Greek Writing from Knossos to Homer

Greek Writing from Knossos to Homer PDF Author: Roger D. Woodard
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195355660
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 302

Get Book

Book Description
Greek Writing from Knossos to Homer examines the origin of the Greek alphabet. Departing from previous accounts, Roger Woodard places the advent of the alphabet within an unbroken continuum of Greek literacy beginning in the Mycenean era. He argues that the creators of the Greek alphabet, who adapted the Phoenician consonantal script, were scribes accustomed to writing Greek with the syllabic script of Cyprus. Certain characteristic features of the Cypriot script--for example, its strategy for representing consonant sequences and elements of Cypriot Greek phonology--were transferred to the new alphabetic script. Proposing a Cypriot origin of the alphabet at the hands of previously literate adapters brings clarity to various problems of the alphabet, such as the Greek use of the Phoenician sibilant letters. The alphabet, rejected by the post- Bronze Age "Mycenaean" culture of Cyprus, was exported west to the Aegean, where it gained a foothold among a then illiterate Greek people emerging from the Dark Age.

Greek Writing from Knossos to Homer

Greek Writing from Knossos to Homer PDF Author: Roger D. Woodard
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195355660
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 302

Get Book

Book Description
Greek Writing from Knossos to Homer examines the origin of the Greek alphabet. Departing from previous accounts, Roger Woodard places the advent of the alphabet within an unbroken continuum of Greek literacy beginning in the Mycenean era. He argues that the creators of the Greek alphabet, who adapted the Phoenician consonantal script, were scribes accustomed to writing Greek with the syllabic script of Cyprus. Certain characteristic features of the Cypriot script--for example, its strategy for representing consonant sequences and elements of Cypriot Greek phonology--were transferred to the new alphabetic script. Proposing a Cypriot origin of the alphabet at the hands of previously literate adapters brings clarity to various problems of the alphabet, such as the Greek use of the Phoenician sibilant letters. The alphabet, rejected by the post- Bronze Age "Mycenaean" culture of Cyprus, was exported west to the Aegean, where it gained a foothold among a then illiterate Greek people emerging from the Dark Age.

The Textualization of the Greek Alphabet

The Textualization of the Greek Alphabet PDF Author: Roger D. Woodard
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107729300
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 389

Get Book

Book Description
In this book, Roger D. Woodard argues that when the Greeks first began to use the alphabet, they viewed themselves as participants in a performance phenomenon conceptually modeled on the performances of the oral poets. Since a time older than Greek antiquity, the oral poets of Indo-European tradition had been called 'weavers of words' - their extemporaneous performance of poetry was 'word weaving'. With the arrival of the new technology of the alphabet and the onset of Greek literacy, the very act of producing written symbols was interpreted as a comparable performance activity, albeit one in which almost everyone could participate, not only the select few. It was this new conceptualization of and participation in performance activity by the masses that eventually, or perhaps quickly, resulted in the demise of oral composition in performance in Greece. In conjunction with this investigation, Woodard analyzes a set of copper plaques inscribed with repeated alphabetic series and a line of what he interprets to be text, which attests to this archaic Greek conceptualization of the performance of symbol crafting.

From Mycenae to Homer

From Mycenae to Homer PDF Author: T. B. L. Webster
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317694511
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 380

Get Book

Book Description
This book, first published in 1958, aims to describe Greek art and poetry within this ambiguous period of ancient history (often referred to as the Greek ‘Dark Ages’), and to explore the possibilities of learning about Mycenaean civilisation from its own documents and not only from archaeology. Specifically, Webster utilises Michael Ventris’ decipherment of Linear B in 1952 – which proved that Greek was spoken in the Mycenaean world – to determine the general contours of aesthetic development from Mycenae to the time of the written composition of the Homeric epics. Because they record Mycenaean civilisation in Mycenaean terminology, while Homer was writing in Ionian Greek at the beginning of the polis civilisation, they show how much in Homer is in fact Mycenaean. Further, where it is clear that these Mycenaean elements cannot have survived until Homer’s time, they tell us something about the poetry which connected the two.

Homer and the Origin of the Greek Alphabet

Homer and the Origin of the Greek Alphabet PDF Author: Barry B. Powell
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521589079
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 312

Get Book

Book Description
A challenging and fascinating enquiry into the genesis of alphabetic writing.

The Greek Qabalah

The Greek Qabalah PDF Author: Kieren Barry
Publisher: Weiser Books
ISBN: 9781578631100
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 316

Get Book

Book Description
This book will be of interest to a wide range of readers, from students of Ancient History and early Christianity, to Qabalists and modern magicians. Extensive notes and citations from original sources will make this authoritative work an essentialreference for researchers and practitioners for years to come. Includes are appendices for tables of alphabetic symbolism, a list of authors, and a numeric dictionary of Greek words, which represents the largest collection of gematria in print. Index.

The Ancient Greeks

The Ancient Greeks PDF Author: Maurice Pope
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 176

Get Book

Book Description


Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World

Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World PDF Author: David Sacks
Publisher: Infobase Publishing
ISBN: 1438110200
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 433

Get Book

Book Description
Discusses the people, places and events found in over 2,000 years of Greek civilization.

Homer and Hesiod: The Foundations of Ancient Greek Literature

Homer and Hesiod: The Foundations of Ancient Greek Literature PDF Author: Gilbert Murray
Publisher: DigiCat
ISBN:
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 729

Get Book

Book Description
The Iliad and the Odyssey, along with the two poems of Hesiod, Theogony and Works and Days, comprised the major foundations of the Greek literary tradition that would continue into the Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman periods. The Iliad is set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek kingdoms. It focuses on a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles lasting a few weeks during the last year of the war. The Odyssey focuses on the ten-year journey home of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, after the fall of Troy. The Theogony is commonly considered Hesiod's earliest work. It concerns the origins of the world (cosmogony) and of the gods (theogony), beginning with Chaos, Gaia, Tartarus and Eros, and shows a special interest in genealogy. The Works and Days is a poem of over 800 lines which revolves around two general truths: labour is the universal lot of Man, but he who is willing to work will get by.

A Companion to the Archaeology of Early Greece and the Mediterranean, 2 Volume Set

A Companion to the Archaeology of Early Greece and the Mediterranean, 2 Volume Set PDF Author: Irene S. Lemos
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118770196
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1484

Get Book

Book Description
A Companion that examines together two pivotal periods of Greek archaeology and offers a rich analysis of early Greek culture A Companion to the Archaeology of Early Greece and the Mediterranean offers an original and inclusive review of two key periods of Greek archaeology, which are typically treated separately—the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age. It presents an in-depth exploration of the society and material culture of Greece and the Mediterranean, from the 14th to the early 7th centuries BC. The two-volume companion sets Aegean developments within their broader geographic and cultural context, and presents the wide-ranging interactions with the Mediterranean. The companion bridges the gap that typically exists between Prehistoric and Classical Archaeology and examines material culture and social practice across Greece and the Mediterranean. A number of specialists examine the environment and demography, and analyze a range of textual and archaeological evidence to shed light on socio-political and cultural developments. The companion also emphasizes regionalism in the archaeology of early Greece and examines the responses of different regions to major phenomena such as state formation, literacy, migration and colonization. Comprehensive in scope, this important companion: Outlines major developments in the two key phases of early Greece, the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age Includes studies of the geography, chronology and demography of early Greece Explores the development of early Greek state and society and examines economy, religion, art and material culture Sets Aegean developments within their Mediterranean context Written for students, and scholars interested in the material culture of the era, ACompanion to the Archaeology of Early Greece and the Mediterranean offers a comprehensive and authoritative guide that bridges the gap between the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age. 2020 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Winner!

From Homer to Theocritus

From Homer to Theocritus PDF Author: Edward Capps
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Greek literature
Languages : en
Pages : 512

Get Book

Book Description
Bibliographical appendix: p. 457-464.