Blog Post 1

Cyprus, National Identity and Significant Others

National identity is defined as naming the capacity in which one is a member of a nation and when one is a foreigner (Triandafyllidou, 1998, p.593). National identity is used in a nation to determine who belongs in the same communities. These communities have shared experiences, such as culture, religion, history, and become crucial when identifying significant others. Cyprus has a rich history within its country and communities share culture, their christianity, and their significant others with their national identity. In Anna Triandafyllidou’s article titled “National identity and the `other.’”, she mentions that national identity “involves both self-awareness of the group and awareness of others from which the nation seeks to differentiate itself. This means that national identity has no meaning per se.” (Triandafyllidou, 1998, p.599). This means that in the case of Cyprus, national identity becomes meaningful when we identify communities who have shared experiences and who seek to be distinct from others. 

Cyprus’ national identity can be distinct with three different things: biliteracy, religious history, and division. All of the aspects affect how Cypriots identify themselves. Biliteracy has become extremely popular in Cyprus, even if their official language is only Greek. One of the ways in which Cypriots represent this identity is through their government documents. The Cypriot constitution was drafted in English. In Nicolas Kyriakides article titled “Cyprus Civil Justice System Reform: Developing a National Identity”, he mentions that the use of English “requires individuals wishing to make use of the Rules to have a strong understanding of English, despite English not being an official language of the Republic of Cyprus.” (Kyriakides, 2019). To expand on this, Cyprus has used English in their governmental documents which means that legislators and political figures representing Cyprus must also learn English, which makes the country stand out in bilingualism. 

The religious history is extremely rich in Cyprus and is perhaps one of the most crucial points in Cypriot national identity. Cyprus has become popular internationally by its religious beliefs which makes it stand out more with its national identity. The majority of Cypriots have a Greek background and therefore, the majority of the country shares Greek Orthodox history. There is a belief within the Greek Orthodox of sacred trees. These sacred trees would appear near churches and were known to be holy and protected. Cyprus today has several of these sacred trees with two being one of the most well-known in the country. The first one is a tree near the Ayios Laokovos church in the capital of Nicosia. There is a well known folktale of this sacred tree where according to Chrysovalantis Kyriacou’s article titled “Saints, Sacred Trees, and Snakes: Popular Religion, Hierotopy, Byzantine Culture, and Insularity in Cyprus during the Long Middle Ages”, he mentions that this sacred tree was known to be one of the oldest trees in the entire island. There is a rumor that this sacred tree is known to be guarded by a snake who only appears at nighttime. (Kyriacou, 2021). 

Another one of the famous tails is perhaps known worldwide as the infamous “Wishing Tree”. This tree, located in Kato, Paphos, is believed to be sacred like all other trees, majorly for its location. It sits in a cave next to an ancient church, believed to be dating back to the Hellenistic period. The church is small, yet has tomb chambers that can still be seen today. The church was named as the Chapel of the Seven Sleepers, also known as the Seven Maccabees (Ness, 2024). It was named after Agia Solomoni. Solomoni was known as an early Christian figure who was rumored to have been forced to watch as Antiochus IV Epiphanes, king of the Seleucid Empire, tortured  and killed her seven sons after the Jewish persecution of 168 (Ness, 2024). It is rumored that Solomoni took refuge under the tree to escape, yet the Romans left her to starve and die as they walled up the cave. However, after the cave was opened up 200 years later, the story says she walked out alive. The story of Solomoni and the Wishing Tree is known as a tourist hotspot for Cyprus and is widely known to be an important piece in Cypriot religious history. 

All of these sacred trees have deep history embedded in Christianity. Much of the symbols and names are gathered from biblical narratives, which today are taught to Christians. Perhaps the most generalized is the olive tree used by the Greek Orthodox. Olive trees are used to represent prosperity, religious tradition, and are thought to be peaceful and a protection from evil (Kyriacou, 2021). Snakes are also known to be seen as a form of peace as they represent protection with their venom (Kyriacou, 2021). It’s clear that Cypriots have religious traditions and beliefs that continue to be embedded in their communities today and it remains a crucial part of Cypriot national identity. 

Finally, the last area, and perhaps the most unfortunate lived experience that defines national identity to Cypriots is division. Division has long been an issue to Cypriots, merely since the country first gained independence.  Although it's not recognized worldwide, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus exists and it has been run as a de facto state from the rest of Cyprus. This heavily influences national identity, especially after noticing that Cyprus’ capital, Nicosia, is known as the last divided capital in the world. The northern side of Nicosia is run by the Turkish-Cypriots, who are a minority population, while the southern side of Nicosia is run as part of the Republic of Cyprus by the majority of the Greek-Cypriots. This division came to be after the Turkish invasion in 1974 and continues to be prominent in the country today (CIA, 2026). 

This all leads us to move on and ask: do Cypriots have significant others? Significant others as Triandafyllidou mentions, “those that form a separate political unit and, in this sense, are external significant others (Triandafyllidou, 1998, p.600). The external significant other that best matches this would be Turkey. The reason for this is majorly because of its influence with Northern Cyprus. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus today is only recognized as its own country by Turkish itself (CIA, 2026). The country currently runs northern Cyprus and is known to have heavy military use within its cities (CIA, 2026). As Triandafyllidou mentioned, significant others are posed as a threat when they intimidate and threaten the nation. Because the Cypriot government does not have control of northern Cyprus, Turkey can be seen as intimidating the country by not allowing it to run the entire island. While there had been attempts at a “reconciliation” between the northern and southern parts of the country, no agreement was ever agreed on (CIA, 2026). The UN has previously attempted to negotiate with both lands, yet negotiations completely stopped after 2017. 

To summarize, national identity is the capacity at which one identifies within a community through shared culture, history, and experience. It is expressed in Cyprus through its biliteracy, religious history, and division. The country’s significant other is majorly external and is identified as Turkey from its control over northern Cyprus. 

References:

Central Intelligence Agency. (2026). Cyprus. In The World Factbook. Retrieved February 3 2026, from

hnp://web.archive.org/web/20260201050400/hnps://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/

countries/cyprus/

Kyriacou, C. (2021). Saints, sacred trees, and snakes: Popular religion, hierotopy, byzan-ne culture, and

insularity in cyprus during the long middle ages. Religions, 12(9), 738. doi:hnps://doi.org/

10.3390/rel12090738

Kyriakides, N. (2019). Cyprus civil jus-ce system reform: Developing a na-onal iden-ty. The Cyprus

Review, 31(1), 31-52.hnps://login.seanleu.idm.oclc.org/login?url=hnps://www.proquest.com/

scholarly-journals/cyprus-civil-jus-ce-system-reform-developing/docview/2355335846/se-2

Leonard, M. (2012). Us and them: Young people’s construc-ons of na-onal iden-ty in Cyprus. Childhood,

19(4), 467–480. hnps://doi.org/10.1177/0907568211429209

Ness, K. (2026, February 2). Agia Solomoni Catacomb. Atlas Obscura. hnps://www.atlasobscura.com/

places/agia-solomoni-catacomb-cyprus

Triandafyllidou, A. (1998). Na-onal iden-ty and the `other.’. Ethnic & Racial Studies, 21(4), 593. hnps://doi-org.seanleu.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/014198798329784