WAY too much history, Ianus.

Submitted by Caleb (United States), Sep 13, 2010 at 01:00

Your reference: "...the first Hellenic settlements [on Cyprus] date back to c. 1700 BC in the Mycaenean period." Was the Mycenean (correct spelling) civilization "Hellenic" (that is, descended from King Hellen the eponymous ancestor of the Hellenes)? The answer is a definite "maybe". In any case they were replaced by the golden-haired Dorians from the north, generally regarded as the first Greeks. But no need to go back to the mists of recorded history. There were Greek cities all along the Ionian coast and the southern shore of the Black Sea, before the conquests of the Persian Empire of Darius. Then that empire was conquered and destroyed by the Macedonian Alexander whom the Turks call **Iskander**. Recall also that the Arabs conquered Cyprus in 654 and from 688 ruled it in a joint condominium with the Byzantines for three hundred years. Turkish claims **could** be based on Moslem presence since that date. Archaeology is big on Cyprus. It was part of some of the world's oldest civilizations all of which left their mark. Thank goodness we in America have only to contend with the demands of the Sioux and the Iroquois!

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