Alexander the Great occupied Cyprus in 333 BC, ten years before his death. After Alexander's death in 323 BC, Cyprus became a battleground for his successors.
Alexander's three great surviving Macedonian generals were Ptolemy, Seleucis and Antigonus. Antigonus held much of Asia Minor, Seleucis the central empire from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates, and Ptelemy held Egypt.
In Cyprus, some cities, including Amathus and Kitium, favoured Antigonus. The remainder favoured Ptolemy who took over Cyprus as his protectorate in 318 BC. The victor was therefore the Greek-Egyptian Ptolemy Solter I. Kition, Kyrenia, Lapithos and Marion were destroyed and Nicocreon the King of Salamis, who refused to surrender, committed suicide.
Cyprus became part of the Kingdom of Egypt and its viceroy resided in the new capital, Nea Pafos. Cultural life was influenced by Hellenism with the Egyptian gods joining the pantheon of deities. Ptolemy was a devoted patron of all arts and sciences.
In 58 BC, Cyprus was conquered by the legion of Rome and received the status of a province ruled by a governor who resided in a magnificent palace in Nea Pafos. Roman government was centred on Paphos and from there the now prosperous island's affairs were efficiently controlled. Public works of all kinds, roads, bridges, harbours, aqueducts and temples were constructed and there began a long interval of thriving expansion and a prolonged period of stability under Roman rule that was to last until 330 AD.
At the Paphos Archaeological Museum, the artifacts from the Hellenistic and Roman periods are particularly impressive. Some of the highlights are ladies' gold jewellery, silver coins from Alexander the Great's time, Roman hot water bottles for the body and a statue of armed Aphrodite from the Roman period.
Sources: Eyewitness Travel: Cyprus, Dr Dick Richards: Brief History of Cyprus in Ten Chapters
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