TY - CONF ID - 10442/16841 A1 - Zournatzi, A. Y1 - 2011/// T1 - Egypt in Cyprus. A Pharaonic perspective in Herodotus 2.182.2? T2 - Proceedings of the IV. International Cyprological Congress, Lefkosia 29 April – 3 May 2008 VL - Ι.2 PB - The Society of Cypriot Studies SP - 791–804EP - UR - https://hdl.handle.net/10442/16841 N2 - Closing his account of the deeds of the Egyptian Pharaoh Amasis in the second book of the Histories, Herodotus (2.182.2) states that Amasis was the first man ever to conquer Cyprus and make the island his tribute-paying subject. This statement contradicts eastern testimony regarding the conquest of the island - and the imposition of tributes and obligatory gifts upon its inhabitants - by earlier eastern monarchs, including Assyrian kings of the late eighth and seventh centuries BC. To judge by certain earlier assessments, Herodotus’ 2.182.2 statement would be a typical example of the general ignorance of the Greek sources concerning the facts of Eastern history; or, perhaps, it was merely meant to refer to the first Egyptian conqueror of the island. According to other authorities, the lack of reference, in particular, to the more recent Assyrian conquest could imply that the character of the Assyrian hegemony over Cyprus was more short-lived and/or less burdensome economically than that of the Egyptians, or that the depiction of Amasis as a “first conqueror” subscribed to a stereotypical Greek portrait of eastern monarchs that was adopted by Herodotus for literary purposes and had no bearing on the historical realities of the relations between Cyprus and Egypt. This essay argues that the representation of Amasis as the “first conqueror” of Cyprus in the Egyptian logos of Herodotus derives from an Egyptian account of Amasis’ vitae with a nationalist slant – one that most likely intentionally disregarded the Assyrian precedent. ER -