The Greek language in Minoan myths

Like ‘Mycenaean Greek’ of Linear B, we can use ‘Minoan Greek’ to Linear A.

The 'language interpretation of arts' and the 'language interpretation of myths and rites' methods are proposed

1992

2022

This short paper includes some observations about the Linear A word KI-RO. It shows that its meaning can be satisfactorily explained supposing that the Minoan script encodes an early form of Greek. It also shows that, starting from this hypothesis, it is possible to establish a correlation with the term that performs the same function in the Linear B (o-pe-ro) accounting tablets. This seems to corroborate the validity of the argument.

2024

Even if it is often assumed that the Nibelungen saga, the most famous saga of the Germanic mythology, goes back to the time of the Migration Period, the plot points back to a much further time, namely the Chalcolithic Age. Here you have to differentiate carefully between historical events and people from the Migration Period and mythological figures and motives that go back to a much earlier point in time.

2019

How far did Homer use the mythology of Bronze age Crete in composing the epics of the Iliad and the Odyssey. This summary gives a brief introduction to the idea of evolution in epic poetry, and in particular the compositions of Homer.

Working Papers of the Linguistics Circle, 1991

In Classical times, it was believed by many that the Hellenes had originated with ,.. Hellen. That meant that the Greeks had been around longer than anyone else, for ,..-Hellen was the firstborn son of Deucalion and Pyrrha, the parents of all man r kind... to ancient scholars the story symbolized the larger truth that the Greeks had lived in Greece since earliest times (Drews, 1988: 3) In the discussion to follow, two basic questions concerning the origins of the Greek language will be addressed: (1) who were the original speakers of the language which is now referred to as r Greek, and (2) how did their language come to dominate and/or characterize a particular region ,..-and people. An examination of some of the issues surrounding the origins and movements of the (Proto) Indo-Europeans, emphasizing the coming of the Greeks to Greece-will address the first ,.. question. Other issues to be considered will include the re-evaluation of traditional theories which , have envisioned the spread of the Indo-European (and Greek) languages as an essentially histori ,.. cally unprecedented "Volkswanderung", or mass migration-an idea which will be seen to rest on ,.. questionable scholarly presuppositions concerning the Aryan race (Drews, 1988, Eisler, 1987). , It will be argued that a more plausible explanation for the development of the Indo-European , languages from a (hypothetical) proto-language (i.e. Proto-Indo-European, or PIE) may be derived , from processes both attested to in records of the period, and having analogues throughout history. , These processes will be seen to include small scale immigration and/or military takeovers. The lin r guistic and archaeological evidence presented will demonstrate that the coming of the Greeks to ,..-Greece may best be characterized in terms of military conquest (or "takeover" in the terms of ,.. Drews, 1988) by a relatively small number of warrior kings, who by virtue of their superiority in chariot warfare were able to impose their language and/or culture on the pre-Greek Minoan civili ,..

University of California Press, 1972 [1932]

SECTION III. THE DOMINION OF PYLOS 79 Messenia etc. in the Mycenaan age 79. Nestor's Pylos 82. The Seven Cities 84. The Minyans 86. The Pylian epos 87. SECTION IV. THE REST OF THE PELOPONNESE.. 90 Mycenaean remains; myths 90. Myths of Olympia 91. SECTION V. THE IONIAN ISLANDS 9$ Ithaca 95. Odysseus and the Cephallenians 96. Cycle of Odysseus 99. SECTION VI. SOUTHERN BOEOTIA 100 Mycenaean remains 100. Thebes 101. Oedipus 102. The War of the Seven 106. Adrastus 113. Amphiaraus 115. Tydeus 116. Capaneus 117. The cycle of the Seven 118. The Epigonoi 120. Cadmus 120. Founda-rion myths 122. Amphion and Zethus 124. Cadmus the Phoenician 126. SECTION VII. NORTHERN BOEOTIA AND Orchomenus 127. Gla 128. The Minyans and Orchomenus 129. Athamas 133. The Argonauts 136. Mycenaean remains around Iolcus 137. The Minyans in Thessaly 139. Tyro 141. The Minyans and Pylos 142. The league of Calaureia 144. AuÚs 14S. The Minyans as traders 146. Delphi 148. Trade 148. Other tribes ISO. Decline of Minyan power 151. Colonization of Ionia 153. Achilles 156. The Centaurs 158.

Greek-spoken Pre- and Protopalatial Crete