Chytri (or Khytri, el, Χύτροι) was one of the
ten city-kingdoms of Cyprus
The ten city-kingdoms of ancient Cyprus were the Greek, Graeco-Phoenician or Graeco-Eteocypriot, states listed in an inscription of the Assyrian king Esarhaddon in 673-672 BC:Sir Ernest Alfred Wallis Budge 1880, “The history of Esarhaddon (son o ...
in antiquity. It was located in the centre of the island, in the territory of
Chytraea, west of
Mesaoria
The Mesaoria ( el, Μεσαορία, tr, Mesarya) is a broad, sweeping plain which makes up the north centre of the island of Cyprus.
Geography
The Mesaoria is the name given to the broad tract of plain which extends across the island from the ...
. Today the modern town of
Kythrea
Kythrea ( el, Κυθρέα or ; tr, Değirmenlik) is a small town in Cyprus, 10 km northeast of Nicosia. Kythrea is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus.
History
Kythrea is situated near the ancient Greek city-kingdom of Ch ...
(Kyrka) has preserved the ancient name.
Ancient history
After 1200 B.C. and after the Trojan war many Greek immigrants led by Chytros, son of Alexander and grandson of the Athenian Akamas, hero of the Attican tribe of the same name, settled in Cyprus. Kythrea is situated near the ancient kingdom of Chytroi which was founded by Chytros. There has been found here a
necropolis
A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead".
The term usually im ...
. In the time of the
Assyria
Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...
n king
Assurbanipal
Ashurbanipal ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , meaning " Ashur is the creator of the heir") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 669 BCE to his death in 631. He is generally remembered as the last great king of Assyria. Inheriting the throne a ...
, Pilagura was King of
Kitrusi, one of the ten kingdoms on the island. Numerous inscriptions have been found in the Cypriot dialect, some in ordinary Greek. Chytri was noted for the worship of
Apollo
Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
,
Artemis
In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...
and
Aphrodite Paphia
Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols include ...
. In
Delphic Theorodochoi inscription, one inscription mention the Chytri.
Later forms of the name are Cythraia, Cythereia, Cythroi, Chytrides; according to the late Greek work of
Sakellarios
A ''sakellarios'' ( el, σακελλάριος) or ''sacellarius'' is the title of an official entrusted with administrative and financial duties (cf. ''sakellē'' or ''sakellion'', "purse, treasury") in a government or institution. The title was ...
(Kypriaka, 2nd ed., 202–205) Kyrka should be Cythera or Cythereia; he identifies Chytri with
Palo-Kythro, a village with ruins two hours south of Kyrka. However, the historical texts mention only one town.
Diogenes Laërtius writes that there was a festival held at Chytri with
theatrical plays.
Middle Ages
Chytri was at an early date an episcopal see.
Lequien
Michel Le Quien (8 October 1661, Boulogne-sur-Mer – 12 March 1733, Paris) was a French historian and theologian. He studied at Plessis College, Paris, and at twenty entered the Dominican convent in Faubourg Saint-Germain, where he made his pr ...
's list of the bishops of the see (II, 1069) is very incomplete, only eight being recorded: the first is St. Pappus, who suffered martyrdom under
Licinius
Valerius Licinianus Licinius (c. 265 – 325) was Roman emperor from 308 to 324. For most of his reign he was the colleague and rival of Constantine I, with whom he co-authored the Edict of Milan, AD 313, that granted official toleration to C ...
,
Maximinus or
Constantius Chlorus
Flavius Valerius Constantius "Chlorus" ( – 25 July 306), also called Constantius I, was Roman emperor from 305 to 306. He was one of the four original members of the Tetrarchy established by Diocletian, first serving as caesar from 293 t ...
; the most famous is
St. Demetrian, 885-912 (?).
The Greek, i.e. Orthodox, see of similar title was suppressed in 1222 by
Cardinal Pelagius
Pelagio Galvani (c. 1165 – 30 January 1230, Portuguese: Latin: Pelagius) was a Kingdom of León, Leonese Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal, and canon lawyer. He became a papal legate and leader of the Fifth Crusade.
Born at Guimarães, his ea ...
, the
papal legate
300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate.
A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...
,
while the islands was a Latin crusader kingdom.
See also
*
List of ancient Greek cities
References
Cities in ancient Cyprus
Former populated places in Cyprus
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