Under the magic touch of Grecian refinement, the goddess of luxury and wantonness, Astarte, became the most beautiful of ideal creations, the mother of the Graces, the charming Aphrodite. In the imagination of the times, Cyprus appeared rising above the blue waves, and tinted with roseate hues. There dwelt the glorious goddess in the midst of blooming gardens, and shaded by the green foliage of the woods, under the shadows of which, her worshippers were supposed to dwell in happiness, ennobled by religious fervour. This enervating period past, we find Cyprus divided into nine petty kingdoms, whose capitals were the cities Kition, Salamis, Amathunt, Kurion, New Paphos, Kerynia, Lapithos, Soli, and Chytros. Numerous rivers and brooks, streaming down from the wood-crowned hills, and enlarging as they descended, everywhere distributed life and fertility. At the mouth of each river or stream was a town or cultivated district, industry seemed to have reached its highest point, and out of thirty havens, ships went forth to earn a reputation, which made the island dreaded throughout the Eastern seas. Meanwhile in those continents, between which Cyprus is situated, great empires had been established. The Assyrian, Egyptian, and Persian, each cast covetous eyes upon the Cyprian shores, and obstinate battles were fought for their possession in the sixth century, B.C. Partly owing to the persistent attacks from without, partly from internal dissensions, the inhabitants succumbed and submitted voluntarily to the rule of the Egyptians. When, however, in the course of years, the Egyptian yoke became too oppressive, and the name of Cyrus outshone all others, the Cyprians appealed to him for assistance. No fewer than a hundred and fifty large Cyprian galleys assisted Xerxes in his passage over the Hellespont. Not long afterwards Cyprus took part in the great national war against Persia. The Greeks spared no money to defend the island on account of its mineral wealth, and the rich supply of wood which it afforded, wherewith to build their ships; also for its rich harvests of fruit and its manufactured wares, but principally on account of its excellent position, in case of war, with the nations inhabiting the Asiatic shores. Great battles were fought in Cyprian waters, by fleets under the command of Kimon and Enagoras, the latter of whom had expelled the Persians from all the cities of the coast, and assisted Cyprus in a ten years’ war against the whole strength of Persia; a glorious example, which did not fail to make a deep impression, throughout the whole of Greece. At length, however, the Persians once more got the upper hand, and a courtesan in Persepolis was enabled to squander in a single night, the entire revenue derived from the tribute of nine Cyprian kings.