EARLY HISTORY (101 A.D.-1821 A.D.)

     The important archaeological collection of the Pierides Foundation Museum in Larnaca, Cyprus, was begun in 1839 by Demetrios Pierides at a time which was critical for the cultural heritage and archaeology of Cyprus. In the nineteenth century under the Ottoman rule there was no protection of antiquities. Archaeological artifacts were being sold by various dealers, diplomats, and bankers to museums abroad for money. Many objects were removed from the country and lost, and the historical and archaeological information about them was also lost. Demetrios Pierides began purchasing artifacts to preserve them and keep them in Cyprus. The collection, which now numbers over 2500 objects, has been maintained and enriched by generations of the Pierides family.

     The Pierides family itself has a long and interesting history. Pierakis, the father of Demetrios, a prominent citizen of Larnaca, was execcuted and then decapitated by the Turks in Cyprus on July 10, 1821, after Pierakis refused to denounce Christianity and embrace Islam. The family motto Emmenein, meaning to stand fast or to hold to one's beliefs, stems from this historical event. Pierakis was the son of Pietro Corella, who came with his father Demetrio Corella, from Zakynthos (an Ionian or Grecian Island) to Larnaca in the eighteenth century (1772). Both father and son were Dragomen of the Consulate of Venice and of the Kingdom of Lombarolia-Venezia..

       Pierakis's wife, Mariou Caridi, was daughter of the noble family of Kephallenia, whose roots were in Sicily. Records mentioning her family go back as far as the second century where in the Commentaries of Julius Caesar (101-44 B.C.) there is a reference to this noble and wealthy family as Generals of the ancient Roman Empire. After an uprising in Sicily and the murder of their father, the Counts Caridi left Italy and settled in Skala in Kephallenia. There they changed the family name to Caridi-Scaliotti. The family belonged to the nobility of the Ionian Islands since 1593, but in the eighteenth century Andronikos Caridi, Dragoman of Her Imperial Majesty, the Queen of Hungary, settled in Larnaca with his father Christodoulos. He had three brothers named Paul, Nicolaos, and Constantinos. Mariou Pieraki, wife of Pierakis, was the daughter of Paul Caridi. Paul's brother Constantinos (Bishop Athanasios) was another martyr who refused to renounce Christianity; he was executed on July 10, 1821.

     From the union of Pierakis Corella and Mariou Caridi came four children: Demetrios, the originator of the collection of archaeological artifacts, Pavlos, Annetta K. Themistocleous, and John, who was the father of George, Constantinos and Evanthia Pieridou, all bankers and benefactors of the city of Larnaca in Cyprus. It was at this time that the three sons changed the surname to Pierides.

FROM 1811-PRESENT DAY

     Demetrios Pierides, born in 1811, son of Pierakis, distinguished himself in Larnaca as a banker and a scholar. He studied in London and became VIce-Consul of Great Britain and a member of Parliament. He was known in the nineteenth century as the first archaeologist and epigraphist on the Island. He deciphered inscriptions in the Cypriot Syllabary and, using his archaeological collection as reference material, published articles in European journals in French and in English. Demetrios, in addition to beginning the Pierides Museum collection, was one of the founders and benefactors of the Cyprus Museum in Nicosia. At his death his sons Zeno (1839-1911) and Kyprael or Giabra (1852-1928) inherited his important archaeological collections.

     The first son, Zeno Pierides, inherited mainly pottery and heads of limestone statues of the Cypro-Geometric and Cypro-Archaic periods, and the second son, Kyprael or Giabra, received a unique collection of Mycenaean pottery found in Cyprus. Giabra's collection of Mycenaean pottery is still in Nicosia. Zeno's inheritance has been greatly increased by his descendants and is open to the general public as the current Pierides Foundation Museum. This collection is also featured in the Pierides section of this website.

     Zeno Pierides founded the shipping and banking company of "Z.D. Pierides" in 1860.He also became the first Greek mayor of Larnaca, Cyprus, as well as a member of Parliament and Chancellor of the USA Consulate, Consul of Germany and Consul of the United Kingdom of Sweden and Norway. He was also a member of archaeological societies in Rome, London, Athens, and Constantinople. Zeno enriched the Pierides collection further and housed the archaeological artifacts at his father's home in Larnaca, now the home of the Pierides Museum. He had two sons, Luke (1856-1933) and Demetrios (1870-1943).

     Luke Pierides, Zeno's elder son, was also interested in archaology and literature. He added Neolithic tools, Chalcolithic idols, pottery of the Early and Late Bronze Ages, Cypro-Archaic I "free-field" jugs, numerous Cypro-Classical and Hellenistic vases, Attic pottery and Roman terra-sigillata ware to the collection. Luke was a member of Parliament, Consul for Germany and Consul for Sweden. The King of Sweden, H. M. King Gustaf VI Adolf, helped Luke bring the Swedish Archaeological Expedition to Cyprus (1927-1931). This expedition, under Professor Einar Gjerstad, made a major contribution to Cypriot archaeology. The Swedish king participated at the last stage of the excavations.

     After the death of his brother Luke, Demetrios Z. Pierides, Consul for Austria, preserved the collection and handed it over to his son Zeno D. Pierides (1900-1967), the father of the current owner and founder of the Pierides Foundation. Zeno Pierides also added to the collection the Roman glass and Medieval glazed pottery (Byzantine period) as well as an important collection of old Cyprus maps. Zeno served as Mayor of Larnaca, Vice President of the Greek Communal Chamber (Parliament), Consul General for Sweden and Consul for Germany. When Zeno died in 1967, his wife Theodora devoted herself to the upkeep and preservation of the archaeological collection.

     Theodora Z. Pierides, nee Phoeniefs and born in Nicosia in 1904, maintains a home there today.. She married Zeno Pierides in 1933; and after his death in 1967, she decided to open the collection of Cypriot antiquities to the people of Larnaca and the world. She renovated the family home in Larnaca and opened it as the Museum of the Pierides Foundation in 1974. The supervision of the more than 2500 antiquities and 650 folk art exhibits has now passed to her son, Demetrios Z. Pierides.

     As present head of the family Demetrios Z. Pierides created the Pierides Foundation in 1974, and has undertaken a chronological classification of the antiquities. He added pottery from the Early and Middle Bronze Ages, pottery of the Cypro-Archaic period, Cypro-Classical statues and Attic vases. In addtion Chalcolithic red-on-white pottery, pendants and idols of steatite have been added by him. Demetrios is continuing the family tradition of representing Sweden as Consul General. Demetrios, along with his mother Theodora and his sister Lukia Pierides, have preserved for Cyprus and the world the archaeological treasures of Cyprus.

     Today Lukia's grandson and Demetrios's grand nephew Peter H. Ashdjian , born in 1978, is currently in charge of the museum. Peter has been instrumental in the photographing of the Pierides Museum's artifacts for this website. Peter plans to attend the University in the fall of 1997, and will, of course, continue the family's tradition by studying the history and archaeology of Cyprus, Egypt, and the Middle East.