Located on the Athenon avenue, in the center of the Phinikoudes Promenade in Larnaca since 1927, the bust statue of the General Kimon was created by the Athenian sculptor George Alexandropoulos. The bust, made of pentelic marble, is placed on a concrete column. The depiction of the General was based on an engraved figure of him found on a surviving stone ring. The statue was inaugurated by the former Mayor of Athens, Spyridon Patsi, in the presence of the Metropolitan of Kition, Nikodimos Milonas, the local municipal authorities and a large crowd of people.
Kimon, the son of Miltiades, was the Athenian politician and general who led the Greek army against the Persian during the battle of Marathon in 490 B.C. He was born in 510 B.C. and died in 449 B.C. Kimon sailed to Cyprus, with at least 200 allied triremes with the aim of expelling Persians and having the Athenian sovereignty in the Middle East restored. He and his army managed to liberate the kingdom of Marion and replace the Phoenician king with a Greek one. He then laid siege to Kition but an outrage of plague struck which caused the death of Kimon. However, his death was kept secret so it wouldn’t impact the mental state of his soldiers. His army finally won the battle against the Persians on land and on sea. The victory of the Greek army in the battle of Salamina, right after Kimon’s death prompted everyone to proclaim the epigrammatic phrase that “even in death, he was victorious”. Kimon’s body was sent back to Athens where he was buried with great honours in Melitides Gates.
