Homer and the origin of the Greek alphabet

Homer and the origin of the Greek alphabet......Page 2
CONTENTS......Page 8
FIGURES......Page 10
TABLES......Page 11
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......Page 12
ABBREVIATIONS......Page 13
A NOTE ON TERMS AND PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTIONS......Page 16
CHRONOLOGICAL CHARTS......Page 17
MAPS......Page 19
Foreword......Page 24
PHOENICIAN ORIGINS......Page 28
SINGLE INTRODUCTION BY A SINGLE MAN......Page 33
THE PLACE OF ADAPTATION......Page 35
THE DATE OF TRANSMISSION......Page 41
How the alphabet was learned......Page 43
Excursus: the so-called acrophonic principle......Page 47
The adapter and his informant, face to face......Page 48
The shapes of the letters......Page 51
THE NAMES OF THE SIGNS......Page 55
A note on the Semitic letter names......Page 56
The forms of the Greek names......Page 57
Observations......Page 59
THE SOUNDS OF THE SIGNS......Page 61
THE VOWELS......Page 65
Excursus: \"matres lectionis\"......Page 67
THE PROBLEM OF THE SIBILANTS......Page 69
THE PROBLEM OF THE SUPPLEMENTALS Φ Χ Ψ......Page 71
The nalure of tile problem: shapes, order, values......Page 72
\"Red,\" \"blue,\" and \"green\" scripts......Page 76
The supplementals belong to the earliest alphabet; the problem of the primitives......Page 78
How the values of the supplementals changed in the hands of the adapter\'s successors......Page 81
Conclusion......Page 85
THE ADAPTER\'S SYSTEM......Page 86
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION......Page 89
2. Argument from the history of writing: How writing worked before the Greek alphabet......Page 91
The history of writing......Page 92
The terminology and theoretical functioning of lexigraphic writing......Page 95
Two divisions of phonography: syllabography and alphabetic writing......Page 96
Auxiliary marks, signs, devices......Page 97
HOW LOGO-SYLLABIC WRITING WORKS: EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHIC......Page 99
An Egyptian word......Page 102
Lexigraphic ambiguity in Egyptian writing: a connected text of average complexity......Page 103
Observations......Page 108
The Cypriote syllabary: general description......Page 112
Annotation to Fig. 1 0......Page 118
Observations......Page 122
HOW SYLLABIC WRITING WORKS: PHOENICIAN......Page 124
The finds......Page 125
A sample Phoenician text with exegesis......Page 126
Observations......Page 128
Conditions for change in writing systems......Page 129
Syllabic writing used to record hexametric verse......Page 132
Observations......Page 136
The idiosyncratic nature of Greek alphabetic writing......Page 138
The lacle of word, clause, and sentence division......Page 142
\"Back and forth, as the ox turns\"......Page 143
The Euboian finds: names, parts of names, possible parts of names and simple declarations of ownership......Page 146
Other simple names......Page 152
Proprietary inscriptions......Page 160
Tombstones......Page 165
Dedications......Page 168
Fragmentary inscriptions, some hexametric......Page 171
Abecedaria......Page 175
The reading......Page 181
The inscriber......Page 185
The Cup of Nestor......Page 186
The social baclcground......Page 188
The Mantiklos inscription......Page 190
The Nikandre Inscription......Page 192
The erastic inscriptions of Thera......Page 194
CONCLUSIONS......Page 204
4. Argument from coincidence: dating Greece\'s earliest poet......Page 210
Limitations of method......Page 213
The use of the spear......Page 215
The three- and four-horsed chariot......Page 216
Helen\'s silver work-basket......Page 217
Free-standing temples......Page 218
The practice of cremation......Page 219
The prominence of Phoenicians......Page 220
The absence of literacy......Page 221
Odysseus\' brooch......Page 223
The lamp that Athene carries......Page 224
The Gorgoneion, referred to four times......Page 225
The alleged description of hoplite tactics......Page 227
The practice of sending home the ashes of the dead......Page 228
Summary......Page 229
II. IS THERE ANYTHING ABOUT THE LANGUAGE OF THE ILIAD AND THE ODYSSEY THAT CAN BE DATED?......Page 230
Written references......Page 231
Artistic representations......Page 232
Representations possibly inspired by the Iliad......Page 233
Representations possibly inspired by the Cycle......Page 234
Summary and observations......Page 237
IV. HOMER\'S DATE IN ANCIENT TRADITION......Page 240
CONCLUSIONS: THE DATE OF HOMER......Page 241
WRITING AND TRADITIONAL SONG IN HOMER\'S DAY......Page 244
The aoidos in context......Page 248
The unprecedented scope of the Iliad and the Odyssey......Page 251
Homer\'s audience: the Euboian connection......Page 254
The legend of Palamedes......Page 256
Envoi......Page 259
I. J. GELB\'S DESCRIPTION OF EGYPTIAN PHONETIC SIGNS AS CONSISTING SOLELY OF LOGOGRAMS AND SYLLABOGRAMS......Page 261
DEBATE ON THE SYLLABIC NATURE OF WEST SEMITIC WRITING......Page 264
Observations......Page 267
APPENDIX II: Homeric references in poets of the seventh century......Page 269
DEFINITIONS......Page 272
BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 277
INDEX......Page 300