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Cypriot syllabary
The Cy priot or Cy priote sy llabary is a sy llabic script used in Iron
Age Cy prus, from about the 11th to the 4th centuries BCE, when it was
Cypriot
replaced by the Greek alphabet. A pioneer of that change was king
Ev agoras of Salamis. It is descended from the Cy pro-Minoan sy llabary ,
in turn a v ariant or deriv ativ e of Linear A. Most texts using the script
are in the Arcadocy priot dialect of Greek, but also one bilingual (Greek
and Eteocy priot) inscription was found in Amathus.

Contents
Origin
Structure
Differences between Cypriot syllabary and Linear B
Paleography
Decipherment
Enkomi
Idalium
Recent discoveries
Future prospects
Unicode
See also
References Type Syllabary
Bibliography Languages Arcadocypriot Greek,
External links Eteocypriot
Time 11th–4th centuries
period BCE
Origin Parent Linear A
systems
It has been established that the Cy priot sy llabary is deriv ed from the
Cypro-Minoan
Linear A script and, most probably , the Minoan writing sy stem. The
most obv ious change is the disappearance of ideograms, which were Cypriot
frequent and represented a significant part of Linear A. The earliest
Direction Right-to-left
inscriptions are found on clay tablets. Parallel to the ev olution of
cuneiform, the signs soon became simple patterns of lines. There is no ISO 15924 Cprt, 403

ev idence of a Semitic influence due to trade, but this pattern seemed to Unicode Cypriot
hav e ev olv ed as the result of habitual use. [1 ] alias
Unicode U+10800–U+1083F
range
Structure (https://www.unicode.
org/charts/PDF/U108
The structure of the Cy priot sy llabary is v ery similar to that of Linear B. 00.pdf)
This is due to their common origin and underly ing language (albeit
different dialects). [1 ] The Cy priot script contains 56 signs. [2 ] Each sign generally stands for a sy llable in the
spoken language: e.g. ka, ke, ki, ko, ku etc. Hence, it is classified as a sy llabic writing sy stem. [3 ] Because each sign
stands for an open sy llable (CV) rather than a closed one (CVC), the Cy priot sy llabary is also an 'open'
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sy llabary . [2 ]

-a -e -i -o -u

𐠀 𐠁 𐠂 𐠃 𐠄
w- 𐠲 𐠳 𐠴 𐠵
z- 𐠼 𐠿
j- 𐠅 𐠈
Line drawing rendering, bronze Idalion
k-, g-, kh- 𐠊 𐠋 𐠌 𐠍 𐠎 Tablet, 5th century BC, Idalion, Cyprus.

l- 𐠏 𐠐 𐠑 𐠒 𐠓
m- 𐠔 𐠕 𐠖 𐠗 𐠘
n- 𐠙 𐠚 𐠛 𐠜 𐠝
ks- 𐠷 𐠸
p-, b-, ph- 𐠞 𐠟 𐠠 𐠡 𐠢
r- 𐠣 𐠤 𐠥 𐠦 𐠧
s- 𐠨 𐠩 𐠪 𐠫 𐠬
t-, d-, th- 𐠭 𐠮 𐠯 𐠰 𐠱

To see the gly phs abov e, y ou must hav e a compatible font (http://www.alanwood.net/unicode/fontsby range.ht
ml#u10800) installed, and y our web browser must support Unicode characters in the U+10800–U+1083F
range.

Differences between Cypriot syllabary and Linear B

The main difference between the two lies not in the structure of the sy llabary but the use of the sy mbols. Final
consonants in the Cy priot sy llabary are marked by a final, silent e. For example, final consonants, n, s and r are
noted by using ne, re and se. Groups of consonants are created using extra v owels. Diphthongs such as ae, au, eu
and ei are spelled out completely . In addition, nasal consonants that occur before another consonant are
omitted completely . [1 ]

Compare Linear B (a-to-ro-qo, reconstructed as *[án.tʰroː.pos]) to Cy priot 𐠩𐠡𐠦𐠰𐠀 (a-to-ro-po-se),

both forms related to Attic Greek: ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos) "human".

One other minor difference inv olv es the representation of the manner of articulation. In the Linear B script,
liquid sounds /l/ and /r/ are cov ered by one series, while there are separate series for the dentals /d/ and /t/. In
the Cy priot sy llabary , /d/ and /t/ are combined, whereas /l/ and /r/ are distinct. [3 ]

Paleography
There are minor differences in the forms of the signs used in different sites. [1 ] Howev er, the sy llabary can be
subdiv ided into two different subty pes based on area: the “Common” and the South-Western or “Paphian”. [3 ]
Howev er, no detailed analy sis between the two exists.

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Decipherment
The script was deciphered in the 19th century by George Smith due to a Phoenician-Cy priot bilingual inscription
found at Idalium. Egy ptologist Samuel Birch (187 2), the numismatist Johannes Brandis (187 3), the philologists
Moritz Schmidt, Wilhelm Deecke, Justus Siegismund (187 4) and the dialectologist H. L. Ahrens (187 6) also
contributed to decipherment. [4 ]

About 1000 inscriptions in the Cy priot sy llabary hav e been found throughout many different regions. Howev er,
these inscriptions v ary greatly in length and credibility . [3 ] Most inscriptions found are dated to be around the
6th century . There are no inscriptions known to be before the 8th century . Most of the tablets found are from
funerary monuments and contained no useful information but merely name the deceased. A few dedicatory
inscriptions were also found but of v ery little contribution to decipherment. The most important tablets are
mainly found in Enkomi and Paphos.

Enkomi
The earliest dated inscription from Cy prus was discov ered at Enkomi in 1955. It was a part of a thick clay tablet
with only three lines of writing. Epigraphers immediately saw a resemblance. Because the date of the fragment
was found to be around 1500 BCE, considerably earlier than Linear B, linguists determined that the Cy priot
sy llabary was deriv ed from Linear A and not Linear B. Sev eral other fragments of clay tablets were also found in
Enkomi. They date to a later period, around the late 13th or 12th century BCE. The script found on these tablets
has considerably ev olv ed and the signs hav e become simple patterns of lines. Linguists named this new script as
Cy pro-Minoan sy llabary . [1 ]

Idalium
Idalium was an ancient city in Cy prus, in modern Dali, Nicosia District. The city was founded on the copper trade
in the 3rd millennium BCE. Its name in the 8th century BCE was "Ed-di-al" as it appears on the Sargon Stele of 7 07
BCE. From this area, archeologists found many of the later Cy priot sy llabic scripts. In fact, Idalium held the most
significant contribution to the decipherment of Cy priot sy llabary – the Tablet of Idalium. It is a large bronze
tablet with long inscriptions on both sides. [1 ] The Tablet of Idalium is dated to about 480–47 0 BCE. Excluding a
few features in morphology and v ocabulary , the text is a complete and well understood document. It details a
contract made by the king Stasicy prus and the city of Idalium with the phy sician Onasilus and his brothers. [3 ] As
pay ment for the phy sicians' care for wounded warriors during a Persian siege of the city , the king promises them
certain plots of land. This agreement is put under the protection of the goddess Athena. [3 ]

Recent discoveries
Recent discov eries include a small v ase dating back to the beginning of 5th century and a broken marble
fragment in Paphian (Paphos) script. The v ase is inscribed on two sides, prov iding two lists of personal names
with Greek formations. The broken marble fragment describes a fragment of an oath. This inscription often
mentions King Nicocles, the last king of Paphos and includes some important words and expressions. [3 ]

Future prospects
The number of discov eries of new inscriptions has increased, but, unfortunately , most of the new discov eries
hav e been short or bear only a few signs. One example includes a small clay ball. [1 ]

Unicode
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The Cy priot sy llabary was added to the Unicode Standard in April, 2003 with the release of v ersion 4.0.

The Unicode block for Cy priot is U+10800–U+1083F. The Unicode block for the related Aegean Numbers is
U+10100–U+1013F.

Cypriot Syllabary[1][2]
Official Unicode Consortium code chart (https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U10800.pdf) (PDF)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F

U+1080x 𐠀 𐠁 𐠂 𐠃 𐠄 𐠅 𐠈 𐠊 𐠋 𐠌 𐠍 𐠎 𐠏

U+1081x 𐠐 𐠑 𐠒 𐠓 𐠔 𐠕 𐠖 𐠗 𐠘 𐠙 𐠚 𐠛 𐠜 𐠝 𐠞 𐠟

U+1082x 𐠠 𐠡 𐠢 𐠣 𐠤 𐠥 𐠦 𐠧 𐠨 𐠩 𐠪 𐠫 𐠬 𐠭 𐠮 𐠯

U+1083x 𐠰 𐠱 𐠲 𐠳 𐠴 𐠵 𐠷 𐠸 𐠼 𐠿
Notes

1.^ As of Unicode version 11.0

2.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points

Aegean Numbers[1][2]
Official Unicode Consortium code chart (https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U10100.pdf) (PDF)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F

U+1010x

U+1011x

U+1012x

U+1013x

Notes

1.^ As of Unicode version 11.0

2.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points

See also
Pre-Greek substrate

References
1. Chadwick, John (1987). Linear B and related Scripts. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
2. Robinson, Andrew (2002). Lost Languages. New York City: BCA.
3. Mitford, T. B.; Masson, Olivier Masson (1982). Boardman, John; Hammond, N. G. L., eds. The Expansion of the
Greek World, Eighth to Sixth Centuries B.C. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521234474.005 (ht
tps://doi.org/10.1017%2FCHOL9780521234474.005).
4. Cypro-Syllabic script (http://lila.sns.it/mnamon/index.php?page=Scrittura&id=4&lang=en) Scuola Normale Superiore
di Pisa

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Bibliography
Steele, Philippa M. Syllabic writing in Cyprus and its context. Cambridge University Press, 2013.

External links
Omniglot.com – Cypriot syllabary (http://www.omniglot.com/writing/cypriot.htm)
Ancientscripts.com – Cypriot (http://www.ancientscripts.com/cypriot.html)
www.palaeolexicon.com – Word study tool of ancient languages (includes Cypriot syllabic dictionary) (http://www.pal
aeolexicon.com/)

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This page was last edited on 15 February 2019, at 13:29 (UTC).

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