The Phaistos Disk II

8/9/2019 The Phaistos Disk II

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-phaistos-disk-ii 1/6

The University of Chicago Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Near

Eastern Studies.

http://www.jstor.org

The Phaistos Disk IIAuthor(s): Benjamin SchwartzSource: Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 18, No. 3 (Jul., 1959), pp. 222-226Published by: The University of Chicago PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/543423Accessed: 17-03-2015 10:37 UTC

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available athttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of contentin a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

This content downloaded from 62.204.192.85 on Tue, 17 Mar 2015 10:37:42 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

http://www.jstor.org/

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ucpress

http://www.jstor.org/stable/543423

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp





http://www.jstor.org/stable/543423

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ucpress

http://www.jstor.org/



THE PHAISTOS DISK II

BENJAMIN SCHWARTZ

HE

initial

assumption'

that

the disk

is

Cretan,

a view maintained

by

its

discoverer,

Pernier,

is

materially

strengthened

by

a re-examination

of

the

two

signs,

the

crested

warrior

and

the

bare-breasted

woman,

upon

which

Evans2

pegged

his belief that the disk

is

non-

Cretan.

Curiously

enough,

Evans

himself

cited

two

instances3

of

Cretan

hiero-

glyphic inscriptions in which the char-

acter

appears,

which he described as

"human

bust

surmounted

by

a

branch"

and

"bust

with the

spray

above";

this

can

only

be

our

crested

warrior.

As for

the

bare-breasted

woman,

she is

in

profile,

and

close

examination

of

the

photographs

re-

veals

that

her

waist is

actually

pinched4

in

the best Cretan

tradition.

At

any

rate,

the

question

of

Cretan

provenience

of

the disk is now

largely

academic,

since

connected

portions

of

text

yield

not

only

a

language

similar

to

that of the

inventory

texts

of

Linear

B,

but also

Cretan

place

names familiar

from

at least the

Ventris-

Chadwick

lists.

Analysis

of

the

system

of

writing

rests

upon

one

general premise

and

three

pro-

cedural

processes.

The

premise

is

that

Cretan

syllabic

writing

forms a

con-

tinuum from pictograph to linear; exten-

sion of

the

premise

to

the

entire

Cypro-

Minoan

area

is

highly

probable.

The

pro-

cesses,

frequently

concurrent,

are:

(1)

Direct

continuation,

recognizable

as

such,

from

pictograph

to

linear; (2)

comparison

of

frequencies

and,

more

significantly,

the

frequency

curves;

and

(3)

context;

this

latter

not

only

to

test the

validity

of

identifications

of

signs

but also

to recover

additional values. Since the

text

is

com-

paratively brief,

and

the

system

of

writing

still

unique,

it

is

conceded

that

exclusive

reliance

upon steps

(1)

or

(2)

above would

be

suspect.

When,

however,

(1)

is

rein-

forced by (2) and either or both are con-

firmed

by (3),

then

and

then

only

can

a

solution

be claimed.

These

processes,

used

to

establish

the

values

of

some

twenty

odd

signs

in

the

preliminary

article,

can

be

further

ex-

ploited

to

equate

several additional

signs

with

their

linear

congeners (see

Fig.

1).

PD

3,4a

already

identified

as

ma,

is

now

confirmed.

PD

17,

the

bare-breasted

woman, is not only directly continued in

linear

de5

(compare

especially

the

"wo-

man"

ideogram

in

the

Linear B

texts,

series

Aa),

but

also

compares

favorably

in

its

curve

and

distribution with

the

linear

sign.

PD

31

may

well be

continued

in

linear

se,

while

its curve

vis-t-vis

the

linear

is

quite

convincing.

PD

26

is con-

tinued

directly

in

linear re.

Of

the

45

PD

signs

nine are

hapax

legomena (Nos. 12, 15, 27, 34, 37, 40, 41,

42,

45).

No.

40

has

previously

been

identi-

fied. No.

45,

the

ram's

head, (inadvertent-

ly

omitted

in

the

preliminary

JNES

article)

is

continued

directly

in

linear

mu.6

No. 12

represents

a

human

figure

with

1

JNES, XVIII,

105.

2

Scripta

Minoa,

I,

25.

3

SM,

I,

171

and

PIs.

101a,

102a.

4

So

Sarah

E.

Yelton,

Lincoln

University,

the

artist

responsible

for

drawing

the

signs

and

preparing

the

figures for this article.

4a

For the

PD numbers

cf.

JNES,

XVIII,

106,

Fig.

1.

5

Called

to

my

attention

by

Sara

Immerwahr,

University

of

North

Carolina.

6

See

e.g., Ventris-Chadwick,

p.

33,

Fig. 6,

L

27

=

B 23.

222







THE

PHAISTOS

ISK

II

223

arms

bound

behind the

back;

this

seems

directly

continued

in

linear

wo

:,

and

the

resultant

reading

in

Face

A

5

wo-tu-e

is

readily equated

with a dual

or

neuter

plural

<

*Fop6F-.7

No. 15

(bull-roarer?)

oc-

curs

in

Face

A

7

in

a

place

name.

No.

27

(the bow)

is

directly

continued

in

linear

me.8

PD

34

may

be

continued

in

linear

pe.9

PD

37

occurs

in

Face

B

3,

where

the

reading

is

a-se-ri-37(plus thorn);

the

paral-

Phaistos

Linear

B. Disk I

M

F

T

I

M

F

T

I

M

F

T

200 8

175 7

-

150

6

125

5

-

100

4

75

3

-

50 2

-

1

25

-1

V

0

Linear

B........

ma

54+119+13=

186

de

43+28+4

=

75

se

7+49+12=68

Phaistos

No. 3

2+3+1=6

No.

17

2+2+0=4

No.

31

0+4+0=4

Disk

FIG.

1

lel construction in

Face

A

6,

7

against

Face B

2,

3

guarantees

this

group

as a

place name;

the

same

place

name,

with

variant initial

vowel,

is

seen

in

Face

B

22

ka-si-ri-d

(=

k3,

"and"

with

vocalic

initial,

precisely

as

in

later

Greek )

and

Face

B

29

e-si-ri-d;

the

value

d

is

therefore

proposed

for PD

37.

PD

41

(single-edged axe)

and

PD 42

(scraper?)

still

remain

unidentified.

A

phonological

digression

must

be

made

at this

point.

The

preliminary

article avoided

homophone

assignments

to Nos.

13 and

28,

reading

these

signs

as

(y)e

and

(y)a

respectively.

While

the

y

is

certainly

inherent as a

glide

after e and

i,

it is

clear

that,

even

in

the

comparatively

brief

syllabary

of the Phaistos

Disk,

homo-

phones

do

occur.'"

These will

be

recorded

according

to the

Thureau-Dangin

scheme,

i.e.,

an

acute

accent

for

the

second

oc-

currence,

a

grave

accent for the

third,

and

subscript

numbers

4

etc.,

for

subsequent

occurrences. For

the

vocalism,

as

in

other

syllabaries

including

the

Mycenaen,

e

syllables

can

be read as i and

vice

versa;

the same

is

true of

u

and o

syllables.

Finally,

no

orthographic

distinction

is

made between r

and

1,

and

between

voiced

and

voiceless

stops;

in

common with

the

Cf.

Boisacq,

Dict.

6tymologique

de la

langue

grec-

que,

s.v.

bpOeb.

8

Cf.

the

variants

of

Bennett

No. 34

in

Ventris-

Chadwick,

p.

41,

Fig.

9.

C f.

the

variants

of

Bennett

No.

72,

loc. cit.

10

Julius

Lewy,

at the 1959

annual

meeting

of

the

American Oriental Society at Ann Arbor, noted e.g.,

that

homophones

occur in

the

relatively

brief late

Assyrian

syllabary.







224

JOURNAL OF

NEAR EASTERN

STUDIES

Mycenean syllabary, however,

PD 2

and

17

will

continue to

be

recorded

as

qe

and

de

respectively.

Twelve

signs appear

on

only

one

face

of the

disk:

seven

on

Face

A

(Nos.

18, 21,

22,

29, 30,

32,

35);

and five

on

Face

B

(Nos.

36,

38, 39, 43,

44).

Nos.

18,

22,

29,

43

have

previously

been identified. It

has

already

been

noted" that PD 36 must

be

a

connective,

cf.

Face

B

18

against

Face

B

21 and

26,

This

interpretation

fits all

the

occurrences

of

the

sign:

Face

B 1

a-qe

36

tu-to,

"sacred

precincts

(are)

these

also";

Face

B 4

36

d-ka,

"and

Aka";12

Face

B

9

36

se-42-d,

"and Se-42-a"

(an-

other

place

name

in

a

sequence); and,

as

cited,

Face

B 21

and

26. The

value

ke

will

therefore

be

assigned

to

No.

36.

PD

44

occurs

twice,

in

Face

B

17

and

27;

the

sign

is

almost

certainly

continued

in

linear

ti.13

The

readings

resulting

from

this

value,

a-ti-ka-ro

(=Gk.

v7rLtKpb0)

nd

ti-mu-re-yo-to

(cf.

Gk.

rEwpkpw)

are

de-

cisive.

PD 21 occurs in Face A 10 in a

place

name;

in

the

following group

this

sign

appears

in

a

collocation

descriptive

of

that

place

ro-21

tu-to,

"

(is)

this";

Face

A

12

and 13 exhibit

the

same

procedure,

with

Face

A

13

reading

re-ma;

on

the

presumption

that the

descriptive

epithet

is

similar,

the value me is

assigned

to

PD

21.

PD

30

(hoof?)

occurs

twice

in

Face

A

15

and

21,

both

times

in

a word

descriptive

of

the same

place

name.

PD

32

(loom?)

occurs twice

in

Face

A

17

and

29,

both

times

in

the

same

place

name.

Both

signs

remain

unidentified.

PD

38

(pitcher)

seems

to

be

schematized

in

linear

ki.14

PD

39

is

probably

continued

directly

in

linear

ya,

note

especially

the variant

.s15

PD 25

(rosette) appears

in Face B

12

ka-d-25-ro

as a

descriptive epithet

of

a

place; groups

10

through

12

thus

read

to

wa-tu-te

a-we-ni-tu,

"and this town

Awenitu

(is)

-."

Gk.

KaOap6s

eaps

to

the

eye

as a

peculiarly

appropriate

de-

scription

of

a

sacred

place,

and the

value

ta will

accordingly

be

entered

for

PD

25.

Contrasted

with the

town

Awenitu

is

the

town Ewaki

(is

the

repetition

of

wa

in

Face

B

13 a scribal

error?).

Face

B

10

through

14 can

now be

translated:

"And

this

town

Awenitu

(is)

pure,

but Ewaki

(is)

-."

The

contrast

of

"pure"

and

"impure"

readily suggests

itself from Gk.

ptatvo,

"be

defiled,

polluted,"

and

the

value

mi will

accordingly

be

assigned

to

PD

39.

PD

23

(pigeon

or

dove)

occurs

in

Face

A

12

a-qe

23-ri-ta,

a

place

name.

An

at-

tractive

possibility

(indeed,

too

attractive

to

be

resisted )

is

pi-ri-ta

(Philista ),16

particularly

since the

p

line in the

grid

is

almost

blank.

Only

PD

35

(man's

head

with

figure

eight

on

the

cheek)

remains

in

Face

A

28

and

31,

both

reading

ki-35-ta.

As attributes of

sacred

places

Mycenean

ki-ri-ta,

"choice,"

suggests

itself,

and the

value

ri

is

assigned.

The

thorn

occurs

16

times

(Face

A

1,

3, 15,

16, 19, 21, 22, 27;

Face

B

3,

6,

18,

20,

21, 24, 26,

30).

Since

it is

restricted to

final position, it cannot be

primarily

phonetic.

In

Face

A

1

and

3

it

is

clearly

in

the

nominative

case

form,

but

whether

this

indicates

a

generalized

final

s

or

n

is

open

to

question.

In

Face

A

16,

19,

and

22,

however,

there is

no

question

of

the

final,

since

the

relative

pronoun

is also in

the

nominative.

The

value

of

the thorn

11

JNES,

XVIII,

111.

12

This

place

name

also

occurs

in

the

Ventris-

Chadwick

lists.

13

Cf. the variants of Bennett No. 37, loc. cit,

4

So Sara

Immerwahr,

in

conversation.

15

Cf.

esp.

the

Linear

A

variants

in

Carratelli,

Inscr.

Preelleniche,

inter

alia,

HT

85b,

Fig. 156,

also

the

B

variants

of

Bennett

No.

57,

loc.

cit.

16

Occurs

in the

Ventris-Chadwick

index

of

personal

names.







A

E_

1

0

U

LJ

B

sY

,

A

R

_

_

_ _ _

i~

_

4._

....B

Q

Thorn

= (5)

ni~en

30.

3..

234

FiG.

2







226

JOURNAL

OF

NEAR EASTERN

STUDIES

would

therefore

seem

to be a

generalized

final s

and

will

be indicated

as

(s).17

It

has

been

pointed

out'8 that

a-qe

oc-

curs

13

times,

and

the

question

has been

raised

whether

this distorts

the

frequency

analysis

of

PD

1,

the crested

warrior,

the

original

entry

into

the

disk. But even

if

the

13 occurrences are counted as a

single

occurrence,

we should

be

left with

a total

of

eight,

still

a

high-frequency

sign;

more

significantly,

however,

the

frequency

curve

would still

remain

absolutely

un-

changed.

In

any event,

the

sign

is

palpably

continued in linear

form,

the

original

identification

is

reinforced

by

the

frequency

analysis,

and confirmed

by

context.

The

inscription

now reads:

FACE

A

a-qe

ma-ro-yo(s)

wa-tu-qe

e-ra-to(s)

e-e-si

a-qe

wo-tu-6

ka-ra-to-qe

ka-15-no

a-qe

de-yo

]1a"

ku-we-tei9

-qe

me-sa-te

o-me20

u-to21

a-qe

pi-ri-ta

re-mY•2

-ka-6-ki-ri-yo

0-ro

s)

a-qe

ku-we(s)

a-qe

ka-ka-te-se-3223

-ri

a-qe

ku-we(s)

a-ka-&-ki-ri-yo0-ro(s)

a-qe

ku-we(s)

a-qe

ka-

ya-pi-yo-ka24

e-yo-pe-sa25u-we-qe a-qe

ma-ro26

i-sa-te(s)27

i-ri-ta

a-qe

ka-ka-te-se-32

ma-

ro28 i-rf-ta

FACEB

a-qe

ke tu-to ka-ra-to-te

a-se-ri-A(s)

ke 6-ka

6-wa-ki-qe

mi-ri-yo-ti(s)

ma-ro-re-4

41-to-ma-ro-yo

e se-42-6

to

wa-tu-te a-we-ni-tu

ka-6-ta-roe-wa-wa-kf-te

mi-ya-yo

e-4-ro29

e-

te30

pi-re-6

a-ti-ka-ro

-ni-to-no(s)

-no-ma31

e-ra-to(s)

ke

e-ni-to-no(s)

ka-si-ri-6

o-yo-te32

o-ra-

to(s)

to-ri-yo-wa33

e

e-ni-to-no(s)

i-mu-re-yo-to34

-de35

e-ri-to36

e-si-ri-4 a-to(s)37

FACE

A

The

precinct

Maroyo

and

the

town

Erato

are true

precincts.

Potent is

Ka-

no,

a

precinct

of

Zeus

[ ].

And which

(is)

the

precinct

Mesate,

for

pestilence

(is)

this. The

precinct

Philista

(is)

for

famine.The

precinct

Akaakiriyo

is)

-- . The

precinct

which

(is)

the

precinct

Khalkathese-

(is)

for

Hera. The

precinct

which

(is)

Akaakiriyo

(is)

. The

precinct

which

(is)

the

district

of

Kayapi

(is)

a divine

sight.

The

precinct

which

(is)

Maro

(is)

less

(?)

choice,

(while)

the

precinct

Khalkathese-

(is)

more

choice.

FACEB Precincts

(are)

these also.

Potent

(are)

Aseria

and

Aka

and

Ewaki, Miriyota,

Ma-

roruwe,

tomaroyo,

and

Se----a.

And

this town Awenitu

s

pure,

but

Ewaki s

polluted.

The

temple

situated

opposite

Pire

(Philia?)

s Enitono

by

name.

(There

are

[three]

emples)

Erato,

and

Enitono,

and

Esiria. And this

very

Erato

(is for)

bull

rites;

and Enitono

(is

for) appease-

ment;

and

for

freedom

rom

care,

the third

(is)

gay

Esiria.

LINCOLN

UNIVERSITY,

PENNSYLVANIA

17

At the

AOS

meeting

(cf.

n.

10

above)

resem-

blance

to

the Hittite

thorn

and

the

devanagari

virama

was

noted;

but

these

can occur in

any

position.

18

AOS

meeting,

cf.

n.

10

above.

18a

For

the names of

Zeus and

Hera,

cf.

Ventris-

Chadwick,

pp.

125-26.

19

The

relative

pronoun plus

enclitic.

20

=

dat.

of

Gk.

Xow6s.

21

The

generalized

demonstrative,

cf.

Gk.

ovros,

22

=

dat. of

Gk.

X&O6s.

23

kaka

=

XaXKa

in

Myc.

compound

words and

place

names.

24

Note

Myc.

oka,

"district."

25

Represents

some

such form as

*O"0e•.

2e

Another

place

name

in

the

Ventris-Chadwick

lists.

27

Doubtful;

the

contrast with the

following

col-

location

is

indicated in the

translation.

28

=

Gk.

iaXXov.

29

=

Gk.

iEp6p.

30Passive aorist participle, cf. Gk.

rl8tlLu.

31

Gk.

6,vosa,

with

precisely

the same

syntax,

accus.

of

specification.

32

Generalized

like

tuto,

cf.

Gk.

oTos.

3

Neut.

plural;

cf.

Gk.

ravp&LK6.

34

Present

participle.

35

Gk.

Ael7.

36

Gk.

rolros.

37

Gk.

haaoros,

uperlative

of

ha&os,

"easy."





The Phaistos Disk II

Documents

Transcript of The Phaistos Disk II