Nea Paphos, fondation chypriote ou lagide? Nouvelles considérations sur la genèse du port et de la ville

Résumé En

Nea Paphos is generally considered to have been founded by Nikokles, the last king of Paphos. Some scholars haveproposed that Ptolemy may have founded the new city ca. 312 BC or aft er 294 BC. In this paper, the author tries toanalyse and summarise the diff erent proposals and suggests another hypothesis, namely that the foundation was notthe result of a global scheme but instead, of diff erent steps. Nikokles seems to have created the harbour, Ptolemy mayhave established a military settlement (katoikia), and then, once becoming king, and aft er taking control of the islandagain from 294 BC onwards, may have encouraged the development of the city. Is it possible that the Antigonids playeda role in the development of its harbour when they controlled the island between 306 and 294 BC. Nevertheless, itis only aft er Paphos becomes the seat of the Ptolemaic strategos in the early second century BC, probably aft er thePtolemaic fl eet was withdrawn from the Aegean in 145 BC, that Nea Paphos is protected by a strong city walls withperhaps another protected harbour in front of the North West gate: the intra muros city seems to have been enlargedand reshaped as a small version of Alexandria in Cyprus, until its destruction by an earthquake in the last quarter ofthe fi rst century BC and its rebuilding under Augustus’ auspices.