(I also have the smaller official brochure they give you when you pay to go in but can't be arsed to dig that out right now)
Salamis Ruins North Cyprus
The Ancient City of North Cyprus
By the mouth of the river Pediaeos, about 4 miles north of Famagusta North Cyprus, in sandy locality and under the thick shade of a shrubby wood where mimosas dominate, are the ruins of Salamis, "the biggest and strongest among the Cypriot towns (Diodoros Soceliotis), which played a primary role in the history of the Island for about 2,000 years.
A Greek Colony of the 12th Century B.C., it was founded tradition says by the hero Teucer, son of Telamon, King of Salamis in Greece. After his return from the Trojan war, Teucer was exiled by his father because he had not forestalled his brother Ajax' suicide. He took refuge in Cyprus where he built Salamis, of which he became the first King and high priest of Jupiter, whose adoration lasted almost until its destruction. The fertility of the soil, the perfect natural harbour, the excellent geographical position and the activity of the inhabitants under the leadership of the Teucrian, made Salamis North Cyprus an important commercial and cultural centre.
In the course of centuries the Kingdom of Salamis came under the domination of the neighboring states, Egypt, Assyria and Persia. Its first known King in historical times was Evelthon. His successors were Siromus, Hersis and Gorgo. During the latter's reign, the Ionian Revolution broke out (502 B.C.), in which he refused to participate. His brother Onesillos seized the throne by a coup d' etat and revolted against the Persians. In the year 498 B.C. war events of considerable importance took place off the coast and on the plain of Salamis, which decided the political fate of Cyprus. The united Ionian and Cypriot fleets defeated the Persians, while on the land Onesillos quickly defeated the enemy and killed the Persian commander Artivius, but after the treachery of Stasanor, the King of Kourion, the victory was turned into defeat and Onesillos fell heroically on the battle-field. Persian domination returned. Yet the town continued to exist as an important centre of civilization during the first half of the 5th century, judging from the admirable Apollo's head of bronze of Chatsworth, a masterpiece of art found in Salamis Cyprus.
Outside Salamis Cyprus, the Athenians in 449 B.C. achieved a great victory against the Phoenicians and Cilicians at sea, as well as against the Persian forces on the land, while the Athenians returned from Kitium after the death of their glorious commander Kimon, who, "though dead was victorious". During the second half of the 5th century the dynasty of Teucer fell and the Phoenician Avdimor ascended the throne. In 410 B.C. one of the descendant of Teucer, Evagoras, succeeded in taking the throne by revolution. King Evagoras proved to be the greatest of all Cypriot rulers and politicians. His reign (410-374 B.C.) marks the golden era of Salamis and the whole Island. He supported commerce, letters and arts, built fortifications, created a fleet and by his honest administration persuaded many Athenians to emigrate to Salamis. Among these were the famous orator Andokides, the Admiral Conon, and the orator Polycrates, who established a school for rhetoric. The town, according to Isocrates, was second to none of the Greek cities in civilization. But King Evagora's war struggles, his great naval victory near Knidos and the "Cypriot war" which he waved against the Persians and during which he captured Tyrus and other Phoenician towns and awakened revolts in Cilicia and other Persian territories, made him famous. After a struggle that lasted ten years he was defeated by the enormous Persian expeditionary force of 300,000 men and 3,000 vessels, and capitulated on the condition that he became subordinate. So, as Grotto remarked, "he proved to be a Greek with excellent vigour and free of the common defects of the Greek tyrants." His successors Nicoclis, Evagoras II and Pnytagoras were not his equal. While Alexander the great was marching against the fortified Tyrus, King Pnytagoras led the Cypriot fleet and helped the great Macedonian to capture it after a siege of seven months. Other Salaminians served as naval architects and trierarchs of Alexander the Great during his campaign against the Persian Gulf and India. During his successor's reign Salamis first came (212-306) under the rule of Ptolemy Soter who abolished the Cypriot Kingdoms and entrusted his brother Menelaus with the administration of the Island with Salamis as the seat. The siege of the town by Demetrius, son of Antigonus, is well known. Antigonus had previously defeated Ptolemy's fleet near Leucella and after a long siege, during which he used enormous armaments, he captured Salamis and received the nick-name of "Besieger". But after his father's tragic defeat and death near Ipsos, Salamis came again under Ptolemaic Dynasty (294 B.C.) and remained under their domination until 58 B.C. when it was captured by the Romans. During the Roman occupation the town saw its commerce, arts and sports, flourish. The capital of Cyprus during the Roman Occupation was Paphos, and Salamis was the capital of one of the four districts to which the Island had been divided (Paphos, Amathus, Lapithos and Salamis). Between 47-48 A.D. the first Gospel was taught in Salamis by Paul and Barnabas in North Cyprus. During the first half of the fourth century Salamis became the capital of the Island and seat of the first Bishop in order. In 333 A.D. Salamis was destroyed by an earthquake, and completely laid waste by another, ten years later. On its foundations, another town, Constantia, was erected by Flavius Constantine, in 345 A.D. Constantia was fortunate to include among its Bishops, Epiphanius (367-403 A.D.), one of the most prominent ecclesiastical fathers, and Anthemius who discovered the grave of Apostle Barnabas and presented the Emperor Zeno (474) with his sacred relics and the original Gospel of Matthew for which the Church of Cyprus was granted the known privileges. Constantia was destroyed in the second half of the 7th Century during an Arabian raid and was not rebuilt. Systematic and exhaustive excavations in the area of Salamis have not yet been carried out. The most important excavations so far were those in 1890 by Tubbs and Munro from the Fund for Exploration of Cyprus. The conclusions reached by them were published in the "Greek Studies Journal" of 1891. More recent excavations have been made by Cyprus Museum Officials. All these excavations brought to light monuments of the Roman and Byzantine town, the most important of which include the three forums of stone, granite and marble, the sanctuary of Jupiter, marks of a wall, the reservoir to which the water was carried some 25 miles from Kythrea, by an aqueduct, of which the Byzantine relics are preserved, a Roman farm, and the enormous old Christian Basilica of Saint Epiphanius of Constantia. Immortal monuments of Salamis are also her coins, which were dealt with by the nomismatologist Sir George Hill.
More than two years ago an ancient theatre was discovered? in Salamis about a hundred meters south of the Gymnasium. This 15 the largest so far found in Cyprus and probably one of the largest ever found in other ancient countries of the Mediterranean. The Qiameter of its semi-circular orchestra measures 27,50 m. as against 21 m. of the threatre at Epidaurus. However, like many ancient buildings at Salamis the threatre suffered during later periods when stone robbers took away the stone of all the upper seats of the auditorium leaving only the lower eight rows. Since there was no natural hill side on which to carve the cavea of the theatre, as for example at Soli, a sub-structure was built to accomodate the seats which were of white limestone of good quality. Many of these were robbed and were even missing from the surviving rows of seats, leaving only the sand stone blocks of the sub-structure. But even what remains of the seats is quite impressive. In antiquity the theatre must have had many more rows of seats; considering that in the present state of preservation it could hold one thousand spectators, one may reach the conclusion that its original capacity must have been enormous. This corroborates the importance and splendour of the ancient city of Salamis, also evident from other monuments, e.g. the Agora which is one of the largest known.
The architectural plan of the theatre and other stratigraphical evidence indicate that it was built during the Roman Imperial times, but it may have succeeded an earlier theatre. In this connection, it is interesting to mention that at the nearby Gymnasium an inscribed statue base of the 2nd century B.C. was found in 1957 which records a guild of theatrical actors at Salamis. The theatre must have been restored some time in the 3rd century A.D. and probably finally abandoned after the big earthquakes of the 4th century A.D. which also destroyed the nearby Gymnasium.
I've no idea about the absolute accuracy of all that information, but it is absolute bollox to say the word GREEK is never used.
I've been there many times and have hundreds of lovely photos of it. As most GCs on here vow they would never step foot into the North until the Turks clear out, I guess most of them have never seen it for themselves, or not seen it for the past 36 years.
