On a stele he had erected in the year 708 B.C. at Kition on Cyprus the Assyrian king Sargon II claimed supremacy over the island and its ten local kingdoms. One of these was Idalion, situated in the central part of the island on an important trade route which connected the mountainous region in the west, rich in natural resources like wood and copper ore, to the harbour cities on the eastern coast.

The history of the city can be traced back into the Bronze Age but is better known from the Early Iron Age onwards. Excavations have taken place in the civic centre and its territory since the 19th century and have brought to light architectural remains of the city, its fortification walls, dwellings, necropoleis, the royal residence and the administration centre as well as several sanctuaries.

Those dedicated to Aphrodite, Athena and Apollo have yielded especially large amounts of finds in the form of sculpture and other votive objects which give us a vivid picture of the religious ceremonies that took place in these sanctuaries and at the same time provide information on the composition of the local population and matters of concern to it.

Professor Reinhard Senff is the recently retired Director of the Ancient Olympia Excavations (appointed 2005) and Second Director of the German Archaeological Institute at Athens. He will bring with him to Australia a wealth of experience of working at Olympia, one of the foremost ancient Greek sanctuaries from where the modern Olympic movement took its inspiration.