Cat breed · Cyprus
Cyprus cats, also known as Cypriot cats, Saint Helen cats, and Saint Nicholas cats, are a landrace of domestic cat found across the island of Cyprus. A standardized breed is being developed from them; among cat fancier and breeder organizations, it is presently fully recognized by the World Cat Federation (WCF), with breeding regulated by the World Cat Congress (WCC), under the name Aphrodite's Giant; and provisionally by The International Cat Association (TICA) as the Aphrodite. All three organizations permit shorthaired and semi-longhaired versions and no out-crossing to other breeds.
The earliest known written record of cats on Cyprus refers to a story of Saint Helen of Constantinople sending two boatloads of cats to a monastery on the island from Egypt or Palestine in the 4th century AD to deal with an infestation of snakes. Cats on Cyprus have been able to breed for centuries with comparatively little outside influence; this has resulted in a distinct, locally adapted variety of cat which appears to have developed as a feral population in the inner highlands, though is found throughout the island in modern times. While wildcats in association with humans on Cyprus date to at least 7500 BC – the earliest proven association of cats with humans – there is no known connection between those ancient tamed-wild specimens and modern domesticated Cyprus cats, despite breeder claims to the contrary.
Characteristics: Cyprus cats are somewhat thick-haired (from short-haired up to "semi-longhaired" in cat fanciers' jargon), and are an athletic and energetic variety. Feral populations are found throughout the island of Cyprus, from mountainous and cooler regions to the lower, hotter areas near the coasts, including in the cities. As such, this cat has locally adapted to different climates / seasonal change; however, it may be more associated with the mountainous areas.
Characteristics: Cyprus cats are somewhat thick-haired (from short-haired up to "semi-longhaired" in cat fanciers' jargon), and are an athletic and energetic variety. Feral populations are found throughout the island of Cyprus, from mountainous and cooler regions to the lower, hotter areas near the coasts, including in the cities. As such, this cat has locally adapted to different climates / seasonal change; however, it may be more associated with the mountainous areas.
History: A 2004 study by MNHN's J.-D. Vigne et al. concluded that the discovery of Near Eastern wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica) remains in a 9,500-year-old grave in Cyprus was the oldest example of a cat in close association with humans discovered so far. Archaeologists led by Jean Guilaine of EHESS Toulouse working at the Neolithic site of Shillourokambos uncovered carefully interred remains of a cat about 8 months old alongside human remains and decorative artifacts, on an island separated from the mainland since before human habitation, thus indicating human introduction of cats to the area. "Examination showed that a small pit or grave had been deliberately dug out, and the body of the cat was placed in it, then rapidly covered." The cat skeleton pre-dates Egyptian depictions of cats by 4,000 years or more.
There is no evidence that modern cats of any variety are descended from ancient Cypriot wildcats; nevertheless both WCF and TICA have uncritically repeated breeder claims of such descent. Cyprus cats of today are more likely linked with the monastery named Saint Nicholas of the Cats (Greek: Άγιος Νικόλαος των Γατών, romanized: Ágios Nikólaos ton Gatón), which was founded in the 4th century AD. It is located near Akrotiri. According to Byzantine legend, Helena of Constantinople (Saint Helen) shipped hundreds of cats from Egypt or Palestine to Cyprus in 328 AD to control venomous snakes that had infested the area around the monastery, following a drought lasting 37 years. The monastery had two bells, one to call the cats to meals and the other to send them into the fields to hunt snakes. The population of cats at the site (today a nunnery) once dwindled, but has now revived thanks to care by the resident nuns. The Nobel laureate Giorgos Seferis wrote of these cats in his poem "The Cats of St. Nicholas". The story being a legend, it is impossible to know for certain today if shiploads of cats were really sent to Cyprus in the 4th century and cats have, of course, been arriving on the island (often as ship's cats) for many centuries.
The World Cat Congress is of the opinion that Cyprus cats developed over time in mountainous inner Cyprus from various populations of cats around the island and became large and bushy-haired to cope with hunting comparatively large prey like rats, big lizards and snakes in cool, wet, mountain weather, though summers there are fairly hot and dry (Both WCF and TICA note that the thickness of the coat in purebred Aphrodite cats descended from this populations still varies seasonally). The other two organizations' breed summaries are generally consistent with this view, though it is uncertain who first produced this account of their origin, or on what basis. It is unclear whether Cyprus cats are closely related to the broader Aegean cat landrace of mainland and island Greece. Genetic testing in the early 2010s (see below) showed that the Cyprus cats are distinct enough from mainland Turkish cats that a breed could be developed from them, but no Aegean samples were included in the analysis. Also, indications of gene flow signifying ongoing transport of cats between Cyprus and the Turkish mainland (in both directions) was found, with Cyprus-cat-like genotypes even occurring in occasional individuals assigned to the Turkish Angora and Turkish Van breeds. Nevertheless, the bulk of the semi-domesticated cats from Cyprus in the analysis belonged to a lineage about as distinct as the Van cats, with little mainland admixture in recent times.
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