#linear b tablets

[litteratura-historia]

Mycenaean Greek:

a-ki-re-we (𐀀𐀑𐀩𐀸): anthroponym (Dat. masc.): cf. Ancient Greek Ἀχιλλεύς, έως (ὁ) : 'Achilles'

cf. a-ki-re-u (𐀀𐀑𐀩𐀄)

Example:

PY Fn(1) 79

.1 a3-pu-ke-ne-ja HORD T 6 V 4 OLIV 1[

.2 a-ki-re-we HORD T 5

.3 du-ni-jo , ti-ni-ja-ta HORD V 5

.4 to-sa-no HORD T 6 V 4 OLIV 1

.5 ne-e-ra-wo HORD T 6 V 4 OLIV 1

.6 a-e-se-wa HORD T 6 V 4 OLIV 1

.7 ka-ra-so-mo HORD V 5 ⟦OLIV ⟧

.8 wa-di-re-we HORD T 2 V 3 OLIV T 7

.9 pe-qe-we HORD T 1 V 4

.10 ze-u-ke-u-si , i-po-po-qo-i-qe HORD 1 T 7 V 3

.11 te-ra-wo-ne HORD V 5

.12 to-wa-no-re HORD T 6 V 4 OLIV 1 [

.13 e-to-wo-ko-i HORD T 5 V 1

.14 a-ki-to HORD T 2 V 3 OLIV 1

.15 a3-ki-a2-ri-jo HORD T 1 V 4

[deathlessathanasia]

APPROACHES TO ARTEMIS IN BRONZE AGE GREECE

[litteratura-historia]

Mycenaean Greek:

a-mi-ni-so (𐀀𐀖𐀛𐀰): toponym (Nom.; Loc.)

cf. Ancient Greek Ἀμνισός, οῦ (ὁ): 'Amnisos' (the port of Knossos), pre-Hellenic Cretan toponym

Examples:

KN Gg(3) 705

.1 ] a-mi-ni-so , / e-re-u-ti-ja ME±RI *209VAS 1

.2 ]pa-si-te-o-i ME±RI *209VAS 1

.3 ]o-ne ME±RI *209VAS 1

KN Ai(3) 1036

.1 ]*56-so-jo , / a-mi-ni-so , // do-e-ra

.2 ] vac.

KN Ak(1) 638

.A 'e-ne-re-ja['

.B ko-wa[

.C a-mi-ni-so / ko-wo[

KN As(3) 1520

fragmentum A

.0 sup. mut.

.1 ]ṇọ ,

.2 ]1 a-ta-no 1

.3 ]wi-jo 1 a-te-mo 1

.4 ki-ma-ta 1 ri-zo 1

.5 ke-sa-do-ro 1 di-zo 1

.6 da-ko-so 1 si-za 1

.7 to-so VIR 10

.8 vac.

.9 ] e-u-na-wo 1

.10 ] sa-zo 1

.11 ] o-*22-di 1

.12 ] pi-ma-na-ro 1

.13 ] a-*56-no 1

.14 inf. mut.

fragmentum B

sup. mut.

.1 ạ-ṃị-ṇị-si-ja[

.2 si-ja-ma 1 [

.3 pi-ro-ị[

.4 vac. [

inf. mut.

v.→

maior pars sine regulis

fragmentum A

.1 a-mi-ni-so [

.2 a-ma-no 1 se[

.3 inf. mut.

fragmentum B

.1 vac. [

.2 vac. [

.3 vac. [

KN Fp(1) 1

.1 de-u-ki-jo-jo 'me-no'

.2 di-ka-ta-jo / di-we OLE S 1

.3 da-da-re-jo-de OLE S 2

.4 pa-de OLE S 1

.5 pa-si-te-o-i OLE 1

.6 qe-ra-si-ja OLE S 1[

.7 a-mi-ni-so , / pa-si-te-o-i S 1[

.8 e-ri-nu , OLE V 3

.9 *47-da-de OLE V 1

.10 a-ne-mo , / i-je-re-ja V 4

.11 vac.

.12 to-so OLE 3 S 2 V 2

KN Lc(1) 550

.A 'pa-we-a['

.B a-mi-ni-so / ko-u-re-j̣ạ[

KN M-(-) 719

.1 a-mi-ni-so ke-re-na , re-ne , [

.2 e-ne-si-da-o-ne , su-ja-to , *146 1[

KN V-(1) 114

.a a-mi-ni-so

.b pa-ze , / pe-ḍạ , wa-tu ,

v.→

.1 pa-ze , a-mi-ni-so , / pe-da , wa-tu

.2 vac.

PY An(5) 233

.1 ]ẓạ-te-ọ VIR 2⌞4[ ]ṾỊṚ 28̣ [

.2 VIR ]8 a-mi-ni-so [ ]-ne VIR 6[

.3 ] VIR 14 ḳọ-tu-we[ ]-so-na-pe VIR ⌞4[

.4 ]se-wo-te VIR 2 to-[ ] VIR 165̣[

[deathlessathanasia]

Linear B Sources, in Anthology of Classical Myth: Primary Sources in Translation

[deathlessathanasia]

“The sanctuary of Eileithyia at Amnissos, known from numerous later literary sources, is the sole case of a sanctuary that is considered to have been identified in excavation and is attested by the Knossian tablets. The frequent reference to Amnissos in the administrative records of the early LM IIIA:2 period is perhaps due to the particular importance of the coastal site as one of the two harbors of Knossos (Davaras and Masson 1983, 383–384; Schäfer 1991, 111–112). The first line of the leaf-shaped tablet Gg(3) 705 from the West Wing of the palace of Knossos records the dispatch of an amphora of honey to Amnissos for e-re-u-ti-ja. This name is transcribed into alphabetic Greek as Eleuthia/Ἐλευθίᾱ, and she has been identified as the goddess of childbirth Eileithyia, known from Homer and many other ancient authors and scholars (Ventris and Chadwick 1956, 310; Aura Jorro and Adrados 1985, 244). . . . Concerning the etymology of the early type Eleuthia, various interpretations have been proposed, the most probable reducing it to an Indo-European root meaning “free of weight,” and possibly referring to the goddess’s role as midwife (Ruipérez and Melena 1996, 187). According to another viewpoint, it derives from the root eleuth- of the verbal type eleusomai (to come, to arrive), while arguments that the name is of pre-Hellenic provenance have also been formulated (Frisk 1960, 456; Schäfer, ed., 1992, 84).

The reference in Homer’s Odyssey (19.188–190) to the cave where the goddess was worshipped at Amnissos echoes the fame of the cult practiced there at least during the Late Minoan period. The initial association of the cave found at Amnissos by I. Hazzidakis in 1885 with Eileithyia was based on this particular passage in Homer (Marinatos 1929, 95). The excavations conducted subsequently by S. Marinatos between 1929 and 1938 confirmed the use of the cave from Neolithic into Late Minoan times, as well as during the Geometric, Hellenistic, and early Roman Imperial periods (Marinatos 1929, 97, 99, 103; 1930; Betancourt and Marinatos 2000). During historical times “mogostokos” Eileithyia, that is, the goddess who brought the pangs of childbirth, was worshipped all over Greece and was identified by various variations of her name in the local dialects: Eleuthyia in Crete, Eleuthia or Eleusia in Laconia, and Eleuthie in Ionia (Frisk 1960, 455). She was particularly popular, however, in many cities of Crete, including Lato, Inatos, Aptera, and Amnissos (Nosch 2009, 27). Although it has been maintained that during the first millennium b.c. a fusing of Eileithyia with Artemis took place (Antoniou 1980, 228–229), it is noteworthy that both deities are recorded independently in the Linear B tablets from Knossos and from Pylos, respectively. The question of the continuity of worship in the Amnissos Cave remains open (Schäfer, ed., 1992, 84); nevertheless, the reference in the Knossian documents to the sanctuary of the goddess advocates the origin of the late cult of Eileithyia from an earlier Minoan goddess of childbirth (Nilsson 1949, 30; Willetts 1962, 168–172).

The brief text incised on the Knossian tablet Gg(3) 705 by Scribe 140, from the Chamber of the Jewel Fresco (Olivier 1967, 85) provides a pretext for certain hypotheses relating to the nature of worship at the site. Honey played an important role in cult, as indicated by the large number of Knossian tablets recording this item. The quantity of honey offered is stated in tablet Gg(3) 705 by the logogram *209VAS, denoting a fixed unit, the precise capacity of which is not known (Ruipérez and Melena 1996, 187). Nonetheless, the attribution of a corresponding quantity “to all the gods” (pa-si te-o-i), in the second line of the tablet, allows us to assume that Eileithyia was the principal deity of Amnissos. Recorded in the third line also is an amphora of honey, which is offered to another deity, whose name is only preserved fragmentarily. Proposed is the restoration of the dative case e-ne-si-da-jo-ne of the possible name of a male divinity, Ένεσιδάhων (Enesidahon; Aura Jorro and Adrados 1985, 219), who is associated with Amnissos in tablet KN M 719 by the same scribe, from the same space. According to some researchers, this is an epithet qualifying Poseidon (Jorro and Adrados 1985, 219). . . .

Tablets KN Od(2) 714.b and Od(2) 715.a, by the specialist Scribe 103 from the Chamber of the Jewel Fresco (Olivier 1967, 44–50, 131–132), concern one other aspect of the economics of worship. Eileithyia receives from the Knossian bureaucrats one intact unit of wool, which is equivalent to 30 kilos of the product, while in tablet Od(2) 716.a she perhaps receives an additional four units of wool. The destination of these offerings is not stated, but it is perhaps related to craft-industrial activity, since the names a-*65-na and ta-wa-ko-to, recorded in these registers, are of persons in a weaving workshop (Enegren 2008, 98, 173). By analogy with the sources of historical times (Soph. OC, 461–493) regarding the dedication of offerings to the gods, it has been proposed that the wool was perhaps intended for the adornment with garlands of the amphorae of honey (Weilhartner 2005, 45).7.”

 - Georgia Flouda, The Goddess Eileithyia in the Knossian Linear B Tablets

[deathlessathanasia]

“The clearest evidence about the Mycenaean pantheon lies in the Linear B texts. As discussed above, only a handful of the deity names in these texts appear both on the mainland and on Crete. We might consider those deities mentioned only on Crete as being Minoan. For those deities mentioned on the mainland, we have at least two possibilities. On the one hand, they may be Greek, meaning that they may derive from the Indo-European civilization that gave rise to the Greek language. Some divine names do have Indo-European etymologies and cognates. On the other hand, they may be pre-Greek, belonging to the indigenous population of Greece before the Greek-speakers arrived. These deities may then have been adopted into the Greek pantheon. Some gods do have a blatantly Indo-European heritage, such as Zeus and Poseidon. Others are more difficult to determine. The deities attested to among the Mycenaeans are Zeus, Poseidon, Ares, Dionê, Marineus, Hera, Artemis, Hermes, Dionysos, Posideia, Trisheros, Manasa, Pereswa, Dopota, Dipsioi, Drimios, Iphemedeia, the Mother of Animals, the Queens, the King, the Lady of Upojo, the Lady of Asiwia, the Lady of Iqeja, the Lady of Newopeo, and the Lady of Grain, as well as simply Lady (Potnia) (Hägg 1997, 165).

Much can be learned from these names not only about Mycenaean religion, but also about continuity of Greek religion into the historical periods. Many deities remained in power throughout Greek history, such as Hera and Hermes, showing that the Greek Dark Age was hardly the utter devastation and re-creation of Greece that scholars originally believed it was. Other names in the corpus either ceased to exist after the Bronze Age or morphed into nondivine titles, such as Dipsioi, “the Thirsty,” possibly referring to the dead. The most vexing of these is the name/title Potnia. By Homer’s day, the term meant “revered female,” referring either to a mortal or to a goddess. Sometimes the title was specific, as with the Potnia Therôn—Mistress of Animals—used in reference to Artemis. The question of who the Bronze Age Potnia was/were, however, is problematic.

The name/title Potnia appears twelve times at Pylos, five or six times at Knossos, three times at Mycenae, and once at Thebes (Boëlle 2001, 403). Thus, it is common to both Greece and Crete. In some instances, the word appears alone; in others, it is modified by a concept or place-name. At Knossos we have the a-ta-na-po-ti-ni-ja, which translates to something like Lady of Athens, and the da-pu-ri-to-jo-po-ti-ni-ja, or Lady of the Labyrinth. At Pylos we have a po-ti-ni-ja-a-si-wi-ja, Lady of Asia; po-ti-ni-ja-i-qe-ja, Lady of Horses; and at Mycenae there is the si-to-po-ti-ni-ja, or Grain Lady (Trümpy 2001, 411–413). The question is: Is Potnia one goddess or many? Is Potnia similar to the Christian “Our Lady,” in the way that Our Lady of Lourdes is also Our Lady of Fatima? Or is Potnia a title applicable to several separate goddesses at once? In both linguistics and occurrence, Potnia is related to the god Poseidon. The Pot- portion of her title may derive from the Indo-European word for possession or ownership, just as Poseidon means “Lord of the Land.” Her strongest cult is attested to at Pylos, where Poseidon was clearly the chief god, and she even has the title of i-qe-ja, relating her to horses, just like Poseidon. One could argue that Potnia was the consort of Poseidon. Furthermore, we know from later Greek mythology that Poseidon once mated with Demeter, both of them in the form of horses. If we add this to our study, and combine it with the fact that at Mycenae there was mentioned a Grain Lady (possibly an epithet for Demeter), we might say that Potnia was one universally acknowledged Aegean goddess, understood to be a grain/horse deity, consort of Poseidon, and later manifesting as Demeter. But then how do we understand titles like a-ta-na-po-ti-ni-ja, “Lady of Athens,” which is certainly a title of an Athena-like goddess? How could an apparently Indo-European word like Potnia be identified with a blatantly Minoan term like labyrinth? Why does the name/title Potnia appear more than once on some Linear B tablets? Should we understand that Potnia, as one goddess, received different dedications in her different guises, or that the different Potnias referred to distinct goddesses? In the end, it seems probable that Potnia was a title given to various goddesses in the Aegean pantheons. In some instances, such as at Pylos, one goddess was so prominent that she could be referred to merely by the title Lady. At other times, adjectives were used to differentiate among goddesses.”

 - The Ancient Greeks: New Perspectives, by Stephanie Lynn Budin

[deathlessathanasia]

“Linear B tablets come from Mycenae, Thebes, and Pylos on the mainland, and from Knossos and Khania on Crete. A handful of divine names appear on tablets from both the mainland and the island: Zeus, Poseidon, Ares, Dionysos, Drimios, Diwiya, Hermes, and Marineus (thought to be some manner of wool god) (Hägg 1997, 165). Otherwise, the deities mentioned were specific to either the Minoans or the Mycenaeans, and it is here where we derive some information about Minoan religion from the tablets. Names specific to the Knossos archive are Atana Potnija, Potnija Dapurito, Pade, Qerasija, Pipituna, Eluthia, Erinus, Enualios, and Paiawon (Hägg 1997, 165). In spite of the odd spellings, many of these names are familiar to the student of Greek mythology. Eluthia is probably Eileithyia, goddess of childbirth. According to the Linear B tablets, this goddess had a cave sanctuary near Amnissos, where she received, among other things, dedications of honey. Erinus may refer to the Erinyes, also known as the Furies, those dread goddesses who punished crimes against blood kin. Enualios is a later epithet for Ares, just as Paiawon becomes an epithet for Apollo in his healing aspect; both may have been Minoan deities absorbed/replaced by Greek gods. Potnija Dapurito is the Mistress of the Labyrinth, probably a goddess associated especially with Knossos. Atana Potnija is almost certainly Athena, the Mistress of Athens. Finding this goddess in Knossos but not on the mainland is particularly surprising, suggesting that there was probably more overlap between the deities of the island and the mainland than the tablets reveal.”

 - The Ancient Greeks: New Perspectives, by Stephanie Lynn Budin