The Decipherment of Minoan Linear A, Volume I, Part II: Hurrians and Hurrian in Minoan Crete: Text and Summary: 2 - Softcover

Van Soesbergen, Peter George

Softcover

ISBN 10: 9083275418 ISBN 13: 9789083275413

Publisher: Peter G. Van Soesbergen, 2022

Synopsis

Volume I, Part II, comprises (together with Part I) the main text in the series The Decipherment of Minoan Linear A. Volume I, Parts III-VI, are the indices to the main text and glossaries at the same time.

   The author shows that the Holy Trinity of the main Hurrian Gods, Tešub, Ḫebat and their son Šarruma is addressed in a sophisticated, poetic way, usually at the beginning of the so-called libation formulas, by means of descriptive epithets. They appear in a fixed order of importance. First Tešub's Linear A epithet a-ta-i-jo-wa-ja 'Our Father', absolutive/vocative attai=(j)=o/uwwa=(j)=aš, consisting of attai 'father' + transitional semi-vowel -j- between 2 vowels + enclitic possessive pronoun 1^st person sing. -o/uwwa- (my) + transitional semi-vowel -j- between 2 vowels + the pluralizer -aš (our). Compare cuneiform Hurrian ^dTe-e-eš-šu-pa-aš ........ eb-ri-iw-wa-šu-uš at-ta-iw-wa-šu-uš (3 ergatives), 'Tešub .... Our Lord, Our Father' in the Tušratta letter (Mit. IV 118).

   Then the epithet of Tešub's wife Ḫebat, a-di-<da->ki-ti/e(-te), analysis ašdi-dagitti, 'The woman is a beauty / beautiful' > 'The (most) beautiful woman', appears (in haplography) in the libation formulas. The form is attested as a-di-da-ki-ti (KN Zc 6.2) in scriptio plena on the interior of a Middle-Minoan III cup at Knossos (ašdi = 'woman'). In Linear A and B -s- preceding an occlusive is not expressed in consonant clusters.

    Then the epithet of the young god Šarrum(m)a appears as a-sa-sa-ra-me, analysis arša-šarr=a=me, 'The young man/boy, he is like the King of Gods'. The Linear A variant ja-sa-sa-ra-ma|-na (KN Za 10a-b) can be analysed as y(a)/y(e)-arša-šarr=a=mann=a, 'as well as "The young boy (arša 'young man') is (mann=(i)a) like the King of Gods" ', (šarr=a is the essive of Hurrian šarr=i 'King of Gods').

    The contents of the prayers in the 'libation formulas' appear to be about the same subject as the meaning of many personal names, in which the birth of healthy children, sometimes after the death of an older child, is always in the minds of the parents.

    Linear A u-na-ka-na-si, Hurrian un=a-ḫ(ḫ)an=a=šši 'come childhood, childbirth' is an essential term occurring in almost every formula. It may not be accidental that the name Arkhanes is attested as a]-ka-ne (AK 3a.1+fr. AK.1b.1, join P.G. van Soesbergen) on a Linear A tablet found in the Minoan Villa of Epano Arkhanes. Even more significant is the fact that the toponym can be analysed as Hurrian ar=ḫane/i 'Give a child' and that the Villa of Arkhanes may well have been the starting point for supplicants and priests to go upto the Peak Sanctuary of Mount Ioukhtas to pray to Tešub, Ḫebat and Šarru(m)ma. See for an extensive analysis Chapter 11: 'Religious' Linear A insc

About this title

About the Author

Peter G. van Soesbergen (born in Amsterdam, 7th February 1945) studied Classics at the University of Amsterdam (Doctoral Examination cum laude). He pursued research on The archaeological context of Minoan Linear A for "The Netherlands Organization for Pure Research" (report of 400 pp.), published several articles and gave papers at international colloquia and congresses (Heraklion, Bucharest, Sheffield, Nottingham, Prague, Rome, Naples), a Mycenaean Seminar on "The historical significance of onomastic data from Linear A and B texts" (Institute of Classical Studies, University of London) and special papers on Linear A at Cambridge and Groningen. He pursued research as a Leverhulme European Visiting Fellow and Independent Research Worker at the University of Sheffield, where he received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) on the thesis "The onomastics of the 'Minoan Linear A' and 'Linear B' documents and their historical significance". He taught Greek, Latin, Ancient History, Archaeology, Mycenology and Andrological examination. After his retirement he is still pursuing research.

Edition details

• Publisher: Peter G. Van Soesbergen
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9083275418
• ISBN 13: 9789083275413
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 524