Ρωμηός (Rhomaios)

Announcing the new Rhomios Linktree Hey everyone! It is with great pleasure that I announce the launch of a new Linktree site for the page where a number of relevant links and projects can be found. The link can be found in the bio of the Instagram page, and you can freely share it both on and off the platform! The main new feature made available through this is to have direct access to and ability to download a number of past documents and lists, plus the brand new recommended books list for various Cypriot matters. The Linktree launch comes with a brand new logo and loads of new art and templates both there and for these (and future) slides, all designed by the amazing @alephant_ ! I hope you enjoy it and stay tuned for more to come! #cyprus #linktree #redesign #cypriot #books What makes you most excited about this update?

5k followers and what the page is all about I have periodically received questions on the name of the page, the intended goal, and just generally my background and what I do. Hopefully with this post it will be made clearer! Share some of the most interesting or surprising things you've learned or how this page has made you view Cyprus differently! #cyprus #κύπρος #kıbrıs #5k #followers #special What's the primary reason you follow this page?

The surprising roots of women's suffrage in Cyprus It is not often that Cyprus is recorded in history for its social progressive or feminist politics and for a good reason. But there was a moment in history when Cyprus accidentally found itself at the forefront of social developments in Europe and the world at large. While women's right to vote was unintentional and temporary, the enthusiastic participation of Cypriot women shows the equal eagerness among them compared to their European counterparts. It is still important to note, however, that even in this temporary social win, only upper class women were able to take advantage of it with the vast majority locked behind class barriers. The conservatism of Cypriot society and politics eventually won out, with proper and intentional women's suffrage having to wait until independence. Sources: -"Herstory: The Missing Women of Cyprus" by Myria Vassiliadou -"Γυναίκα της Κύπρου: Ενός αιώνα διαδρομή" by Androulla Vassiliou #cyprus #cypriot #history #womensrights #elections

Re Alexis and the demise of the Cypriot peasant revolt There are few historical incidents as massive and yet as underreported and obscure as the medieval peasant revolt that took place in Cyprus between 1426-27. The fragmentary information we have is from hostile sources like Leontios Machairas who as a servant of the crown expectedly portrays Re Alexis and his fellow revolutionaries as vile and incompetent. However, it is also evident from what we do learn about this figure and these events that it was something rather unique in scale and character, and had a remarkable initial success. Some argue that the emancipatory nature of the revolt was in fact quite ahead of its time, even though that's still generally contested. What we do know is that it was reminiscent of many such struggles of the past: an oppressed underclass majority rising up against the ruling elite in times of turbulence and great hardship. All in all, the revolt of Re Alexis is one of those aspects of Cypriot history that not enough people know about and underline the fascinating nature of the island's medieval society. Sources: -"The Cypriot Peasant Revolt of 1426: Mentalities and Resistance in the Eastern Mediterranean" by Chrysovalantis Kyriacou -"Recital concerning the sweet land of Cyprus entitled 'Chronicle' " by R.M. Dawkins -"Ρήγας Αλέξης: Μια Σπουδή για έναν Κύπριο Οραματιστή και Πρωτοπόρο" by Andros Pavlides #cyprus #cypriot #revolt #medieval #history

An introduction to Cypriot folk dances Having covered Cypriot musical tunes and singing before, we now move to the subject of dancing. Dance in Cyprus holds an especially strong cultural value and is traditionally inseparable with any major celebration or feast. Highly varied and rich, Cypriot traditional dances incorporate external influences from cultures around the island, local flourish, and a great deal of improvisation and skill. While this post is by no means an exhaustive list, it is a concise overview of the sequence, cultural significance, and key elements of the core repertoire of Cypriot dancing. Reading and video sources: -”Τα Δημοτικά Τραγούδια και οι Λαϊκοί Χοροί της Κύπρου” by Georgios Aver of -”Κύπρος - Δημοτική Μουσική” by Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation -”Της Κύπρου η παράδοση στον τόπο τζαι στα ξένα” by Savvakis Lambrou -"Ο Κύπριος Βιολάρης: Η Προφορική Ιστορία μιας Επαγγελματικής Τάξης στον Εικοστό Αιώνα" by Nicoletta Demetriou -”Απέναντι στο Πεπρωμένο”, 1ος αντρικός καρσιλαμάς by Σχολή Χορού “Η Κύπρος” - Π.Ο. Βρακοφόροι -Γυναικείοι καρσιλαμάδες by Λαογραφικός Όμιλος Λεμεσού, Γιορτή του Κρασιού 2021 -Κυπριακός ζεϊμπέκκικος (“σάρφος”), Κυπριακό πρόγραμμα στο Πισσούρι, Κυριακή του Πάσχα 2010 -Άρμα χορός (“Ψιντρή Βασιλιτζιά μου”) by Λαογραφικός Σύλλογος “Ρόδακας” στο Θέατρο Σάρας -”Τραγουδώντας και χορεύοντας τον κυπριακό γάμο”, Χορός της Τατσιάς by ΠΟΕΔ Larnaca -Πάσχα στο Yanna Marie Πρωταράς 2014, Χορός της Καντήλας by Πολιτιστικό εργαστήρι “Παρά τη Λίμνη” -”Κύπρος της γης παράδεισος” on CyBC, Χορός Μάντρα by Λαογραφικός όμιλος Λεμεσού #cyprus #cypriot #traditional #folk #dance

The sound of Cypriots half a millennium ago Among the most common talking points regarding Cypriot Greek is how much it has been influenced by the languages of the island's conquerors throughout time. There is certainly currency to that claim: words, expressions, and even some grammatical influences can be traced back to the unique historical trajectory of Cyprus. However, it is underestimated how much the dialect has remained largely unchanged in the most fundamental ways, and how its status and importance over time helped preserve it nearly intact. In this post we examine all the ways in which medieval and modern Cypriot Greek are alike rather than different. Through the provided texts of 500 year old Cypriot poems and less than perfect audio recordings, we shall see that the dialect we speak today is much more similar to its medieval ancestor than some would initially assume. Sources: -"Leontios Makhairas: Recital concerning the Sweet Land of Cyprus entitled ‘Chronicle' " by R.M. Dawkins -"Ιστορία της Κυπριακής Διαλέκτου" by Charalambos Symeonides -"Language Contact and the Lexicon in the History of Cypriot Greek" by Stavroula Varella -"Ο Πετραρχισμός στην Κύπρο: Ρίμες Αγάπης" by Themis Siapkara-Pitsillides #cyprus #medieval #cypriot #greek #poetry

Are Cyprus' iconic lacework and the most famous Renaissance man truly connected? In a past post we talked about the legend surrounding Aphrodite's Rock and how that was a recent invention superseding a much older legend. In the case of Lefkaritika though, we find an entirely new story - ostensibly based on real historical events - where they are connected directly with the Renaissance. Surely the history of the lacework is intricately rooted in the Venetian rule of the island, but it seems like the da Vinci connection is much more recent and ultimately false. Initially likely a result of speculation and honest mistakes about da Vinci's life, followed by wishful thinking by British officials and village locals, and eventually popularized by a country looking to attract more tourists. Sources: -"Leonardo da Vinci’s legendary visit to Cyprus in 1481 a.d. and its link to Lefkara" by Robert Merrillees -"Historic Cyprus" by Rupert Gunnis -"Orientations" by Sir Ronald Storrs #cyprus #cypriot #lacework #lefkara #davinci

Exact cognates between Cypriot and Standard Greek A cognate in linguistics refers to words between different linguistic varieties that share a common "ancestor" root word. These cognates are often different in form and even in meaning, and there are certainly many which Cypriot and Standard Greek share due to their common medieval roots. However, there are rare cases where the vocabulary ends up being drastically different in form despite the same meaning, and yet their root word is the same! That is often due to a divergent evolution of the same word, or going through different intermediate loanwords from which the two varieties borrowed them from. Here we go through five such cases, though there are certainly many more and with different languages! Sources: -"Θησαυρός της Μεσαιωνικής και Νεότερης Κυπριακής Διαλέκτου" by Konstantinos Giagkoullis -"Ετυμολογικό Λεξικό της Νέας Ελληνικής Γλώσσας" by Georgios Babiniotis -"Greek-English Lexicon" by H.G. Liddell and R. Scott #cyprus #cypriot #greek #dialect #etymology

10k follower (and 100th post!) special The previously promised Q&A has finally arrived just in time to mark the 10k follower and 100th post milestone for the page. 7 of the most common and popular questions I have been receiving are answered, hopefully helping people understand the page, its scope, and its creator better! Special thanks once again to @alephant_ for the amazing new template art and slides! I cannot thank you enough for the support and interest you have shown over this time and I wish you a happy Easter! #cyprus #κύπρος #kıbrıs #10kfollowers #qna What would you like to see more from the page?

Tracing the origins of "Τυλληρκώτισσα/Dillirga" The traditional music of Cyprus is unsurprisingly a unifying factor between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities, and "Tyllirkotissa" is one of the most prominent examples. What is not well-known is how its melody underwent a "phantom fixing" and how its roots in the region of Tylliria shaped its trajectory. Most importantly, its transmission into the newer generations is a living embodiment of both the tragic history of the island that brought division, but also the desire to maintain the island's culture across the divide. For that reason, it is not merely a beautiful song, but a powerful symbol about the endurance of traditional Cypriot culture; musical or otherwise. Sources: -”Καππαδοκία-Κύπρος: Οι μουσικές τους σχέσεις μέσα από συγκριτική μουσικολογική ανάλυση επιλεγμένων τραγουδιών και σκοπών” by Panagiotis Loizou -”Music in Cyprus” by Jim Samson and Nicoletta Demetriou (editors) -”Τα Δημοτικά τραγούδια και οι Λαϊκοί χοροί της Κύπρου” by Georgios Aver of “Κυπριακή Λαϊκή Μούσα” by Theodoulos Kallinikos #cyprus #cypriot #traditional #folk #music

Cypriot "σσιυλλόγαμος" revisited Around a year or so ago I made a post about this fascinating tradition from Cyprus that has sadly been forgotten. Given the brevity and scantiness of the information given before, it was about time to revisit it with additional context and more details! As stated in the older post though, we do not know exactly when or how this custom faded away. Surely the advance of modern medicine and greater education contributed to its decline, as well as the reported disturbance it caused. In fact, we have numerous reports from the late 1890s of people making complaints due to the extreme noise and the frequency of dog weddings. Nonetheless, it's obvious that beyond the superstitious beliefs, a major motivation was just sheer fun for those involved! Sources: -"Greek Customs and Mores in Cyprus" by Magda Ohnefalsch-Richter -"Δεισιδαιμονίες και Μαγεία στην Κύπρο του χτες" by Ioannis Ionas #cyprus #cypriot #traditional #folklore #wedding

The etymological origins of Cypriot place names, based on a comprehensive dataset compiled by @rhomios . Their sources are listed below. The map specifically shows the ultimate etymological roots (the first language the word appears in). This means that often words made their way to Cyprus through other languages. A significant example that doesn’t appear on the map due to it being part of the Famagusta municipality is Varosha, which is of ultimate Hungarian (Varos = Town/city) origin, but making its way to Cyprus through Turkish (varoş = suburb/outskirts). That and some more surprising origins are broken down in this post by @Rhomios : /p/DU3kIXXDVaw The names used are the common official and historical forms. Modern renamings and exonyms are not taken into account. Sources: -Σίμος Μενάρδος, Τοπωνυμικόν της Κύπρου, 1907 -Σίμος Μενάρδος, Τοπωνυμικαί και Λαογραφικαί Μελέται, επανέκδοση 2001 -Αθανάσιος Σακελλάριος, Τα Κυπριακά (Τόμοι Α' και Β'), 1890 -Νέαρχος Κληρίδης, Χωριά και Πολιτείες της Κύπρου (Β' έκδοση), 2015 #cyprus #etymology #maps #cypriot #cartography