Greek Cypriots
| Ελληνοκύπριοι | |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| c. 1,150,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Cyprus
|
690,000 |
 United Kingdom
|
270,000 |
 United States
|
9,115 |
 Canada
|
4,815 |
 Australia
|
9,730–13,850 (Cyprus-born) |
| Languages | |
| Modern Greek (Cypriot and Standard) | |
| Religion | |
| † Greek Orthodox | |
Greek Cypriots (Greek: Ελληνοκύπριοι) are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community at 78% of the population. Greek Cypriots are mostly members of the Church of Cyprus, an Greek Orthodox Church within the wider communion of Orthodox Christianity. In regard to the 1960 Constitution of Cyprus, the term also includes Arabic-speaking Maronites, Armenians and Latin Rite Catholics ("Latins"), who were given the option of being included in one or other of the two constituent communities (Greek or Turkish) and voted to join the Greek Cypriot community.
Cyprus was part of the Mycenaean civilization, with local production of Mycenaean vases dating to the Late Helladic III (1400–1050 BC). The quantity of this pottery concludes that there were numerous Mycenaean settlers, if not settlements, on the island. Archaeological evidence shows that Greek settlement began unsystematically in c. 1400 BC, then steadied (possibly due to Dorian invaders on the mainland) with definite settlements established in c. 1200 BC. The close connection between the Arcadian dialect and those of Pamphylia and Cyprus indicates that the migration came from Achaea. The Achaean tribe may have been an original population of the Peloponnese, Pamphylia, and Cyprus, living in the latter prior to the Dorian invasion, and not a subsequent immigrant group; the Doric elements in Arcadian are lacking in Cypriot. Achaeans settled among the old population, and founded Salamis. The epic Cypria, dating to the 7th century BC, may have originated in Cyprus.
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