Linguistic & Cultural Research 

Ring from the cemetery of Mavro Spelio near Knossos (Archaeological Museum of Heraklion). 

The ring of Minos 

Greek myths about Crete tell of the legendary Minos, both famous war leader and exemplary judge. The stem mino means to mete out, and specifically to judge, so Minos is not a name but a title that was probably held by many officials over the centuries. Some of the graves from the Minoan period are clearly meant for persons of a higher status. Yet, unlike some graves of priestesses, the ones holding the remains of a Minos do not stand out by their grave gifts. Except for a grave near Knossos. Here, a skeleton was found of what must have been an important person: a gold ring (see figure above) was found with it. The ring has a spiral inscription (KN Zf 13): 

A-RE  NE–SI  DI-DYAU-PI-KE  PA  JA  TA-RI-SE-TE-RI  ME–A  JA-KU

Are neṣi didyo-pik pā, ya tārīs seteri meyān yakṣus 

Dear (Sir), lead as flashingly-equipped protector, you who must overcome and arrest those to be tried, as prosecutor. 

The vocative are literally means Dear, but was used as Sir or Lady. The aorist neṣi (may you lead) often means leading worshippers to protection, wisdom, wealth or bliss (e.g. RV I 129,5). The adjective didyo-pik is ambiguous. Adjectives ending on –piç (vocative –pik) mean either –decorated or equipped with, while didyo may be translated as glittering or weapon, bolt. Therefore, it is not clear whether the word refers to the ring as a token of authority, or to an armed force (or even to the lightning bolt of Dyaus/Zeus) that is at the command of the ring-owner.  

An intriguing aspect of the ring’s inscription is the explicit limitation of the owner’s power: force is allowed only for bringing the accused to trial. It was apparently not accepted to effect justice before the hearing. This same legal concept is found in the opening lines of the famous code of Gortys (see figure below), which is believed to derive from ancient Minoan law. 

Gods, 

He, who, with a free man or a slave is about to engage in  

conflict, before trial he shall not seize. 

Ruins of the Palace of Phaistos. 

The Phaistos disk 

In the summer of 1908, foreman Zakarias Iliakis, working with the Italian team of archaeologists led by Luigi Pernier, discovered the Phaistos disk in a section of the Old Palace while making his evening round (Hnila, 2009). The age, beauty and mysterious script lent the disk instant worldwide fame. Three years later, Prof. Hempl of Stanford University and Miss Stowell of Newnham College published the first two attempts at decipherment (Burlington magazine, 1911). Over a dozen followed, but none of the authors gained lasting recognition. As the decades passed, virtually all experts came to believe that the code of the disk could not be cracked without the help of more finds (Chadwick, 1987).  

That the disk can nevertheless be deciphered is not a triumph of human genius. It is owing to the power of two hypotheses, proposed by the late Prof. Victor Sarianidi (Sarianidi, 1999) and by Dr. Gareth Owens (Owens, 2021), respectively. The disk contains two hymns. The hymn on Side A describes the offering for the sun rising at dawn. The hymn opens with a stanza of 4 verses of 12 syllables each:

−−˘−|˘˘−−−−−−(12)

agnes gate iti / dhârā agnes marjyā /   

O Mover of fire: (Your) flame is to be brightened. 

−˘˘−−|−˘−−−−−(12)

manmabhis agne bhardhi tā rejā agnes /? 

With (our) song, O Agni, carry off the quivering heat from the (offering) fire. 

−˘˘−−|−−˘−˘−−(12)

tās bhuvo agne pātin haro va agnes 

Over the world, O Agni, flying as a spark from a fire,

˘−˘−|˘˘−−−˘−˘(12)

sudeva te surayā agne kanāsi / 

loved by the gods, may You be happy with Your libation, O Agni!

On both sides of the disk, the first stanza precisely fills the rim of the disk.