Athienou ( or , ) is a village in

Larnaca District The Larnaca District, or simply Larnaca (also Larnaka), is one of the six districts of Cyprus. Its capital is Larnaca. It is bordered on the east by Famagusta District, on the north by Nicosia District and on the west by Limassol District. A sma ...

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. It is one of only four villages located within the United Nations Buffer Zone, the other three being:

Pyla Pyla ( (); ) is a village in Larnaca District, Cyprus. It is one of only four villages located within the United Nations Buffer Zone, the other three being Athienou, Troulloi and Deneia. Pyla is located in the eastern part of the island, adjac ...

Troulloi Troulloi or Troulli ( []) is a village in the Larnaca District, Cyprus. It is one of only four villages located within the United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus, United Nations Buffer Zone, the other three being Pyla, Athienou and Deneia. In 2011 ...

and

Deneia Deneia ( []; ) is a village in the Nicosia District of Cyprus, west of Mammari. It is one of only four villages located within the United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus, United Nations Buffer Zone, the other three being Pyla, Athienou and Troulloi ...

. Today, Athienou has a population of around 10,000 people. Since 1990, it has been home to

Davidson College Davidson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina, United States. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after American Revolutiona ...

's Athienou Archaeological Project. The town's city hall includes a museum of local history and culture that was established in 2008.

Toponymy

It is considered by many, that the name of the village Athienou, derived from the ancient Greek word, "Atta" (Greek: Αττα) or "Atha" (Greek: Αθθα), meaning ''large rock'', which characterized the rocky land of the village. According to another theory, the name derives from a

Lusignan The House of Lusignan ( ; ) was a royal house of French origin, which at various times ruled several principalities in Europe and the Levant, including the kingdoms of Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Armenia, from the 12th through the 15th centuries du ...

called ''Étienne'', who lived in the area, and the people who lived in the village were mentioning his house as "Etienne's Place" (Greek: "Στου Ετιένου", ''stou etiennou''), and in later years that changed into Athienou.

History

It has been a settlement since

Middle Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

. In ancient time, the town Golgoi el">:el:Γόλγοι">el/small> existed near modern Athienou.

Notable people from Athienou

* Archbishop George of Cyprus

References

External links

*
Athienou Archaeological Project

Athienou municipality
* Database of 3D models documenting ancient sculpture excavated at Athienou-Malloura Municipalities in Larnaca District {{Cyprus-geo-stub