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On present evidence Marion was already inhabited at the end of the Neolithic and through the Chalcolithic period. It began to prosper from the Cypro - Archaic period onwards and became one of the most important ancient Cypriot city - kingdoms in the Cypro - Classical period with important commercial relations with the East Aegean islands, Attica and Corinth. In 312 B.C. it was conquered by Ptolemy I and the Kingdom was abolished until its reconquest by Ptolemy II Philadelphus who renamed the city after his sister and wife. The new city was smaller than Marion but it also flourished due to its close proximity to the copper mines. Arsinoe continued to exist in the Roman, Early Christian and Early Byzantine periods when it seems to have suffered extensive destruction by the Arab invasions of the 7th century A. D. Archaeological evidence indicates that the city was also inhabited during the Medieval period between the 12th and 14th centuries A.D.

In Egypt at Metinet Abou in the temple of Rameses III, for example, there is a large 12th Century B.C. inscription which refers to Cyprus. The names of Cypriot Towns mentioned include Marion. However, the first definite reference to Marion occurred in 4498 B.C. when the city, as indeed other city- kingdoms of Cyprus, were under Persian rule. During that year, Kimon, the great Athenian general, freed the city from the Persians. Later, the ancient geographers spoke of the town as "Marion Ellinikon" - The Hellenic Marion. The Kingdom was rich in Gold and Copper ore, mind chiefly in the nearby Limni Mines. It was the natural wealth which led the city to a period of flourishing trade, especially with Athens, which in its turn, exported many attic pots to Marion. Samples of this pottery can be viewed at Polis Archaeological Museum.

                  Polis Through the Ages.

According to tradition, Athenian Akamas, son of Theseus, disembarked near Polis after the Trojan war and gave his name to the Cape of Akamas and the city of Akamantis: a legendary city which has never been found. In ancient times, Polis was known as Marion, and was probably founded by Akamas or a certain Marieus. Marion was one of the city - Kingdoms founded by the Mycenaean's when they came to Cyprus. The Mycenaean's, or Achaeans, were the creators of the Mycenaean civilization in Greece, and they settled in Cyprus between 1400 B. C. and 1100 B.C. The Greek presence and the cities linked to the settlement of the Mycenaean's in Cyprus can be verified by inscriptions found in neighboring countries.  
The harsh battle for Cyprus between the successors of Alexander the Great, Antigonus and Ptolemy led Marion to destruction. Ptolemy, who finally prevailed, laid waste the city whose King had taken the side of Antigonus, and transferred its inhabitants to Paphos. Later, another member of the Ptolemy dynasty, Philadelphus, founded a new city on the ruins of Marion, and gave it the name of his wife, Arsinoe. The city, under its new name, prospered during the Hellenistic and Roman Ages. In early Christian times it was also an episcopate. For some years after that, there was no mention of the city until the late Middle Ages when reference was made to Chrysochou and later, Polis Chrysochou. Nowadays, Polis is the administrative center of the area which includes 23 Communities. 

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