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GIOVANNI MARITI
Travels in the Island of Cyprus
page 73 View PDF version of this page CHAPTER XIII.
OF THE ANCIENT CITY OF SALAMI N A NOW DESTROYED AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD.
Six miles to the east of Famagusta lies the ancient city of Salamina, which traces its origin to Teucer, who built it after Telamon his father drove him from his home in the island of Salamis. Horace (i. Ode vii. 27) sings of his courage
" 'Tis Teucer leads, 'tis Teucer breathes the wind; No more despair; Apollo's word is true; Another Salamis in kindlier air Shall yet arise."
Evagoras was King of Cyprus, but overcome in battle by the Persians he was forced to be content with the one city of Salamina, where afterwards reigned a second Evagoras, his grandson, who was dethroned by [Pnytagoras in B.C. 350]. Under the Persians it shared the common fate of the rest of the island. King Costa, father of Catherine, virgin and martyr, also reigned there, and gave it his name Constantia. St Jerome {In Epitaphio Paulae ad Eustochium, vol. 1. col. 693), speaks of it as "Salamina, which is now called Constantia." The Greek Christians had a bishopric there, afterwards trans-ferred to Famagusta. Lastly it was destroyed by the Saracens in the reign of Heraclius, was then abandoned and never rebuilt.
In our day not a single building remains to give us an idea of its former greatness : a few columns scattered here and
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