Phaistos Disc decipherment claims

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There are a large number of claims of decipherment of the Phaistos Disc.

The claims may be categorized into linguistic decipherments, identifying the language of the inscription, and non-linguistic decipherments. A purely ideographical reading is not linguistic in the strict sense: while it may reveal the meaning of the inscription, it would not allow us to identify the underlying language.

A large part of the claims are clearly pseudoscientific, if not bordering on the esoteric. Linguists are doubtful whether the inscription is sufficiently long to be unambiguously interpreted. It is possible that one of these decipherments is correct, and that, without further material in the same script, we will never know which. Mainstream consensus tends towards the assumption of a syllabic script, possibly mixed with ideogram, like the known scripts of the epoch (Egyptian hieroglyphs, Anatolian hieroglyphs, Linear B).

Some approaches attempt to establish a connection with known scripts, either the roughly contemporary Cretan hieroglyphs or Linear A native to Crete, or Egyptian or Anatolian hieroglyphics. Solutions postulating an independent Aegean script have also been proposed.

Contents

[edit] Linguistic

[edit] Greek

  • George Hempl, 1911 (interpretation as Ionic Greek, syllabic writing)
    • A-side first; reading inwards; A-side begins Ἀποσῦλ’ ἂρ...

Hempls readings of side A: A-po-su-la-r ke-si-po e-pe-t e-e-se a-po-le-is-tu te-pe-ta-po. (Lo, Xipho the prophetess dedicates spoils from a spoiler of the prophetess.) Te-u-s, a-po-ku-ra. (Zeus guard us.) Vi-ka-na a-po-ri-pi-na la-ri-si-ta a-po-ko-me-nu so-to. (In silence put aside the most dainty portions of the still unroasted animal.) A-te-ne-Mi-me-ra pu-l. (Athene Minerva, be gracious.) A-po-vi-k. (Silence!) A-po-te-te-na-ni-si tu-me. (The victims have been put to death.) A-po-vi-k. (Silence!)

  • Florence Stawell, 1911 (interpretation as Homeric Greek, syllabic writing);
    • B-side first; reading inward: A-side begins ἄνασσα κῶθί ῥα·....
    • Not Ionic; B30 is non-sigmatic ἄνασσ' ἰά λῦται; B6 is τᾶ, Μαρὰ, δᾶ–, with four long alphas.
  • Steven R. Fischer, 1988 (interpretation as a Greek dialect, syllabic writing);
    • A-side first; reading inwards; 02-12 reads E-qe 'hear ye'.

Link to translation: [1]

  • Derk Ohlenroth, 1996 (interpretation as a Greek dialect, alphabetic writing);
    • A-side first; reading outwards; numerous homophonic signs
  • Kevin & Keith Massey, 2003 (interpretation as a Greek dialect, syllabic writing [2]);
    • A-side first; reading outwards;
  • Benjamin Schwarz, 1959 (interpretation as Mycenean Greek, syllabic writing)
    • A-side first; reading inwards.
    • comparison with Linear B as starting point.
  • Adam Martin, 2000 (interpretation as a Greek-Minoan bilingual text, alphabetic writing)
    • reading outwards;
    • reads only Side A as Greek and says Side B is Minoan

[edit] "Proto-Ionic"

Jean Faucounau, 1975 considers the script as the original invention of a Cycladic and maritime Aegean people, the proto-Ionians, who had picked up the idea of a syllabic acrophonic script from Egypt at the time of the VIth Dynasty. He interprets the text as "proto-Ionic" Greek in syllabic writing [3] [4] [5])

Reading A-side first, inwards, he deciphers a (funerary) hymn to one Arion, child of Argos, destroyer of Iasos. The language is a Greek dialect, written with considerable phonological ambiguities, comparable to the writing of Mycenean Greek in Linear B, hand-crafted by Faucounau to suit his reading, among other things postulating change of digamma to y and loss of labiovelars, but retention of Indo-European -sy- (in the genitive singular -osyo, Homeric -oio). Faucounau has gathered evidence, which he asserts shows the existence of proto-Ionians as early as the Early Bronze Age and of a proto-Ionic language with the required characteristics during the Late Bronze Age. He has presented this evidence in several papers and summarized it in his two books, of 1999 and 2001.

The text begins

ka-s (a)r-ko-syo / pa-yi-s / a-ri-o / a-a-mo / ka-s læ-yi-to / te-ri-o-s / te-tmæ-næ
kas Argoio payis Arion ahamos. kas læi(s)ton dærios tetmænai
"Arion, the son of Argos, is without equal. He has distributed the spoil of battle."

Faucounau's solution was critically reviewed by Duhoux (2000), who in particular was sceptical about the consonantal sign s (D12) in the otherwise syllabic script, which appears word-finally in the sentence particle kas, but not in nominatives like ahamos. Most syllabaries would either omit s in both places, or use a syllable beginning with s in both places.

[edit] Luwian

Achterberg et al., 2004 interpreted the text as Anatolian hieroglyphic, reading inwards, A-side first. The research group proposes a 14th century date, based on a dating of PH 1, the associated Linear A tablet. The resulting text is a Luwian document of land ownership, addressed to one na-sa-tu ("Nestor"; Dative na-sa-ti) of hi-ya-wa (Ahhiyawa). Toponyms read are pa-ya-tu (Phaistos), ra-su-ta (Lasithi), mi-SARU (Mesara), ku-na-sa (Knossos), sa3-har-wa (Scheria), ri-ti-na (Rhytion). Another personal name read is i-du-ma-na ("Idomeneus"), governor of Mesara.

The strokes are read as a 46th glyph, expressing word-final ti. The text begins

a-tu mi1-SARU sa+ti / pa-ya-tu / u Nna-sa2-ti / u u-ri / a-tu hi-ya-wa
atu Misari sati Payatu. u Nasati, u uri atu Hiyawa.
"In Mesara is Phaistos. To Nestor, to the great [man] in Ahhiyawa."

[edit] Hittite

  • Vladimir Georgiev, 1976 (interpretation as Hittite language, syllabic writing);
    • A-side first; reading outwards;

[edit] Egyptian

  • Albert Cuny, 1914 (interpretation as an ancient Egyptian document, syllabic-ideographic writing);

[edit] Semitic

  • Kjell Aartun, 1992 (interpretation as a Semitic language, syllabic writing);
    • A-side first; reading outwards;
  • Cyrus Herzl Gordon;
  • Jan G.P. Best.

[edit] Other

  • Sergei V. Rjabchikov 1998 (interpretation as a Slavonic dialect, syllabic writing [6][7]);
    • A-side first; reading outwards;
  • Marco Corsini, 2003 (interpretation as a Greco-Creto-Egyptian document [8])
    • A-side first; reading outwards;
  • F. G. Gordon 1931. interpretation as Basque. (Gordon, F. G. 1931. Through Basque to Minoan: transliterations and translations of the Minoan tablets. London: Oxford University Press.)

[edit] Ideographic

  • Paolo Ballotta, 1974 (interpretation as ideographic writing);
  • Harald Haarmann, 1990 (interpretation as ideographic writing);
  • Axel Hausmann, 2002 (document from Atlantis, dated to 4400 BC, ideographic reading)
  • Egbert Richter-Ushanas, 2005, The Disk of Phaistos and the Sacred Marriage of Theseus and Ariadne. A contribution to the decoding of the Minoan hieroglyps ISBN 3924942544

[edit] Non-linguistic

[edit] As game board

It has been observed that the disc has similarities to a category of ancient game board. Ancient games tended towards two categories, either "battle" games, or "race" (chase) games. Chess is an example of the former, Mehen (literally "the coiled one") an example of the latter. It may be that the Phaistos disc is also an example of a race game board.

Evidence for this is as follows:

  1. The 8 leafed rosette appears four times (sign number 38). This is of significance because that sign has also been found frequently on other recovered ancient game boards. These include discoveries in Ur of Sumer (2500 BCE), of Egyptian games during the Hyksos era, and from Megiddo circa 1200 BCE. As observed by Timothy Kendall in "Passing through the Netherworld", "Although each board is decorated differently with squares displaying geometric patterns, arrangements of dots, eyes, or scenes of animal combat, the one feature they all have in common are the rosettes on the squares indicated. Thus it is apparent that only those had a special significance in play." From surviving ancient games where the rules are still known, it appears the rosettes marked the beginning and end points of tracks where direction changes could be made; and/or for chase games these marked "safe" squares where one's piece could not be captured.
  2. Egyptian civilization during and previous to the period to which the Phaistos disc is dated had board "racing" games (Senet, Mehen). The oldest known reference to Senet is a painting from the tomb of Hesy circa 2600 BCE. (However, the game appears older than that because "Senet-like" boards have been recovered from burials dated as early as 3500 to 3100 BCE.) There was extensive communication between the Egyptian culture and the Minoan culture at this time (known because of Egyptian artifacts in the Minoan palace.) Geographically they were close, only a few days of sailing. Several of the occupation levels at Knossos are dated by the Egyptian artifacts in them (see Trude Dothan and Moshe Dothan: People of the Sea - The Search for the Philistines".)
  3. The spiral shape was also used for the race or chase games. 14 surviving examples of Mehen all display this game board format. Mehen may date to as early as 3000 BCE, and is referenced in the Coffin and Pyramid Texts.
  4. Printing of games on both sides of gameboards was not unknown. Some surviving Senet boards also have the game of "20 squares" (the Royal game of Ur) on the reverse side. If the Phaistos disc is a game board, then that it has both sides imprinted is therefore not that unusual.
  5. The use of "imprinting" for the disc implies (although it does not require) that this may have been one of multiple copies, if so this approach was used for other ancient games. Philip Coppens (see links below) points out that "stamping was in no way exceptional for impressing signs on game-boards." Also, "On some of the Senet boards made from faience, these signs were impressed into the clay-like soft mass before firing, and they were impressed there with stamps." (See Edgar B. Pusch: "Das Senet-Brettspiel im Alten Ägypten", Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich and Berlin, 1979, Volume 1:2.)
  6. The size of the disc, if it is a game board, implies that either it was a "travel board", or possibly it was meant for burial. Including Senet boards in Egyptian burials was common as there was a ritual aspect to the game that had developed religious significance. And as previously pointed out, there was extensive Egyptian influence on the Minoan culture at the period to which the disc is dated.

A more detailed overview of this hypothesis may be found via the following links:

[edit] References

  • Aartun, Kjell, 'Der Diskos von Phaistos; Die beschriftete Bronzeaxt; Die Inschrift der Taragona-tafel' in Die minoische Schrift : Sprache und Texte vol. 1, Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz (1992) ISBN 3-447-03273-1
  • Achterberg, Winfried; Best, Jan; Enzler, Kees; Rietveld, Lia; Woudhuizen, Fred, The Phaistos Disc: A Luwian Letter to Nestor, Publications of the Henry Frankfort Foundation vol XIII , Dutch Archeological and Historical Society, Amsterdam 2004
  • Balistier, Thomas, The Phaistos Disc - an account of its unsolved mystery, Verlag Thomas Balistier, 2000 (as above); describes Aarten's and Ohlenroth's decipherments.
  • Faucounau, Jean, Le déchiffrement du Disque de Phaistos & Les Proto-Ioniens : histoire d'un peuple oublié, Paris 1999 & 2001.
  • Fischer, Steven R., Evidence for Hellenic Dialect in the Phaistos Disk, Herbert Lang (1988), ISBN 3-261-03703-2
  • Hausmann, Axel, Der Diskus von Phaistos. Ein Dokument aus Atlantis, BoD GmbH (2002), ISBN 3-8311-4548-2.
  • Hempl, George. "The Solving of an Ancient Riddle: Ionic Greek before Homer". Harper's Monthly Magazine (Vol. 122, No. 728 (Jan 1911)): 187–198. 
  • Martin, Adam, Der Diskos von Phaistos - Ein zweisprachiges Dokument geschrieben in einer frühgriechischen Alphabetschrift, Ludwig Auer Verlag (2000), ISBN 3-9807169-1-0.
  • Ohlenroth, Derk, Das Abaton des lykäischen Zeus und der Hain der Elaia: Zum Diskos von Phaistos und zur frühen griechischen Schriftkultur, M. Niemeyer (1996), ISBN 3-484-80008-9.
  • Polygiannakis, Efi, Ο Δισκος της Φαιστού Μιλάει Ελληνικά, Georgiadis, Athens, T. Antikas (trans.)
  • Pomerance, Leon, The Phaistos Disk: An Interpretation of Astro- nomical Symbols, Paul Astroms forlag, Göteborg (1976). reviewed by D. H. Kelley in The Journal of Archeoastronomy (Vol II, number 3, Summer 1979)
  • Stawell, F. Melian. "An Interpretation of the Phaistos Disk". The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs (Vol. 19, No. 97. (Apr., 1911)): 23–29;32–38.  JSTOR URL
  • Schwartz, Benjamin. "The Phaistos disk". Journal of Near Eastern Studies (Vol. 18, No. 2 (1959)): 105–112.