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Why is Cyrene a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
Why is Cyrene important?
Where was ancient Cyrene located?
How did Cyrene get its name?
A colony of the Greeks of Thera, Cyrene was one of the principal cities in the Hellenic world. It was Romanized and remained a great capital until the earthquake of 365. A thousand years of history is written into its ruins, which have been famous since the 18th century.
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World Heritage partnerships for conservation. Ensuring that...
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Cyrene. Photo by Luis Filipe Gaspar. The Archaeological Site of Cyrene represents a Greek colony that was one of the principal cities in the Hellenic world. Later in its history, it became a Roman city. The impressive remains include the sanctuary of Apollo, the Acropolis, and the Agora.
World Heritage partnerships for conservation. Ensuring that World Heritage sites sustain their outstanding universal value is an increasingly challenging mission in today’s complex world, where sites are vulnerable to the effects of uncontrolled urban development, unsustainable tourism practices, neglect, natural calamities, pollution, political instability, and conflict.
- Early History & Name
- Early Kings & Egypt
- Decline, Democracy, & Persia
- Hellenistic Period
- Aristippus of Cyrenepasicles
- Conclusion
The region was originally occupied by the Imazighen people (later known as the Berbers) but, it seems, not the area that would become Cyrene. According to Herodotus (l. c. 484-425/413 BCE), the island of Thera became overpopulated, and after consulting the Oracle at Delphi for advice, they were told to send some of their people south to colonize No...
Aristoteles chose the throne name Battus (thought to be a Greek version of the Imazighen term for "king"), but the name sounded similar to the Greek for "stammerer" and so gave rise to the legend that Battus had been troubled by a speech impediment and went to the Oracle at Delphi for advice on how to cure it. Apollo instead told him to leave Thera...
Battus II was succeeded by his son Arcesilas II (the Harsh, r. c. 560-550 BCE), and Herodotus notes that "the first thing Arcesilas did on becoming king was fall out with his brothers" (Book IV. 160). The quarrel seems to have arisen due to Arcesilas II's domineering personality and distrust of others, which resulted in the brothers leaving Cyrene ...
Cyrene supported Sparta in the Peloponnesian Wars, but a growing faction admired the Athenian democracy. The earlier constitution of Demonax had resulted in an imbalance of power between the elite and the working class, who were increasingly oppressed and abused. Around 401 BCE, the working class revolted. Freeman comments: How this democracy worke...
While Alexander's generals fought over his empire in the infamous Wars of the Diadochi, one of the lesser-known commanders, Thibron, assassinated the Macedonian governor, Harpalus, who had been placed over Babylon by Alexander. He then took the considerable sum of the treasury, outfitted a fleet, and at the urging of disaffected Cyrenean exiles, he...
The city remained under Ptolemaic control until the death of Ptolemy Apion in 96 BCE, who left Cyrenaica to Rome. Under the Roman Republic and early Roman Empire, Cyrene continued to flourish. During the reign of Roman emperor Vespasian(69-79 CE), however, the Jewish community of Cyrene revolted against the loss of the civil rights they had known u...
- Joshua J. Mark
In 2017 UNESCO added Cyrene to its List of World Heritage in Danger. Archaeological site. Cyrene is now an archaeological site north of the village of Shahhat and east of Bayda, on a ridge of the Jabal Akhdar, about 600 metres above sea level. The southern edge of the ridge and the city is formed by the Wadi Bil Ghadir and the northern edge by ...
May 26, 2024 · In 1982, Cyrene was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognizing its immense historical and cultural significance. Legacy and Preservation. Today, Cyrene stands as a poignant reminder of the grandeur and fragility of human civilization.
