The title of this presentation is a double entendre. It refers, of course, to the 4000+year history of the ancient city of Ithal, which later came to be known as Idalion after the Greek speakers arrived, and later still came to be known as today’s town of Dhali (or more properly now the municipality of South Nicosia-Idalion; ΔΗΜΟΣ ΝΟΤΙΑΣ ΛΕΥΚΟΣΙΑΣ-ΙΔΑΛΙΟΥ). But in addition to that remarkable millennia-long-uninterrupted history of the place, the title refers to the path I’ve taken during my 53 years of working at, with, and about Idalion. I will present some of the tangents and by-paths I’ve taken as a response to discoveries and finds both at the site of Idalion and elsewhere where relevant comparanda exist. Ultimately all these inquiries and burrowings into the world of the ancient eastern Mediterranean lead to an indiosyncratic picture of the interconnected culture of Cyprus and of that world.
