Agia Eirini or Agia Irini (, ) is a village located on
Morphou Bay, approximately 10 km north of
Morphou
Morphou (; ) is a town in the northwestern part of Cyprus, under the '' de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. Having been a predominantly Greek Cypriot community before the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, the town is now inhabited by Turkish Cy ...
. The village is located within
Kyrenia District
The Kyrenia District, or simply Kyrenia, is one of the six districts of Cyprus. Its capital city is Kyrenia. It is the smallest of Cyprus's districts, and is the only one controlled in its entirety by the unrecognised de facto state of Northern C ...
. It is under the ''de facto'' control of
Northern Cyprus
Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, island of Cyprus. It is List of states with limited recognition, recognis ...
.
Climate
Archaeological Excavations
The Swedish Cyprus Expedition, led by
Einar Gjerstad
Einar Nilson Gjerstad (30 October 1897 – 8 January 1988) was a Swedish archaeologist. He was most noted for his research of the ancient Mediterranean, particularly known for his work on Cyprus, as well as his studies of early Rome.
Biography ...
, excavated Agia Eirini during november 1929.
During the summer of 1929, the Swedish Cyprus Expedition was visited by the priest Papa Propkopios. Prokopios had caught a looter on his field at the village of Agia Eirini. He decided to visit the museum in
Nicosia
Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities.
Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...
and brought the upper part of a
terracotta
Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...
statue from the beginning of the sixth century B.C. with him. Thereafter, the Swedish Cyprus Expedition obtained the excavation rights and commenced an excavation on Prokopius field. The site turned out to be an undisturbed sanctuary that was used since the
Late Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
, (Late Cypriote III), 1200 B.C, and lasted until the end of the
Cypro-Archaic period. The most important period is dated to 650-500 B.C. since most of the finds discovered were from that time. They found 2000 figures half a meter under the sandy soil. The figures were lying and standing, grouped in the form of a semicircle, reminiscent of a theatre. The figures depicted priests, warriors, and ordinary people. Some bring offerings, dance or play musical instruments. Chariots with horses and bulls were found as well. The statues are of different sizes, the biggest one is life-sized. One of them is called the sacrificial priest and he wears a long robe and a turban. According to the excavators, he probably held a sacrificial knife in his raised left hand.
In the beginning, the sanctuary consisted of a complex of rectangular houses with walls built of mud brick on solid stone foundations of rubble. The houses are isolated along the sides of a large open court. It seems like the western and northern houses were used by the priests as living rooms as well as storerooms. The central and southern houses were probably used for cult purposes with the central house being the central cult house. It consists of two rooms and all the cult objects were found here, for example offering tables, large
pithoi, bowls,
libation
A libation is a ritual pouring of a liquid as an Sacrifice, offering to a deity or spirit, or in Veneration of the dead, memory of the dead. It was common in many religions of Ancient history, antiquity and continues to be offered in cultures t ...
vases, a cult axe of stone, and a terracotta bull. The excavators had the impression that the cult was an
agrarian one that worshipped deities who protected the crops and cattle and filled the store-rooms with corn, wine, olives, honey, and vegetables. Products of these kinds were probably offered to the deities among the other
votive objects as well. The excavators did not find the official cult object but pointed out that the deity could have been worshipped in the shape of a bull, which is representative of the cult’s character of fertility since bulls are connected with fertility. The cult object could have been destroyed or removed. In the later temenos the cult object was an oval stone and this sacred stone, or
betyl, could have been the cult object in the earlier cult as well and then moved to the new sanctuary.
The old sanctuary was covered by red earth and a new one was erected on the top. This sanctuary was different from the first. Instead of a closed and roofed cult house with other buildings together creating a rectangular complex, the new sanctuary was an open temenos of irregular shape surrounded by a
peribolos
In ancient Greek and Roman architecture, a peribolos was a court enclosed by a wall, especially one surrounding a sacred area such as a temple, shrine, or altar. This area, however, is not a necessary element to these structures since those built ...
wall of red earth. A low
altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...
was built in the temenos close to a libation table. The majority of the votive offerings from this period were terracotta bulls which were placed around the altar. The altar was covered with layers of
ash, carbonized matter as well as animal bones. Therefore, the excavators concluded that the cult remained a fertility cult with a deity conceived in the shape of a bull. Furthermore, it seems like the cult began with
blood sacrifices in this Geometric period. This sanctuary continued until the middle of Cypro-Geometric III when it changed again. The temenos area remained as before but the peribolos walls were heightened and a new, rectangular pillar was erected as the new altar. The old terracotta votives were moved to a deposit close to the new altar. During this period the motives of the votives changed as well. Animal statuettes remained, but
minotaur
In Greek mythology, the Minotaur (, ''Mīnṓtauros''), also known as Asterion, is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "par ...
statuettes and human figures appeared as well. Therefore some of the old types remained in combination with new modified types. Some of the bulls and minotaurs have snakes along their neck and back. The snake can be seen as a
fertility symbol
Fertility was often mentioned in many mythological tales. In mythology, fertility deities exist in different belief systems or religions.
Fertility deities
A fertility deity is a god or goddess in mythology associated with fertility, pregnancy, ...
. Further, the deity worshipped became more
anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...
around this period. The human figures can be interpreted as the worshippers themselves. The armed figures and chariot statuettes might imply that the god was a god of war as well as fertility.
During the middle of the Cypro-archaic I period, a new temenos was again placed on top of the old one. The cult continued as before which the continuity of the votives, which were moved to the new sanctuary, displayed. This period is the great period of the Agia Eirini sanctuary. The same altar as before was used but the temenos were widened. A new peribolos was built around this bigger sanctuary. Two buildings were erected in the south and seem to have been used as enclosures for
sacred trees
A sacred tree or holy tree is a tree which is considered to be sacred, or worthy of spiritual respect or reverence. Such trees appear throughout world history in various cultures including the ancient Hindu mythology, Greek mythology, Greek, Celti ...
, similar to the
Minoan
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture which was centered on the island of Crete. Known for its monumental architecture and Minoan art, energetic art, it is often regarded as the first civilization in Europe. The ruins of the Minoan pa ...
enclosures.
[Medelhavsmuseet, The Exhibition: ''Cypern genom tiderna, The Leventis Gallery of Cypriote Antiquities'',"The open air sanctuary at Ayia Irini", Stockholm, 2009. Carlotta,https://collections.smvk.se/carlotta-mhm/web/object/3953672] Because the excavators found figures with bull’s masks these were interpreted as priests, which may be a clue to how at least some of the cult’s rituals were performed. Further, many figurines with
tambourines
The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...
and
flutes
The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
indicate that music was an important feature of the cult. The votives consist mostly of terracotta statues of different sizes which were arranged around the altar in semicircles. The smallest ones were placed nearest the altar and the larger statutes in the back.
At the beginning of Cypro-Archaic II the sanctuary was flooded and covered with a layer of sand and gravel, which made some smaller changes to the sanctuary although the cult recovered. Later, the sanctuary was flooded again, and again. At the beginning of the final phase of Cypro-Archaic, 510-500 B.C. the flood was so severe that the sanctuary was abandoned. During the 1st century B.C., a revival of the cult took place, but this was a much smaller and poorer cult that did not leave many remains behind. Much later, a small church for Ayia Irini (Holy Peace) was built on the same site.
Later, in modern times, the sanctuary was forgotten and became a field until the day when Papa Prokopios realized that he had grown his corn on top of ancient terracotta sculptures.
On the other side of the valley, there is a necropolis with rock-cut tombs. The earliest tombs here are from the Cypro-Geometric period and the latest are from Roman times. Further down, close to the sea, the ruins of a small ancient town are situated. The earliest of the datable finds observed here are from the Hellenistic period.
References
{{Kyrenia District
Communities in Kyrenia District
Populated places in Girne District