The Cypriots continued dedicating votive statues to their gods long after the tradition lost popularity in other areas of the eastern Mediterranean world. Most of the early figures were made of baked clay, but by around 600 B.C. the sculptors of the island had begun using the local limestone as well. Certain figural types were more or less duplicated in either medium. The introduction of the mold, from Syria during the late 8th century B.C., facilitated the mass production of clay figurines; however, it was from the 6th century onward that use of the mold became widespread.

Large numbers of terracottas, as well as stone sculptures, have been found both in tombs and in shrines on Cyprus and appear to have been intended as votive offerings or dedications. As votives, the figures remained in the place of their dedicants, offering constant prayer to the deities.

Female figurines often carry offerings, and wear veils, and many may represent priestesses, as indicated by their jewelry. Some carry musical instruments, an important element in ritual. Males, on the other hand, are depicted almost exclusively as warriors, as horsemen or on foot, wearing various types of helmets and headdresses. Some of the figures originally belonged to chariot groups. Alternatively, some figurines represent deities, such as the Mother Goddess ( la Grande Deese ) or Mother and Child (kourotrophos), or a god such as Pan. Most figurines, whether mold-made or hand-modeled, appear to have been brightly painted, and show a variety of ethnic features, indicating emphasis on the individual background of the donor. In the Ptolemaic period, even certain princes can be identified.

One of the most spectacular discoveries of figurine groups was at the sanctuary at Ayia Irini (on the north coast of Cyprus), where more than 2,000 terracotta statues dating to the 7th-6th centuries B.C. were found arranged in a semicircle around a stone altar. They range in scale up to lifesize and appear to represent various ethnic groups of dedicants. Over 4,000 small figurines have been found at the Sanctuary of Apollo at Kourion.