The History of Cyprus Podcast

In this episode, I speak with award-winning cookbook author and food storyteller Irene Matys about her internationally acclaimed cookbook, My Cypriot Table, winner of the Gourmand World Cookbook Award for Best Mediterranean Food Culture Book in the World and, most recently, a 2026 Taste Canada Awards finalist. Irene shares her journey from being displaced from her home in Famagusta to building a new life in Canada as a refugee, and...

In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Anna Charalambidou and Dr. Petros Karatsareas—two linguists whose work explores how language, identity, and culture evolve in Cypriot and diasporic communities. Together, they founded The Grenglish Project, which documents and celebrates the distinctive mix of Cypriot Greek and English spoken by London’s first-generation Cypriots. We discuss the history of Cypriot migration to th...

If you ever wanted to learn Cypriot Greek, it's never been easier. Cyprusays® is a language learning app designed to help learners speak Cypriot Greek naturally and confidently. In this Special "Primary Source," I speak with Australian born Effie Athanassiou, the Founder and CEO, along with her husband, Costas Athanassiou, serving as Executive Partner. The app goes beyond standard Greek to focus on the expressions, pronunciation, a...

In this episode, we explore the complex history and contemporary character of Turkish Cypriot Islam, a tradition often described as highly secular, private, or even residual. My guest, Mete Hatay (Senior Research Consultant from the Peach Research Institute in Oslo), helps me unpack the many explanations Turkish Cypriots themselves have given for this secularism -- from claims of Alevi or crypto-Christian ancestry to broader narrat...

William Turner, a British traveller in the early 1800s, left one of the more vivid foreign descriptions of Cyprus under Ottoman rule. He claimed that Turkish Cypriots practiced a more relaxed form of Islam than he had seen in major Ottoman cities -- pointing to things like drinking, eating pork, and looser religious habits, though his comments reflect both his biases and limited encounters. He was also struck by how Turkish Cypriot...

Dr. Louise Steel is an archaeologist whose work focuses on challenging colonial interpretations of Cypriot history by emphasizing the agency of the local population. Through postcolonial theory, she encourages a re-evaluation of Cyprus not as a passive recipient of outside influence, but as an active participant in Bronze Age interconnectivity--especially through trade and cultural exchange. She uses the concept of the "Third Space...

In the early 11th century BCE, the Egyptian official Wen-Amun was dispatched on a diplomatic mission to Byblos to acquire timber for the sacred barque of Amun-Ra. His journey quickly unraveled -- pursued by the Tjekker, one of the Sea Peoples active in the region -- Wen-Amun was blown off course and landed in Alashiya (Cyprus). There, he faced a hostile reception, as the locals approached seemingly intent on violence. Brought befor...

"Out of necessary cruelty, fathers abandoned their sons, and sons fled from their fathers, as the evident danger overcame all the rules of kinship, love, and nature." - Francesco Loredano AKA Henry Giblet on the Plague in Cyprus, 1660. Historian Tassos Papacostas joins The History of Cyprus Podcast to unravel the devastating impact of the Black Death on the island of Cyprus. While many are familiar with the broader European toll ...

Luca Bombardieri, Associate Professor in Aegean and Cypriot Archaeology at the University of Siena in Italy and the scientific director at the Erimi Archaeological Project in Cyprus, explores what it really means to direct an archaeological excavation. He highlights his unique philosophy of living on-site at Erimi and walks listeners through the complex, behind-the-scenes work that goes far beyond digging -- surveying, soil samplin...

The Black Death swept across Europe in the mid-14th century, killing millions and leaving entire regions devastated. No corner of the continent was spared, and Cyprus too fell victim to the deadly pandemic. Giovanni Francesco Loredano, writing under the pseudonym Henrico Giblet, claimed that the plague struck Cyprus in early 1348, spreading from Famagusta and lasting a full year. He described widespread devastation, the king’...

After the failed revolt against Persian rule, Cyprus experienced a brief and uneasy calm. But that peace quickly unraveled, as the island was drawn into the heart of the renewed conflict between Athens and Persia, becoming a key battleground in a decades-long imperial struggle. In this episode, we explore the turbulent and often overlooked 5th century BCE in Cypriot history -- the period between the failed Cyprus Revolt and the ris...

Diodorus Siculus was a 1st-century BCE Greek historian from Agyrium in Sicily who wrote during the late Roman Republic. His most famous work, the Bibliotheca historica ("Historical Library"), is a massive universal history in 40 books that aimed to chronicle the world’s history from mythological times to his own era. In this excerpt, we hear of Cimon, a well-known Athenian general from the 5th century BCE, who helped expand A...

The city-kingdoms of Iron Age Cyprus have always been something of a mystery -- in fact "city-kingdom" itself is a bit of a misnomer to begin with. In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Beatrice Pestarino, expert in ancient political systems and author of Kypriōn Politeia: The Political and Administrative Systems of the Classical Cypriot City-Kingdoms, to explore the unique administrative and ideological frameworks of these poli...

…and here we are...the 50th Primary Source! Thank you so much for your continued support; it truly means a lot! ----------------------------------------- The Idalion Tablet's significance cannot be understated (not to be confused with the Idalion Bilingual). Dated to the 5th-century BCE, it offers rare insight into the island’s political, social, and linguistic history. Written in the Cypriot syllabary and the Arcadocy...

In this episode, I welcome Dr. Young Kim, Associate Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, to discuss the role of Cyprus in Late Antiquity. Although often seen as politically unimportant under Roman rule, Cyprus played a key part in trade, religion, and cultural life. We explore how the island became deeply involved in early Christianity--appearing in the New Testament, participating in the first ecumenical councils like ...

In this bonus episode, I sit down with Dr. Anna Charalambidou from University College London to explore flaounes (φλαούνες/pilavunalar), the iconic Cypriot pastry. Using an ethnomethodological approach, Dr. Charalambidou examines how flaounes reflect and shape Cypriot identity across both Greek and Turkish communities on the island. We discuss their origins, regional variations, and the rich tradition of flaouna-making, uncovering ...

St. Epiphanius ranks among the most important and well-known saints of Cyprus. Ordained as Bishop of Constantia (Salamis) in the 4th century, he was a steadfast defender of (o)rthodox Christian practice and belief. In fact "Epiphanius was respected not only for his piety and rectitude but for his learning. Churches far from Cyprus consulted him on doctrinal issues." In this dramatization, we hear an excerpt from The Panarion -- a ...

OK so "Vikings in Cyprus" is a bit hyperbolic as the term Viking tends to suggest pre-Christian marauding warriors who pillaged and plundered all over Europe -- which Cyprus didn't experience. But Scandinavians? Most certainly! Over the past couple of months, I have been scouring the sources for references to Scandinavians and their presence in Cyprus. So far, I have identified four key witnesses to this phenomenon, all from diff...

In this special episode, I’m joined by Dr. Joanna S. Smith, Consulting Curator for the new permanent gallery for the Cypriot Collection at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida. With a career based on decades of fieldwork at sites like Polis Chrysochous, Dr. Smith tells the fascinating story behind The Ringling Museum's ancient art collection. She traces it from the dreams of John Ringling, a circus m...