The origins of Soli are traced back to an Assyrian (700 BC) tribute list where it is referred to as Si-il-lu. It is also known that in 580 BC, King Philokypros moved his capital from Aepia to Si-il-lu on the advice of his mentor Solon, and renamed the town after the Athenian philosopher. In 498 BC along with most of the other city kingdoms of Cyprus, Soli also rose against its Persian masters and at the end of the war it was captured. Soli became a prosperous city during the Roman period. However by the 4th century its harbour was already silted up and the copper mines were closed. It was destroyed by Arab raids in the 7th century. On the acropolis, which occupied the top of the hill high above the theatre, there was a royal palace similar to the one of Vouni, thought to date from a slightly later period. In addition to silver and gold jewellery of the Hellenistic period, excavations have brought to light a marble statue of Aphrodite from the 1st century BC and a frieze representing the war of the Amazons from the 2nd century BC (Cyprus Museum - Greek sector). The so-called Fugger sarcophagus in the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna is also thought to have come from the necropolis of Soli. Excavations have also brought to light some Hellenistic ruins such as the remains of a colonnaded paved street which leads to an agora with a marble monumental fountain. Excavations have shown that a settlement was made here as early as the 11th century BC owing probably to the existence of a good water supply, fertile soil and a protected harbour, the nearby copper deposits and timber to smelt the copper.

BASILICA OF SOLI

Soli is known as the traditional place where St Mark received baptism and St Auxibius, a Roman who fled the city in the 1st century, was its first bishop. Its basilica was one of the earliest of its kind in Cyprus featuring its own individual characteristics. The first church of Soli is thought to have been built in the second half of the 4th century. This was a three aisled building of approximately 200 m length. It began with a triple portal which led into a vestibule which was followed by a colonnaded atrium with a fountain. A second triple, portal led into the narthex. Inside, twelve pairs of giant columns whose bases have survived separated the nave from the aisles. In the east the church ended with a triple apse. The tiers of the central apse were for the bishops and clergy. The floor of this first church was entirely laid with tesserae and opus sectile mosaics. A large part of these have survived to the present day. As is the case with the other churches of Cyprus, originally the mosaics were of geometric design. Gradually, animals and later opus sectile decoration - pavements made from small coloured stone tiles - were included in the repertoire. A goose-like swan surrounded with florals and four small dolphins in the floor of the nave catch one's attention. The Greek inscription in mosaic set in the apse reads "Christ save those who gave this mosaic". During the 5th and 6th centuries the building was enlarged. However, in the 7th century, it was razed to the ground. The church which was built on the ruins of the original one in the 12th century was smaller in size and occupied the eastern section.

ROMAN THEATRE OF SOLI

The Roman theatre of Soli occupies the site of the original Greek theatre on the northern slope of a hill overlooking the sea below. The present theatre dates from the end of the 2nd or the beginning of the 3rd century AD. It has a capacity of some 4,000 spectators. Its stage building was of two storeys, covered with marble paneling and decorated with statues. Its semi-circular auditorium where the spectators sat was partly cut into the rock, and access to it as well as to the orchestra was gained through two side entrances. A low wall of limestone slabs separated the orchestra from the auditorium. The last surviving seats were carried to Port Said in the 19th century and used to rebuild the quaysides. At present this section is restored halfway. From the stage building only the platform on which it was built has survived. At the west of the theatre on a nearby hill traces of the temples dedicated to Isis and Aphrodite have been discovered. The famous torso of the Aphrodite of Soli in the Cyprus Museum- Greek sector was found here.