In the sixth century B.C. the Athenian statesman, Solon, was invited to the kingdom of Salamis. Filocyprus, king of Salamis, invited Solon because he needed advice on establishing stability in his kingdom. Solon's help/advice must have helped since Filocyprus established order and stability quickly.
In the late sixth century the Persians invade. Numerous revolts followed without great success. In 490 B.C. as the hundreds of Athenians defeated the thousands of Persians in a battle at Marathon, Athens came with help. The freedom did not last for long. The Persians invaded Cyprus again and set out for mainland Greece in 480 B.C. This expedition was crushed at the famous battle of the port at Salamis in 479 B.C. and at the eve of victory the Athenian "empire" set out for Cyprus. From 479 until 450 the Cypriots would send the Persins off and then the Persians would regroup and re-attack. In 450 B.C. a major expedition set sail from Athens with one of the greatest generals of all time, Kimon, in command. In 449 B.C. Kimon dies in battle. The same year a peace treaty is "signed". Persian invations continued yet in 410 B.C. a strong revolt occurred which brought a large percentage of the island back to the natives. The Persians were set out to re-occupy the land but they were surprised by a Cypriot-Athenian froce led by Cypriot King/General Evagoras. The Persians retreated as Evagoras continued successfully deep into Persian lands. In 387 B.C. the Persians were forced to sign a peace treaty.
In 333B.C. the Cypriots joined forces with Alexander the Great in the wars against Persia and the Eastern Empires. After Alexander died his empire was split up and Cyprus went to the Ptolemean Kingdom. In 58 B.C. the Romans arrived and Cyprus was now part of the Roman Empire until 333A.D. when it became part of the Byzantine Empire. The Apostles Paul and Barnabas introduced Christianity to the island in the first century B.C. Legend has it that Cyprus was given to Cleopatra as a gift from Mark Anthony.
