Soli (ancient city in Cyprus)
Soli, an ancient city located in Morphou Bay on the northwest coast of Cyprus, features a rich historical tapestry marked by various Greek legends regarding its origins. Allegedly founded by the Athenian hero Acamas or advised by the statesman Solon, these narratives highlight the city's mythical connection to Athenian culture, although its roots are more closely tied to pre-Greek Sillu. Throughout its history, Soli experienced changes in control, from the Achaemenid Persians to its eventual alignment with Hellenistic rulers like Ptolemy I Soter. Renowned for its copper mines, Soli emerged as a significant center of Hellenism, contrasting with Salamis in the eastern part of the island. The city eventually adopted a Republican constitution after a period of kingship, with its last king, Eunostus, marrying into the Ptolemaic dynasty. Archaeological remnants, including a theater accommodating 3,500 spectators, various industrial facilities, and a large paved street, showcase its historical significance. Soli also became a prominent early Christian site, featuring a basilica and evidence of diverse worship practices through inscriptions. Overall, Soli stands as a testament to the rich cultural and historical narrative of ancient Cyprus.
Soli (ancient city in Cyprus)
Soloi (Potamos tou Kambou, west of Karavostasi)
Situated beside the river Kambos in Morphou Bay, on the northwest coast of Cyprus, the city comprised an acropolis and a lower town adjoining the harbor. There were various conflicting Greek legends about its foundation. One story ascribed this even to the mythical Athenian hero Acamas, son of Theseus, accompanied by Phalerus who was also the supposed founder of Phaleron. According to another version, the Athenian statesman Solon advised Philocyprus, the king of Aipeia (three miles to the northwest) to move his people to the coast, which he did, naming the new foundation after his counsellor.
These stories of Soli's Greek origin, however, are Athenian chauvinistic fictions; it is rather to be identified with the pre-Greek town of Sillu, of which the king was an ally of the Assyrian monarch Esarhaddon in 672. Passing under the control of the Achaemenid Persians, it was recaptured by their forces during the Ionian revolt, after a five months' siege (496). Subsequently Soli formed part of the dominions of Evagoras of Salamis (411–374/3). Later, however, it had kings of its own; one of them, Pasicrates, helped to defray the expenses of dramatic performances celebrating the capture of Tyre by Alexander the Great (311), whose friend (and Asian governor) Stasanor belonged to Pasicrates' family. After Alexander's death Pasicrates sided with Ptolemy I Soter of Egypt (321), so that Soli was the only kingdom in Cyprus to escape abolition at his hands, and Pasicrates' son and successor Eunostus married Ptolemy's daughter, Irene. Nevertheless, he was apparently the last king of the city, which thereafter seems to have adopted a Republican constitution. Well-known for its copper mines, and for its position as the main center of Hellenism in the western part of Cyprus (as Salamis was in the east), Soli continued to prosper and became the seat of a bishopric, first occupied for fifty years (cAD 52–103), according to legendary tradition, by St. Auxibius, who had been baptized and ordained by St. Mark the Evangelist.
The city wall can be traced along the ridge of the acropolis, and presumably came down to the coast on both sides of the harbor. Among remains of every epoch in the tower town, a large paved street and glass and dyeing factories have been uncovered; and a theater cut in the rock, accommodating 3,500 spectators and overlooking the sea, has now been partially reconstructed. An archaic temple has been excavated on the acropolis, and a sacred precinct at Cholades outside the city, in which inscriptions testify to the worship of a considerable number of deities. One of the cemeteries goes back to an early period in the city's life. An early Christian basilica has come to light, and there are remains of a palatial fifth-century residence five miles west of the town of Vouni.