Cypriot syllabary
Encyclopedia
The Cypriot syllabary is a syllabic
script used in Iron Age
Cyprus
, from ca. the 11th to the 4th centuries BCE, when it was replaced by the Greek alphabet
. A pioneer of that change was king Evagoras
of Salamis
. It is descended from the Cypro-Minoan syllabary
, in turn a variant or derivative of Linear A
.
has always been known to possess its own script during the classical period
. The Cypriot Syllabary however, only refers to the script used during iron age
Greece. The script used during bronze age
Greece is generally known as Cypro-Minoan script. Most texts using the script are in the Arcadocypriot
dialect of Greek
, but some bilingual (Greek and Eteocypriot
) inscriptions were found in Amathus
.
script and most probably, the Minoan writing system. The most obvious change is the disappearance of ideograms, which were frequent and represented a significant part of Linear A. The earliest inscriptions are found on clay tablets. Parallel to the evolution of cuneiform
, the signs soon became simple patterns of lines. There are some evidence of a Semitic influence due to trade, but this pattern seemed to have evolved as the result of habitual use.
. This is due to their common origin and underlying language (albeit different dialects). The Cypriot script contains 56 signs. Each sign generally stands for a syllable in the spoken language: e.g. ka, ke, ki, ko, ku etc. Hence, it is classified as a syllabic
writing system. Because each sign stands for an open syllable (CV) rather than a closed one (CVC), the Cypriot syllabary is also an 'open' syllabary.
sounds which occur before another consonant are omitted completely. Compare Linear B ๐๐ต๐ซ๐ฆ to Cypriot ๐ ๐ ฐ๐ ฆ๐ ก๐ ฉ , both forms of standard "human". One other minor difference involves the representation of the manner of articulation
. In the Linear B script, liquid
sounds /l/ and /r/ are covered by one series, while there are separate series for the dentals /d/ and /t/. In the Cypriot syllabary, /d/ and /t/ are combined, whereas /l/ and /r/ are distinct.
due to a Phoenician-Cypriot bilingual inscription. About 1000 inscriptions in the Cypriot Syllabary have been found throughout many different regions. However, these inscriptions vary greatly in length and credibility. Most inscriptions found are dated to be around the 6th century. Unfortunately, there are no inscriptions known to be before the 8th century. Most of the tablets found are from funerary monuments and contained no useful information but name of the deceased. A few dedicatory inscriptions were also found but of very little contribution to decipherment. The most important tablets are mainly found in Enkomi
and Paphos
.
in 1955. It was a part of a thick clay tablet with only three lines of writing. Although some of the writing was distinctly different from any other Greek writing systems, epigraphers immediately saw a resemblance. Because the date of the fragment was found to be around 1500 BCE, considerably earlier than Linear B, linguists determined that the Cypriot Syllabary was derived from Linear A
and not Linear B
. Several other fragments of clay tablets were also found in Enkomi. They date to a later period, around the late 13th or 12th century BCE. The script found on these tablets has considerably evolved and the signs have become simple patterns of lines. Linguists named this new script as Cypro-Minoan syllabary
.
is located in the south-west region of Cyprus. It houses the temple of Aphrodite
, also known as โthe Cyprian Goddess.โ From this area, archeologists found many of the later Cypriot syllabic scripts. In fact, the region Paphos held the most significant contribution to the decipherment of Cypriot Syllabary โ the Tablet of Idalium
. It is a large bronze tablet with long inscriptions on both sides. The Tablet of Idalium is dated to about 480-470BCE. Excluding a few features in morphology and vocabulary, the text is a complete and well understood document. It details a contract made by the king Stasicyprus and the city of Idalium with the physician Onasilus and his brothers. As payment for the physiciansโ care for wounded warriors during a Persian siege of the city, the king promises them certain plots of land. This agreement is put under the protection of the goddess Athena
.
Standard in April, 2003 with the release of version 4.0.
The Unicode block for Cypriot is U+10800 ... U+1083F.
The Unicode block for the related Aegean Numbers is U+10100 ... U+1013F.
Syllabary
A syllabary is a set of written symbols that represent syllables, which make up words. In a syllabary, there is no systematic similarity between the symbols which represent syllables with the same consonant or vowel...
script used in Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, from ca. the 11th to the 4th centuries BCE, when it was replaced by the Greek alphabet
Greek alphabet
The Greek alphabet is the script that has been used to write the Greek language since at least 730 BC . The alphabet in its classical and modern form consists of 24 letters ordered in sequence from alpha to omega...
. A pioneer of that change was king Evagoras
Evagoras
Evagoras was the king of Salamis in Cyprus. The son of Nicocles, a previous king of Salamis, he claimed descent from Teucer, the son of Telamon and half-brother of Ajax, and his family had long been rulers of Salamis, although during his childhood Salamis came under Phoenician control, which...
of Salamis
Salamis, Cyprus
Salamis was an ancient Greek city-state on the east coast of Cyprus, at the mouth of the river Pedieos, 6 km north of modern Famagusta. According to tradition the founder of Salamis was Teucer, son of Telamon, who could not return home after the Trojan war because he had failed to avenge his...
. It is descended from the Cypro-Minoan syllabary
Cypro-Minoan syllabary
The Cypro-Minoan syllabary is an undeciphered syllabic script used on the island of Cyprus during the Late Bronze Age . The term "Cypro-Minoan" was coined by Sir Arthur Evans in 1909 based on its visual similarity to Linear A on Minoan Crete, which CM is thought to be derived from...
, in turn a variant or derivative of Linear A
Linear A
Linear A is one of two scripts used in ancient Crete before Mycenaean Greek Linear B; Cretan hieroglyphs is the second script. In Minoan times, before the Mycenaean Greek dominion, Linear A was the official script for the palaces and religious activities, and hieroglyphs were mainly used on seals....
.
Origin
The island of CyprusCyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
has always been known to possess its own script during the classical period
Classical Greece
Classical Greece was a 200 year period in Greek culture lasting from the 5th through 4th centuries BC. This classical period had a powerful influence on the Roman Empire and greatly influenced the foundation of Western civilizations. Much of modern Western politics, artistic thought, such as...
. The Cypriot Syllabary however, only refers to the script used during iron age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
Greece. The script used during bronze age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
Greece is generally known as Cypro-Minoan script. Most texts using the script are in the Arcadocypriot
Arcadocypriot
Arcadocypriot or southern Achaean was an ancient Greek dialect spoken in Arcadia in the central Peloponnese and in Cyprus. Its resemblance to Mycenaean Greek, as it is known from the Linear B corpus, suggests that Arcadocypriot is its descendant...
dialect of Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, but some bilingual (Greek and Eteocypriot
Eteocypriot
Eteocypriot was a pre-Indo-European language spoken in Iron Age Cyprus. The name means "true" or "original Cyprian" parallel to Eteocretan, both of which names are used by modern scholarship to mean the pre-Greek languages of those places. Eteocypriot was written in the Cypriot syllabary, a...
) inscriptions were found in Amathus
Amathus
Amathus was one of the most ancient royal cities of Cyprus, on the southern coast in front of Agios Tychonas, about 24 miles west of Larnaca and 6 miles east of Limassol...
.
Evolution
It has been established that the Cypriot Syllabary is derived from the Linear ALinear A
Linear A is one of two scripts used in ancient Crete before Mycenaean Greek Linear B; Cretan hieroglyphs is the second script. In Minoan times, before the Mycenaean Greek dominion, Linear A was the official script for the palaces and religious activities, and hieroglyphs were mainly used on seals....
script and most probably, the Minoan writing system. The most obvious change is the disappearance of ideograms, which were frequent and represented a significant part of Linear A. The earliest inscriptions are found on clay tablets. Parallel to the evolution of cuneiform
Cuneiform
Cuneiform can refer to:*Cuneiform script, an ancient writing system originating in Mesopotamia in the 4th millennium BC*Cuneiform , three bones in the human foot*Cuneiform Records, a music record label...
, the signs soon became simple patterns of lines. There are some evidence of a Semitic influence due to trade, but this pattern seemed to have evolved as the result of habitual use.
Structure
The structure of Cypriot Syllabary is very similar to that of Linear BLinear B
Linear B is a syllabic script that was used for writing Mycenaean Greek, an early form of Greek. It pre-dated the Greek alphabet by several centuries and seems to have died out with the fall of Mycenaean civilization...
. This is due to their common origin and underlying language (albeit different dialects). The Cypriot script contains 56 signs. Each sign generally stands for a syllable in the spoken language: e.g. ka, ke, ki, ko, ku etc. Hence, it is classified as a syllabic
Syllabary
A syllabary is a set of written symbols that represent syllables, which make up words. In a syllabary, there is no systematic similarity between the symbols which represent syllables with the same consonant or vowel...
writing system. Because each sign stands for an open syllable (CV) rather than a closed one (CVC), the Cypriot syllabary is also an 'open' syllabary.
| -a | -e | -i | -o | -u | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | |
| w- | ๐ ฒ | ๐ ณ | ๐ ด | ๐ ต | |
| z- | ๐ ผ | ||||
| j- | ๐ | ๐ | |||
| k-, g-, kh- | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ |
| l- | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ |
| m- | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ |
| n- | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ |
| ks- | ๐ ท | ๐ ธ | ๐ ฟ | ||
| p-, b-, ph- | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ | ๐ ก | ๐ ข |
| r- | ๐ ฃ | ๐ ค | ๐ ฅ | ๐ ฆ | ๐ ง |
| s- | ๐ จ | ๐ ฉ | ๐ ช | ๐ ซ | ๐ ฌ |
| t-, d-, th- | ๐ ญ | ๐ ฎ | ๐ ฏ | ๐ ฐ | ๐ ฑ |
Differences between Cypriot Syllabary and Linear B
The main difference between the two lies not in the structure of the syllabary but the use of the symbols. Final consonants in the Cypriot Syllabary are marked by a final, silent e. For example, final consonants, n, s and r are noted by using ne, re and se. Groups of consonants are created using extra vowels. Diphthongs, such as ae, au, eu and ei, are spelled out completely. In addition, nasalNasal consonant
A nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. Examples of nasal consonants in English are and , in words such as nose and mouth.- Definition :...
sounds which occur before another consonant are omitted completely. Compare Linear B ๐๐ต๐ซ๐ฆ to Cypriot ๐ ๐ ฐ๐ ฆ๐ ก๐ ฉ , both forms of standard "human". One other minor difference involves the representation of the manner of articulation
Manner of articulation
In linguistics, manner of articulation describes how the tongue, lips, jaw, and other speech organs are involved in making a sound. Often the concept is only used for the production of consonants, even though the movement of the articulars will also greatly alter the resonant properties of the...
. In the Linear B script, liquid
Liquid consonant
In phonetics, liquids or liquid consonants are a class of consonants consisting of lateral consonants together with rhotics.-Description:...
sounds /l/ and /r/ are covered by one series, while there are separate series for the dentals /d/ and /t/. In the Cypriot syllabary, /d/ and /t/ are combined, whereas /l/ and /r/ are distinct.
Paleography
There are minor differences in the forms of the signs used in different sites. However, the syllabary can be subdivided into two different subtypes based on area: the โCommonโ and the South-Western or โPaphianโ. However, no detailed analysis between the two exists.Decipherment
The script was deciphered in the 19th century by G. SmithGeorge Smith (assyriologist)
George Smith , was a pioneering English Assyriologist who first discovered and translated the Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest-known written work of literature.-Early life and early career:...
due to a Phoenician-Cypriot bilingual inscription. About 1000 inscriptions in the Cypriot Syllabary have been found throughout many different regions. However, these inscriptions vary greatly in length and credibility. Most inscriptions found are dated to be around the 6th century. Unfortunately, there are no inscriptions known to be before the 8th century. Most of the tablets found are from funerary monuments and contained no useful information but name of the deceased. A few dedicatory inscriptions were also found but of very little contribution to decipherment. The most important tablets are mainly found in Enkomi
Enkomi
This article is about the town and ancient settlement near Famagusta. For the suburb of Nicosia , see: Engomi.Enkomi is a village near Famagusta on Cyprus. It is the site of an important Bronze Age city, possibly the capital of Alasiya...
and Paphos
Paphos
Paphos , sometimes referred to as Pafos, is a coastal city in the southwest of Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos and New Paphos. The currently inhabited city is New Paphos. It lies on the Mediterranean coast, about west of the...
.
Enkomi
The earliest known inscription from Cyprus was discovered at EnkomiEnkomi
This article is about the town and ancient settlement near Famagusta. For the suburb of Nicosia , see: Engomi.Enkomi is a village near Famagusta on Cyprus. It is the site of an important Bronze Age city, possibly the capital of Alasiya...
in 1955. It was a part of a thick clay tablet with only three lines of writing. Although some of the writing was distinctly different from any other Greek writing systems, epigraphers immediately saw a resemblance. Because the date of the fragment was found to be around 1500 BCE, considerably earlier than Linear B, linguists determined that the Cypriot Syllabary was derived from Linear A
Linear A
Linear A is one of two scripts used in ancient Crete before Mycenaean Greek Linear B; Cretan hieroglyphs is the second script. In Minoan times, before the Mycenaean Greek dominion, Linear A was the official script for the palaces and religious activities, and hieroglyphs were mainly used on seals....
and not Linear B
Linear B
Linear B is a syllabic script that was used for writing Mycenaean Greek, an early form of Greek. It pre-dated the Greek alphabet by several centuries and seems to have died out with the fall of Mycenaean civilization...
. Several other fragments of clay tablets were also found in Enkomi. They date to a later period, around the late 13th or 12th century BCE. The script found on these tablets has considerably evolved and the signs have become simple patterns of lines. Linguists named this new script as Cypro-Minoan syllabary
Cypro-Minoan syllabary
The Cypro-Minoan syllabary is an undeciphered syllabic script used on the island of Cyprus during the Late Bronze Age . The term "Cypro-Minoan" was coined by Sir Arthur Evans in 1909 based on its visual similarity to Linear A on Minoan Crete, which CM is thought to be derived from...
.
Paphos
PaphosPaphos
Paphos , sometimes referred to as Pafos, is a coastal city in the southwest of Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos and New Paphos. The currently inhabited city is New Paphos. It lies on the Mediterranean coast, about west of the...
is located in the south-west region of Cyprus. It houses the temple of Aphrodite
Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.Her Roman equivalent is the goddess .Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia....
, also known as โthe Cyprian Goddess.โ From this area, archeologists found many of the later Cypriot syllabic scripts. In fact, the region Paphos held the most significant contribution to the decipherment of Cypriot Syllabary โ the Tablet of Idalium
Idalium
Idalium was an ancient city in Cyprus, near modern Dali, Nicosia District. Idalium was one of 10 Cypriot kingdoms. The city was founded by the Achaean-Greeks and their king Chalcanor after the Trojan war . The Achaeans were traveling all night and one soldier when he first saw the sun said โidou...
. It is a large bronze tablet with long inscriptions on both sides. The Tablet of Idalium is dated to about 480-470BCE. Excluding a few features in morphology and vocabulary, the text is a complete and well understood document. It details a contract made by the king Stasicyprus and the city of Idalium with the physician Onasilus and his brothers. As payment for the physiciansโ care for wounded warriors during a Persian siege of the city, the king promises them certain plots of land. This agreement is put under the protection of the goddess Athena
Athena
In Greek mythology, Athena, Athenรช, or Athene , also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice, and skill. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is...
.
Recent Discoveries
Recent discoveries include a small vase dating back to the beginning of 5th century and a broken marble fragment in Paphian (Paphos) script. The vase is inscribed on two sides, providing two lists of personal names with Greek formations. The broken marble fragment describes a fragment of an oath. This inscription often mentions King Nicocles, the last king of Paphos and includes some important words and expressions.Future Prospects
The number of discoveries of new inscriptions has increased, but unfortunately, most of the new discoveries have been short or bear only a few signs. One example includes a small clay ball.Unicode
The Cypriot syllabary was added to the UnicodeUnicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
Standard in April, 2003 with the release of version 4.0.
The Unicode block for Cypriot is U+10800 ... U+1083F.
The Unicode block for the related Aegean Numbers is U+10100 ... U+1013F.