summer haiku = virgin of the sea, in Mycenaean Linear B, ancient Greek, English and Frenchvirgin of the sea, the priestess of the winds blesses our fleet vièrge de la mer, la prêtresse des vents bénit notre flotte Richard Vallance
Tag Archive: religious symbolism
The Blue MosqueIn Istanbul, the Blue Mosque, Allah’s shrine of Holy shrines, invokes his Love for all who visit her but once, His holy sign for every faith, to those who heed the call; Yes, raise your eyes on high, and view her vaults and Carian columns so fairly nuanced you’ll fall on your knees... where?... in Allah’s sight, whose Mind is in our humblest minds ensconced. And if you sense that Jesus too is there and Moses from the Mountain has returned, how can the world ignore your every prayer, how can we fail if love is never spurned? Religions of the world must reunite since this, our holy shrine, reveals the Light. Richard Vallance February 28 2019 I was profoundly blessed when I had the great good fortune to visit the Blue Mosque, Istanbul, on April 29 2012. Never in my entire life have I ever ever seen a religious shrine as lovely as this. I was utterly overwhelmed by its sheer glory. If you ever get the chance to visit the Blue Mosque, you should not pass it by. You will be so deeply moved and graced by it that you will never regret for an instant your having visited it. The photo you see here is my own. J’ai été profondément béni d’avoir la chance inestimable de visiter la Mosquée Bleue à Istanbul le 29 avril 2012. Je n’ai jamais vu de la vie un lieu saint aussi beau que celui-ci. J’ai été complètement bouleversé par sa gloire imposante. Si vous aurez jamais l’occasion de la visiter, vous ne devez pas la laisser s’échapper. Vous serez tellement ému que vous ne regretterez jamais un seul instant une telle visite. C’est ma propre photo que vous voyez ici.
Translation of a very tricky Linear B tablet, Knossos KN 913 D k 01 by Rita Roberts:
The decipherment of this tablet is far from clear-cut, and all because of 1 word, paro, the first on both lines 1 and 2. This word very likely corresponds to the ancient Greek pa/loj (palos) = a lot (cast), meaning a lot cast by one or more people to decide who is obliged to do something, and in this case, which is apparently a religious context, that something is the sacrifice of a billy goat and a she goat. Etowono got the lot for the ram, probably the long stick, if that is what it was, given that we are dealing with a ram here. Komawete got the short one for the she goat. It kind of makes sense, and in fact there would seem to be no other rational interpretation of this tablet. It is one of the trickiest I have ever assigned to Rita, and this aroused her suspicions in the first place. Because she could not possibly have recognized the (archaic or ancient) Greek for paro, I had to delve into that word. Otherwise, her translation is highly commendable, and deserves a full 100 %.
Haghia Triada roundels & noduli:From: The Haghia Triada administrative documents: http://www.aegean-museum.it/musint2/en/crete/documents.inc.php Descriptions from this site (quoted): Although the writing has not been deciphered neither the language has been interpreted (sic, poor grammar) various data may be obtained from the tablets. First of all, a list of Linear A signs may be hypothesized, which, with its 97 symbols, reveals a syllabic script of a simple typology (consonant + vowel and vowels): the signs are, in fact, too many, to represent a complex syllabic system (as the Near Eastern Cuneiform and the Aegyptian Hieroglyph). To these syllabic signs a long series of "logograms", representing each one a word, are added. Types of seals represented:
Roundels: The roundel is a characteristic document of the Neopalatian Minoan [1] administration, beside the tablet. It is a round clay disk (classified as Wc) with seals impressions along the edge - from one to six impressions - and, on most cases, one inscription on one or both sides. Frequently the inscription consists of a logogram, sometimes also of a sign-group. It seems to represent the last act [2] of an administrative transaction and probably functioned as a receipt. The seals stamped on roundels fully coincide with seals stamped on the other different documents. At Haghia Triada 22 roundels have been found, one of them being without (an) inscription. Nodules: It is (sic, They are) the most widespread Aegean Bronze Age document, both geographically and chronologically. These clay small object (sic, objects) (defined as noduli by J. Weingarten) were not always inscribed but only sealed. They appear in two shapes: dome (classified as We) (fig. 4) and disk (classified as Wf) (fig. 5). At Haghia Triada 54 noduli have been found, in dome shape, and only 7 are inscribed. Types: 1 Flat-based nodule: This type of document is rarely inscribed but regularly sealed. Its characteristic is the negative impression on its reverse (or base) which shows that it had been placed upon a folded piece of parchment around which a thin thread was wound which was also wound into the clay. It appears in two different shapes: standing (fig. 6) or recumbent (fig. 7) (both classified as Wb). At Haghia Triada 76 flat-based nodules have been found, only 2 having a carved inscription. 2 Hanging nodule [3]: This small clay piece is characterized by string holes which show that it was fastened to another object by a string. They may present one or two holes. Those with two holes (classified as Wd) have an elongated shape (fig. 8), while those with one hole (classified as WA) present five slightly different shapes: pendant, pyramid, cone, dome, pear (fig. 9) [4]. At Haghia Triada 936 single-holes have been found, 851 being inscribed, and 11 two-hole, only 2 being inscribed. Comments by Richard Vallance: [1] Neo-palatial Minoan administration: This is the Minoan administration at Haghia Triada dating from the Middle Minoan MM ca. 1750-1550 BCE & Late Minoan LM1A, ca. 1550-1500 BCE. Documents in Linear A inscribed during the LM1A period may have been inscribed in Mycenaean-derived New Minoan. [2] “the last act”. This is ambiguous English. Does it refer to the “the most recent” of the Haghia Triada administration? And if so, does this mean the act or acts date from the Late Minoan LM1A period? And if so, are these acts inscribed in Mycenaean-derived New Minoan? [3] The nodules illustrated in my decipherment of Figure 9 above are hanging nodules. [4] See my 3 decipherments in Figure 9 at the outset of this post. If the syllabogram SI is the first syllable of a Mycenaean-derived New Minoan word, it could represent any of the 3 decipherments I have proposed. If on the other hand, SI represents any Old Minoan word, it is indecipherable.
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Decipherment of the Linear B seal BE Zg2:
This decipherment is straightforward. It certainly makes sense that a Linear B seal could deal with 5 torches, more than likely in the context of a religious or royal rite.
More gems of Bahai’ wisdom!
Bahai’ = the latest Dispensation from God = Progressive Revelation Imagine my astonishment when I happened across the teachings of the Bahai’ Faith, which came into being in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Its teachings are revolutionary. It allows one to keep the faith of one’s birth, in my case, Christian, but it opens up so many avenues to a faith greater than all religions, including itself. The Bahai’s firmly believe that theirs is not the last revelation, that more are to come. This sets them apart from all past religions. Unlike all previous religions of the past, the Bahai’ faith firmly counsels universal education, the education of women and the equal rights of women and men, the promotion and teaching of technology and science, and the list goes on and on. This sort of religion truly appeals to an intellectual such as myself. I shall be posting the tenets of the Bahai’ faith on a regular basis here on Minoan Linear A, Linear B, Knossos & Mycenae. Here are the first three observations from the faith:![]()
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They are real eye-openers!
Minoan Costume History synopsis: a wonderful site!You simply have to check this site out! I have never seen such an in-depth study on Minoan costume, female and male alike, on the Internet. Here is just a small excerpt: An era of great development, contemporaneous with the civilization of ancient Egypt and Phoenicia, and which may be dated about 2000-1500 B.C., had preceded the civilization that came from Asia Minor into Crete and Greece. Such fragments of Cretan culture as have come down to us reveal a beauty of technique and a delicate sense of form to which no contemporaneous civilization provides any parallel. (italics mine). It is certainly true that the Minoans were far more style-conscious than people of any other contemporaneous civilization, such as the Egyptians, Babylonians, Assyrians and Hittites. No question about it. Owing to the lack of written records, the processes and methods of manufacture are still wrapped in obscurity, but although we are thus reduced to surmise regarding the materials used, the dress of that time is of the highest interest in view of its connexion with the costumes of other peoples. Our attention is especially attracted by the dress worn by the women. The slim, wiry figures of the men are clothed almost universally with a loincloth, richly patterned and splendidly decorated. Here and there we see wide cloaks that clothe the whole body, giving it a large appearance. Women also, it would seem, wore the short loincloth, but we find them wearing in addition skirts put together in an almost fantastic manner that betrays a highly developed knowledge of the technique of dressmaking. These skirts are constructed in tiers, separated by strips of rich ornamentation. Illustrations from this site (there are many more, just as striking as these!)
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