician name of Siromus (Hiram). (Hdt. 5.104.) In the 6th century B.C. Salamis was already an important town, and in alliance with the Battiad princes of Cyrene, though the king Evelthon refused to assist in reinstating Arcesilaus III. upon the throne. (Hdt. 4.162.) The descendant of this Evelthon--the despot Gorgus--was unwilling to join in the Ionic revolt, but his brother Onesilus shut him out of the gates, and taking the command of the united forces of Salamis and the other cities, flew to arms. The battle which crushed the independence of Cyprus was fought under the walls of Salamis, which was compelled to submit to its former lord, Gorgus. (Hdt. 5.103, 104, 108, 110.) Afterwards it was besieged by Anaxicrates, the successor of Cimon, but when the convention was made with the Persians the Athenians did not press the siege. (Diod. 12.13.) After the peace of Antalcidas the Persians had to struggle for ten years with all their forces against the indefatigable and gentle Evagoras. Isocrates composed a panegyric of this prince addressed to his son Nicocles, which, with every allowance for its partiality, gives an interesting picture of the struggle which the Hellenic Evagoras waged against the Phoenician and Oriental influence under which Salamis and Cyprus had languished. (Comp. Grote, Hist. of Greece, vol. x. c. lxxvi.) Evagoras with his son Pnytagoras was assassinated by a eunuch, slave of Nicocreon (Aristot. Pol. 5.8.10; Diod. 15.47; Theopomp. Fr. iii. ed. Didot), and was succeeded by another son of the name of Nicocles. The Graeco-.Aegyptian fleet under Menelaus and his brother Ptolemy Soter was utterly defeated off the harbour of Salamis in a seafight, the greatest in all antiquity, by Demetrius Poliorcetes, B.C. 306. (Diod. 20.45--53.) The famous courtezan Lamia formed a part of the booty of Demetrius, over whom she soon obtained unbounded influence. Finally, Salamis came into the hands of Ptolemy. (Plut. Demetr. 35; Polyaen. Strateg. 5.) Under the Roman Empire the Jews were numerous in Salamis (Acts, 13.6), where they had more than one synagogue. The farming of the copper mines of the island to Herod (Joseph, Antiq. 15.14.5) may have swelled the numbers who were attracted by the advantages of its harbour and trade, especially its manufactures of embroidered stuffs. (Athen. 2. p. 48.) In the memorable revolt of the Jews in the reign of Trajan this populous city became a desert. (Milman, Hist. of the Jews, vol. iii. pp. 111, 112.) Its demolition was completed by an earthquake; but it was rebuilt by a Christian emperor, from whom it was named CONSTANTIA It was then the metropolitan see of the island. Epiphanius, the chronicler of the heretical sects, was bishop of Constantia in A.D. 367. In thle reign of Heraclius the new town was destroyed by the Saracens.
The ground lies low in the neighbourhood of Salamis, and the town was situated on a bight of the coast to the N. of the river Pediaeus. This low land is the largest plain--SALAMINIA--in Cyprus, stretching inward between the two mountain ranges to the very heart of the country where the modern Turkish capital-- Nicosia --is situated. In the Life and Epistles of St. Paul, by Coneybeare and Howson (vol. 1. p. 169), will be found a plan of the harbour and ruins of Salamis, from the survey made by Captain Graves. For coins of Salamis, see Eckhel, vol. 3. p. 87.
[E.B.J]SA´LAMIS (Σαλαμίς,--ῖνος: Eth. and Adj. Αλαμίνιος, Salaminius: Adj. Σαλαμινιακός, Salaminiacus: Kulúri), an island lying between the western coast of Attica and the eastern coast of Megaris, and forming the southern boundary of the bay of Eleusis. It is separated from the coasts both of Attica and of Megaris by only a narrow channel. Its form is that of an irregular semicircle towards the west, with many small indentations along the coast. Its greatest length, from N. to S., is about 10 miles, and its width, in its broadest part, from E. to W., is a little more. Its length is correctly given by Strabo (9. p. 393) as from 70 to 80 stadia. In ancient times it is said to have been called Pityussa (Ῥιτυοῦσσα), from the pines which grew there, and also SCIRAS (Σκιράς) and CYCHREIA (Κυχρεία), from the names of two heroes Scirus and Cychreus. The former was a native hero, and thle latter a seer, who came from Dodona to Athens, and perished along with Erechtheus in fighting against Eumolpus. (Strab. 9. p. 393; Paus. 1.36.1; Philochor. ap. Plut. Thes. 17.) The latter name was perpetuated in the island, for Aeschylus (Aesch. Pers. 570) speaks of the ἀκταὶ Κυχρεῖαι, and Stephanus B. mentions a Κυχρεῖος τάγος. The island is said to have obtained the name of Salamis from the mother of Cychreus, who was also a daughter of Asopus. (Paus. 1.35.2.) It was colonised at an early period by the Aeacidae of Aegina. Telamon, the son of Aeacus, fled thither after the murder of his half-brother Phocus, and became sovereign of the island. (Paus. 1.35.1.) His son Ajax accompanied the Greeks with 12 Salaminian ships to the Trojan War. (Hom. Il. 2.557.) Salamis continued to be an independent state till about the beginning of the 40th Olympiad (B.C. 620), when a dispute arose for its possession between the Athenians and Megarians. After a long struggle, it first fell into the hands of the Megarians, but was subsequently taken possession of by the Athenians through a stratagem of Solon. (Plut. Sol. 8, 9; Paus. 1.40.5.) Both parties appealed to the arbitration of Sparta. The Athenians supported their claims by a line in the Iliad, which represents Ajax ranging his ships with those of the Athenians (Il. 2.558), but this verse was suspected to have been an interpolation of Solon or Peisistratus; and the Megarians cited another version of the line. The Athenians, moreover, asserted that the island had been made over to them by Philaeus and Eurysaces, sons of the Telamonian Ajax, when they took up their own residence in Attica. These arguments were considered sufficient, and Salamis was adjudged to the Athenians. (Plut. Sol. 10; Strab. 9. p. 394.) It now became an Attic demus, and continued incorporated with Attica till the times of Macedonian supremacy. In B.C. 318, the inhabitants voluntarily received a Macedonian garrison, after having only a short time before successfully resisted Cassander. (Diod. 18.69; Polyaen. Strat. 4.11.2; Paus. 1.35.2.) It continued in the hands of the Macedonians till B.C. 232, when the Athenians, by the assistance of Aratus, purchased it from the Macedonians together with Munychia and Sunium. Thereupon the Salaminians were expelled from the island, and their lands divided among Athlenian cleruchi. (Plut. Arat. 34; Paus. 2.8.6; Böckh, Inscr. vol. 1. p. 148, seq.) From that time Salamis probably continued to be a dependency of Athens, like Aegina and Oropus; since the grammarians never call it a δῆμος, which it had been originally, but generally a πόλις.
The old city of Salamis, the residence of the Telamonian Ajax, stood upon the southern side of the island towards Aegina (Strab. 9. p. 393), and is identified by Leake with the remains of some Hellenic walls upon the south-western coast near a small port, where is the only rivulet in the island, perhaps answering to the BOCARUS or BOCALIAS of Strabo (9. p. 394; Leake, Demi, p. 169). The Bocarus is also mentioned by Lycophron (451). In another passage, Strabo (9. p. 424) indeed speaks of a river Cephissus in Salamis; but as it occurs only in an enumeration of various rivers of this name, and immediately follows the Athlenian Cephissus without any mention being made of the Eleusinian Cephissus, we ought probably to read with Leake ἐν Ἐλευσῖνι instead of ἐν Σαλαμῖνι.
When Salamis became an Athenian demus, a new city was built at the head of a bay upon the eastern side of the island, and opposite the Attic coast. In the time of Pausanias this city also had fallen into decay. There remained, however, a ruined agora and a temple of. Ajax, containing a statue of the hero in ebony; also a temple of Artemis, the trophy erected in honour of the victory gained over the Persians, and a temple of Cychreus. (Paus. 1.35.3, 36.1.) Pausanias has not mentioned the statue of Solon, which was erected in the agora, with one hand covered by his mantle. (Dem. de Fals. Leg. p. 420; Aeschin. in Tim. p. 52.) There are still some remains of the city close to the village of Ambelákia. A portion of the walls may still be traced; and many ancient fragments are found in the walls and churches both of Ambelákia and of the neighbouring village of Kulúri, from the latter of which the modern name of the island is derived. The narrow rocky promontory now called Cape of St. Barbara, which forms the SE. entrance to the bay of Ambelákia, was the SILENIAE (Σιληνίαι) of Aeschylus, afterwards called TROPAEA (Τροπαία), on account of the trophy erected there in memory of the victory. (Asch. Pers. 300, with Schol.) At the extremity of this promontory lay the small island of PSYTTALEIA(Ψυττάλεια), now called Lipsokutáli, about a mile long, and from 200 to 300 yards wide. It was here that a picked body of Persian troops was cut to pieces by Aristeides during the battle of Salamis. (Hdt. 8.95; Aesch. Pers. 447, seq.; Plut. Arist. 9; Paus. 1.36.2, 4.36.3; Strab. 9. p. 393; Plin. Nat. 4.12. s. 20; Steph. B. s. v.)
In Salamis there was a promontory SCIRADIUM(Σκιράδιον), containing a temple of the god of war, erected by Solon, because he there defeated the Megarians. (Plut. Sol. 9.) Leake identifies this site with the temple of Athena Sciras, to which Adeimantus, the Corinthian, is said to have fled at the commencement of the battle of Salamis (Hdt. 8.94); and, as the Corinthians could not have retreated through the eastern opening of the strait, which was the centre of the scene of action, Leake supposes Sciradium to have been the south-west promontory of Salamis, upon which now stands a monastery of the Virgin. This monastery now occupies the site of a Hellenic building, of which remains are still to be seen.
BUDORUM (Βούδορον or Βούδοωρον) was the name of the western promontory of Salamis, and distant only three miles from Nisaea, the port of Megara. On this peninsula there was a fortress of the same name. In the attempt which the Peloponnesians made in B.C. 429 to surprise Peiraeeus, they first sailed from Nisaea to the promontory of Budorum, and surprised the fortress; but after overrunning the island, they retreated without venturing to attack Peiraeeus. (Thuc. 2.93, 94, 3.51; Diod. 12.49; Strab. 11. p. 446; Steph. B. s. v. Βούδωρον. )
Salamis is chiefly memorable on account of the great battle fought off its coast, in which the Persian fleet of Xerxes was defeated by the Greeks, B.C. 480. The details of this battle are given in every history of Greece, and need not be repeated here. The battle took place in the strait between the eastern part of the island and the coast of Attica, and the position of the contending forces is MAP OF SALAMIS.
A. A. A. Persian fleet.B. B. B. Grecian fleet.C. C. C. The Persian army.D. Throne of Xerxes.E. New Salamis.F. Old Salamis.G. The island Psyttaleia.H. Peiraeeus.I. Phalerum.1. Athenian ships.2. Lacedaemonian and other Peloponnesian ships.3. Aeginetan and Euboean slips.4. Phoenician ships.5. Cyprian ships.6. Cilician and Pamphylian ships.7. Ionian ships.8. Persian ships.9. Egyptian ships.a. Prom. Sileniae or Tropaea. (Cape of St. Barbara. ) b. Prom. Sciradium.c. Prom. Budorus.
shown in the annexed plan. The Grecian fleet was drawn up in the small bay in front of the town of Salamis, and the Persian fleet opposite to them off the coast of Attica. The battle was witnessed by Xerxes from the Attic coast, who had erected for himself a lofty throne on one of the projecting declivities of Mt. Aegaleos. Colonel Leake has discussed at length all the particulars of the battle, but Mr. Blakesley has controverted many of his views, following the authority of Aeschylus in preference to that of Herodotus. In opposition to Col. Leake and all preceding authorities, Mr. Blakesley supposes, that though the hostile fleets occupied in the afternoon before the battle the position delineated in the plan annexed, yet that on the morning of the battle the Greeks were drawn up across the southern entrance of the strait, between the Cape of St. Barbara and the Attic coast, and that the Persians were in the more open sea to the south. Into the discussion of this question our limits prevent us from entering; and we must refer our readers for particulars to the essays of those writers quoted at the close of this article. There is, however, one difficulty which must not be passed over in silence. Herodotus says (8.76) that on the night before the battle, the Persian ships stationed about Ceos and Cynosura moved up, and beset the whole strait as far as Munychia. The only known places of those names are the island of Ceos, distant more than 40 geographical miles from Salamis, and the promontory of Cynosura, immediately N. of the bay of Marathon, and distant more than 60 geographical miles from Salamis. Both of those places, and more especially Cynosura, seem to be too distant to render the movement practicable in the time required. Accordingly many modern scholars apply the names Ceos and Cynosura to two promontories, the southernmost and south-easternmost of the island of Salamis, and they are so called in Kiepert's maps. But there is no authority whatever for giving those names to two promontories in the island; and it is evident from the narrative, as Mr. Grote has observed, that the names of Ceos and Cynosura must belong to some points in Attica, not in Salamis. Mr. Grote does not attempt to indicate the position of these places; but Mr. Blakesley maintains that Ceos and Cynosura are respectively the well-known island and cape, and that the real difficulty is occasioned, not by their distance, but by the erroneous notion conceived by Herodotus of the operations of the Persian fleet. (Leake, Demi of Attica, p. 166, seq., and Appendix II. On the Battle of Salamis; Blakesley, Excursus on Herodotus, 8.76, vol. 2. p. 400, seq.; Grote, Hist. of Greece, vol. 5. p. 171, seq.) COIN OF SALAMIS.
(Σαλαμίς). (1) Now Koluri; an island off the west coast of Attica, and forming the southern boundary of the Bay of Eleusis. It is best known from the great naval victory of the Greeks over the Persian fleet of Xerxes in B.C. 480. See Xerxes.
(2) A city in Cyprus said to have been founded by Teucer, son of Telamon. See Teucer.
On the E coast of the island, ca. 6.5 km N of Famagusta. The ruins occupy an extensive area, ca. 150 ha, along the shore and for a considerable depth now covered by sand dunes and a forest. The harbor lies to the S near the mouth of the river Pedhiaios. Traces of the city wall of the archaic period have recently been discovered to the S. The vast necropolis lies in the plain W of the city and extends towards the villages of Enkomi, Haghios Serghios, and the Monastery of St. Barnabas.
The traditional founder was Teukros, son of Telamon, king of the Greek island of Salamis and one of the heroes of the Trojan War. He was also the founder of the Temple of Zeus Salaminios and the ancestor of its dynasty of priest-kings. A sepulchral epigram to him exists among those on the Homeric heroes. The dynasty of Teukridai ruled for a long time and even the kings of later times claimed descent from Teukros. This dynasty of priest-kings lasted down to the time of Augustus.
Salamis must have succeeded the Mycenaean city of Enkomi, ca. 2 km further inland, sometime in the 11th c. B.C. probably when the harbor of the latter was silted up. This earlier theory has now been corroborated by the recent discovery within Salamis itself of a Protogeometric tomb, and of 11th c. sherds found at the S sector of the city.
Salamis was the most important city in Cyprus and King Euelthon (560-525 B.C.) claimed to be ruler of the whole island. He was the first king of Cyprus to issue coins, and his silver staters of Persic standard show on the obverse a lying ram with the reverse at first smooth and then with an ankh. His name appears on the obverse in syllabic script.
His grandson Gorgos was reigning at the time of the Ionian Revolt (499-498 B.C.) but refused to rise against the Persians, so he was overthrown by his younger brother Onesilos, who succeeded in liberating most of the island for a while. Onesilos, however, fell in the battle that ensued on the plain of Salamis, and the Cypriots, after a year of freedom, were “again enslaved to Persia” (Hdt. 5.104, 108-15).
The most important of all the kings of Salamis, however, was Euagoras I (411–374-373 B.C.) for whom Isocrates wrote an oration (Evagoras). In an attempt to liberate Cyprus from the Persians Euagoras met with little resistance. He was a close ally of Athens and received much military help but in spite of all his initial successes he was forced to submit to the Great King although he did retain his throne as king of Salamis. Euagoras remained throughout his reign a friend of Athens and under his philhellenic policy Greek philosophers, artists, and musicians enjoyed the patronage of his court.
As a result of the Wars of the Successors Salamis was in 306 B.C. the scene of heavy fighting, both on land and sea, between Demetrios Poliorketes and Ptolemy I Soter for the possession of the city. It finally fell to Ptolemy, who soon took possession of the whole island. The city continued to flourish in Hellenistic and Graeco-Roman times and was embellished with important public buildings. During the Ptolemaic rule Salamis ceded its place to Paphos as the leading city of the island sometime in the 2d c. B.C. but in the 4th c. A.D. Salamis, now called Constantia, had once more superseded Paphos as the metropolis of Cyprus. The city became in Early Christian times the seat of a bishop and continued to flourish down to Early Byzantine times when it was gradually abandoned after the first Arab raids of 647 A.D.
The principal monuments uncovered towards the end of the 19th c., and again recently, include the gymnasium, the baths, the theater, the reservoir, the agora, the Temple of Zeus Olympios, part of the city wall, two Early Christian basilican churches and the Royal Tombs. Most of the ruins of this large city, however, remain unexcavated.
The Graeco-Roman gymnasium, originally built in Hellenistic times, was probably destroyed in the 4th c. A.D. earthquakes, after which it was restored as public baths. The central court, the palaistra, measuring 50 x 38 m and paved with opus sectile, is surrounded on all four sides by monolithic marble columns crowned by Corinthian capitals of various types which were salvaged from other derelict buildings when the gymnasium became the baths. The present columns originally carried arches of stone to support the roof which covered the portico. When first excavated this gymnasium was thought to be a marble forum.
The entrance to the gymnasium was through the S portico. On the step between the entrance columns is an inscription of the Hellenistic gymnasium. In the central part of the W wing, behind the portico, is a semicircular platform the floor of which lies about one m above the level of the floor of the portico. At the S end of this wing lie the gymnasium's latrines, a semicircular structure with a roof supported on columns; it had facilities for about 44 persons.
The E portico is larger and furnished with fluted columns higher than those along the other three sides of the court. At the N end of this portico, steps lead up into the N annex with a rectangular pool which replaced an earlier circular one. The sculptures now grouped there come from other parts of the gymnasium. In the middle of the E portico was found the marble altar of the gymnasiarch Diagoras, son of Teukros, in the 2d c. A.D. style. The large group of buildings to the E belongs to the period of the baths. There are still, in a relatively good state of preservation, hypocausts, sudatoria, caldaria, praefurnia, and large halls with niches decorated with mosaics, among others one depicting the river Eurotas and another Apollo slaying the children of Niobe.
The theater was built early in the Imperial period, probably during the reign of Augustus, but was repaired and remodeled during the 1st and 2d c. A.D. It has a semicircular orchestra measuring about 27 m in diameter; its cavea, measuring 104 m in diameter, consisted originally of over 50 rows of seats with a capacity of about 15,000 spectators. Of the stage-building little survives and the cavea has been restored in its greater part.
The stage-building consists of two parallel walls measuring ca. 40 m in length. The span between them, ca. 5 m, was covered with wooden planks at a height of ca. 2 m above the level of the orchestra. Rectangular colonettes offered additional supports to this wooden platform on which the actors performed. This was the proscenium, the facade of which was decorated with frescoes, traces of which survive in one of its niches. The back wall of the proscenium is a massive structure which supported the scenae frons; this was richly decorated with columns, statues, and honorific inscriptions. The theater, ca. 100 m to the S of the gymnasium, was connected with the latter by a colonnaded paved street.
Towards the S of the city is a group of buildings composed of the main reservoir, the agora and the Temple of Zeus Olympios. The reservoir adjoining the agora to the N consists of a large rectangle which had a vaulted roof supported on 39 piers in three rows. This is assigned to the reign of Septimius Severus and it appears that it was supplied with water from the spring at Kythrea some 56 km away. Traces of the aqueduct can still be seen in the plain between the village of Haghios Serghios and Salamis. Repairs to this aqueduct were made as late as the Early Byzantine period.
The Graeco-Roman agora between the reservoir and the Temple of Zeus Olympios measures 217 x 60 m. Considerable remains survive of the stone colonnades extending on either side of the central open space. The stone drums stood ca. 8.20 m high at intervals of 4.60 m and carried Corinthian capitals. Behind the two long porticos were rows of shops. On the S side of the agora lies the Temple of Zeus Olympios, originally built in Hellenistic times. The temple stands on a high stylobate and has a square cella at the rear. Fallen column-drums and Corinthian capitals of a considerable size suggest an impressive building.
Trial trenches at the S sector of Salamis near the harbor brought to light the existence of a complete system of defenses consisting of many parallel walls. The lower course of the walls was of stone, while the upper part was built of mudbricks. The city defenses at this point run E-W along the edge of the plateau, which overlooks the harbor. This circuit has been provisionally dated to the end of the Geometric and to the archaic period.
Substantial remains of the breakwaters of the harbor near the mouth of the river Pediaios still survive; however, most of the harbor itself has silted up.
Tombs dating from Late Geometric to Graeco-Roman times are known in the vast necropolis W of Salamis, but the most important of these are the archaic Royal Tombs, a number of which were excavated in recent years (1956 onwards). Unfortunately only the dromoi were found intact, the burial chambers having been looted long ago. The characteristic features of these tombs are their large dromoi, and their Homeric burial customs. One of these tombs, Tomb 50, is the so-called Prison or Tomb of Haghia Haikaterini. The sloping dromos, measuring 28 x 13 m, had its sides revetted with well-dressed stones. The skeletons of two yoked horses, their iron bits still in their mouths, and several vases were found in the dromos. The tomb in its original form dates from the 7th c. B.C.
Tomb 79 lies to the S of the Tomb of Haghia Haikaterini, and is beyond doubt the wealthiest tomb found thus far at Salamis. The chamber was built, like that of the tomb of Haghia Haikaterini, of two very large blocks of stone, rectangular in shape and with a gable roof. In front of the chamber there was a kind of propylaeum. This tomb dates from the end of the 8th c. B.C. but was reused in the 7th c. and still later during the Graeco-Roman period, so that the chamber was found looted of its earlier contents. The dromos, however, remained intact and its excavation proved most rewarding. The 8th c. burial was associated with the sacrifice of horses, and a chariot and a hearse were found in the dromos. In addition to the pottery the tomb furniture included three ivory chairs, of which only one was in fairly good condition, ivory plaques with relief decoration, a large bronze cauldron standing on an iron tripod decorated around the rim with griffin heads, bird-men, and sphinxes; also various bronze horse-bits, such as frontlets, blinkers, and breastplates, all decorated with figure representations. The 7th c. burial was also associated with chariot and horse burials.
A number of rock-cut tombs were recently excavated due S of the Royal Tombs. These tombs were enclosed by a peribolos wall. Of particular interest is the discovery of pyres in the dromos on which clay figurines and fruit were offered in honor of the dead. This custom was known in ancient Greek religion as pankarpia or panspermia. Several infant burials made in jars were brought to light. The jars are as a rule of Rhodian import but two came from Attica. The furniture of the tombs includes a number of beautiful vases of the 7th c. B.C. decorated with lotus flowers, alabaster vases, bronze mirrors, gold jewelry, seals, and scarabs.
Half-way between the Salamis forest and the Monastery of St. Barnabas, in the middle of the plain, lies a large tumulus of soil, Tomb 3. Above the tumulus traces of a beehive construction have been found, probably a reminiscence of the Mycenaean tholos tomb. The dromos measures 29 x 6 m. Remains of two chariots have been found in it. The four horses which drew the chariots were sacrificed with all their trappings. Various weapons were found including an iron sword, .92 m in length. The border of the broad tang was of silver soldered on the iron by means of copper. This tomb dates from ca. 600 B.C.
Another tumulus, Tomb 77, is to be seen close to the outskirts of the village of Enkomi. This one, however, dates from the end of the Classical period. Under the tumulus was an exedra of rectangular shape, built of mudbricks and measuring 17 x 11.50 m. Almost at the center of the exedra was found a large pyre in which were, among other objects, a number of fragments of life-size statues made of unbaked clay but hardened by fire. Among the five heads found, two seem to be portraits. Their style dates them to the end of the 4th c. B.C. These heads are acrolithic and there is evidence that they were mounted on wooden posts at the time of the funerary ceremony. No traces of burial have been found and the conclusion has been reached that this was a cenotaph, probably of Nikokreon, the last king of Salamis, who committed suicide with the members of his family in 311 B.C. and was buried under the ruins of the burnt palace because he would not submit to Ptolemy.
From the Hellenistic and Graeco-Roman necropolis come a number of funerary inscriptions. The finds are in the Nicosia and Famagusta Museums.
BIBLIOGRAPHYAlexander Palma di Cesnola, Salaminia, 2d ed. (1884); V. Karageorghis, “Chronique de Fouilles et Découvertes Archéologiques à Chypre en 1959,” BCH 84 (1960) onwards; id., “Recent Discoveries at Salamis (Cyprus),” AA 1 (1964) I; 2 (1966) 210-55I; Karageorghis & Cornelius Vermeule, Sculptures from Salamis II (1966) I; Karageorghis, Excavations in the Necropolis of Salamis I (1967) PI; II (1971) MPI; id., Salamis in Cyprus, Homeric, Hellenistic and Roman (1969) I; Porphyrios Dikaios, “A Royal Tomb at Salamis, Cyprus,” AA (1963) 126-210MPI; K. Nicolaou, Ancient Monuments of Cyprus (1968); Th.-J. Oziol & J. Pouilloux, Salamine de Chypre I, Les Lampes (1969) MI; Pouilloux, “Fouilles à Salamine de Chypre 1964-1968,” Report of the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus (1969) 43-55PI; Salamis: A Guide, new ed. (1970) PI; M. Yon, Salamine de Chypre II, La Tombe T.1 du XIes.av. J.-C. (1971) PI; Y. Calvet, Salamine de Chypre III, Les timbres amphoriques (1972) MI; J. Pouilloux et al., Salamine de Chypre IV, Anthologie Salaminienne (1973) MPI.
K. NICOLAOUClassical Salamis, occupied by Athenian settlers, was “on a peninsula-like place” (Strab. 9.1.9, C.393), that is, on the promontory between Kamatero and Ambelaki Bay, facing Attica, where travelers 150 years ago saw remains of fortifications, public buildings, and roads. A decree of the thiasotai of Artemis was found on the acropolis and her precinct extended to the N shore by Kamatero (Hdt. 8.77). A trophy in the town was probably on the tip of the promontory (Paus. 1.36.1). Its harbor was in Ambelaki Bay and the agora was probably on the level ground at the head of the bay, where walls are still visible. A Precinct of Ajax was in this vicinity (Paus. 1.35.3). Lines of walls which are discernible under the water show that here as elsewhere the level of the sea has risen since antiquity, probably by some 150 cm. Early travelers reported a fortification wall extending from E of the harbor to the base of Cape Varvara, the ancient Cape Kynosoura. From there the wall followed the ridge of the cape as far as a mound, itself fortified, known as the Magoula. On the S side of the cape near its base there are remains of a tower, 5th or 4th c. B.C. in date. Two-thirds of the way down the cape the foundations of what was probably a marble trophy were noted by early travelers. Another trophy was set up on an island called Psyttalia (Plut. Arist. 9). The three trophies indicate the scene of the Battle of Salamis in 480 B.C. when the Persians were decisively defeated. The trophies at Salamis and on Cape Kynosoura suggest that the battle was fought inside the channel. The island Psyttalia has been identified with Haghios Georghios in mid-channel (Hammond, Broadhead) or with Lipsokoutali outside the channel towards Peiraeus (Pritchett, Wallace).
In the vicinity of the Naval Arsenal early travelers noted the foundations of temples, and the remains of terracing which are probably ancient. Some have proposed to locate the Temple of Athena Skiras there, but a position farther N on Cape Arapis is more probable (Hdt. 8.94.2). There are some small forts on the coast, undoubtedly built as strongpoints against raiders from the sea; there are similar forts in Attica. One is on the promontory facing Megara; it may be identified with the Boudoron of Thucydides (2.94.3 and 3.51.2; W. McLeod). Another is on the S coast near Peristeria Bay, facing Aegina (Milchhöfer).
BIBLIOGRAPHYIG I21; II 467.2; II 620; A. Milchhöfer in E. Curtius & J. A. Kaupert, Karten von Attika (1881-1903) VII 36; A. Philippson, GL (1952) I iii 864ff; G.L.N. Hammond, JHS 76 (1956) 32f; H. D. Broadhead, The Persae of Aeschylus (1960) Append. vi; W. McLeod, Hesperia 29 (1960) 316f; W. K. Pritchett, Studies in Ancient Greek Topography (1965) 94f; P. W. Wallace, AJA 73 (1969) 293.
N.G.L. HAMMOND- Paus. 1.35.2
- daughter of Asopus, wife of Cychreus: Apollod. 3.12.7
- Paus. 8.15.7
- A town in Cyprus, flight of the Pheretime thither: Hdt. 4.162
- Salamis in the Cyprian revolt: Hdt. 5.104, Hdt. 5.108
- battle near it: Hdt. 5.110
- desertion of Salaminians to the Persians: Hdt. 5.113
- restoration of the king of Salamis: Hdt. 5.115
- Paus. 1.35.2-Paus. 1.36.2
- island off Attica, Cyprian colonists from thence: Hdt. 7.90
- colonised by Telamon: Paus. 1.35.2
- Telamon in: Apollod. 1.8.2
- island, ravaged by a snake: Apollod. 3.12.7
- Cychreus king of: Apollod. 3.12.7
- Telamon comes to, and succeeds to the kingdom: Apollod. 3.12.6, Apollod. 3.12.7
- surrendered to Athenians: Paus. 1.35.2
- wrested from Megara by Athenians: Paus. 1.40.5
- Delphian oracle respecting it: Hdt. 7.141
- Greek fleet there: Hdt. 8.40-97
- return of Greeks to Salamis after cruising in the Aegean: Hdt. 7.121
- Athenians still at Salamis: Hdt. 9.4-6
- their return to Attica: Hdt. 9.19
- captured by Cassander: Paus. 1.25.6
- inhabitants expelled by Athenians: Paus. 1.35.2
- occupied by Macedonian garrison: Paus. 2.8.6
- picture of: Paus. 5.11.5
- battle of: Paus. 1.14.5, Paus. 1.36.1ff., Paus. 1.37.1, Paus. 3.11.3, Paus. 3.16.6, Paus. 7.6.3, Paus. 8.10.9, Paus. 10.14.5