View source for Cypriot syllabary

{{Short description|Syllabic script used in Iron Age Cyprus}}
{{Infobox writing system
|name=Cypriot
|type=Syllabary
|languages=[[Arcadocypriot Greek]], [[Eteocypriot language|Eteocypriot]]
|time=11th–4th centuries BCE
|fam1 = [[Linear A]]
|fam2=[[Cypro-Minoan syllabary|Cypro-Minoan]]
|unicode=[https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U10800.pdf U+10800–U+1083F]
|iso15924=Cprt
|sample=Cypriot syllabic inscription 600-500BC.jpg
|caption=
}}
[[File:Idalion tablet.jpg|thumb|250px|Line drawing rendering, bronze [[Idalion Tablet]], 5th century BCE, [[Idalion]], Cyprus.]]

The '''Cypriot''' or '''Cypriote syllabary'''  (also Classical Cypriot Syllabary) is a [[syllabary|syllabic]] script used in [[Iron Age]] [[Cyprus]], from about the 11th to the 4th centuries BCE, when it was replaced by the [[Greek alphabet]]. It has been suggested that the script remained in use as late as the 1st century BC.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mitford |first=T. B. |year=1950 |title=Kafizin and the Cypriot Syllabary |journal=The Classical Quarterly |volume=44 |pages=97–106 |number=3-4}}</ref> A pioneer of that change was King [[Evagoras I|Evagoras]] of [[Salamis, Cyprus|Salamis]]. It is thought to be descended from the [[Cypro-Minoan syllabary]], itself a variant or derivative of [[Linear A]]. Most texts using the script are in the [[Arcadocypriot Greek|Arcadocypriot]] dialect of [[Greek language|Greek]], but also one bilingual, the [[Amathus bilingual]], a Greek and [[Eteocypriot language|Eteocypriot]], was found in [[Amathus]].

== Origin ==
It is thought that the Cypriot syllabary is derived from the [[Cypro-Minoan syllabary]]; the latter is thought to be derived from the [[Linear A]] script, and certainly belongs to the circle of [[Aegean script (disambiguation)|Aegean script]]s. The most obvious change is the disappearance of ideograms, which were frequent and represented a significant part of Linear A. The earliest inscriptions are found on clay tablets. Parallel to the evolution of [[Cuneiform script|cuneiform]], the signs soon became simple patterns of lines. There is no evidence of a Semitic influence due to trade, but this pattern seemed to have evolved as the result of habitual use.<ref name="Chadwick">{{Cite book |last=Chadwick |first=John |title=Linear B and Related Scripts |publisher=University of California Press |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-520-06019-7}}</ref>

== Structure ==
The structure of the Cypriot syllabary is very similar to that of [[Linear B]]. This is due to their common origin and underlying language (albeit different dialects).<ref name="Chadwick" /> The Cypriot script contains 56 signs.<ref name="Lost Languages">{{Cite book |last=Robinson |first=Andrew |title=Lost Languages |year=2002 |isbn=978-0641699597 |location=New York}}</ref> Each sign generally stands for a syllable in the spoken language: e.g. ka, ke, ki, ko, ku. Hence, it is classified as a [[syllabary|syllabic]] writing system.<ref name="Mitford">{{Cite book |last=Mitford |first=T. B. |author-link=Olivier Masson |title=The Cambridge Ancient History |last2=Masson |first2=Olivier |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1982 |isbn=978-1139054300 |editor-last=Boardman |editor-first=John |pages=71–82 |chapter=The Cypriot syllabary |doi=10.1017/CHOL9780521234474.005 |editor-last2=Hammond |editor-first2=N. G. L.}}</ref> Because each sign stands for an open syllable (CV - a consonant followed by a vowel) rather than a closed one (CVC - a consonant, a vowel and then a consonant), the Cypriot syllabary is also an 'open' syllabary.<ref name="Lost Languages" />

<div lang="cprt">
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!
!-a
!-e
!-i
!-o
!-u
|-
!
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠀}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠁}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠂}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠃}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠄}}
|-
!w-
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠲}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠳}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠴}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠵}}
|
|-
!z-
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠼}}
|
|
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠿}}
|
|-
!j-
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠅}}
|
|
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠈}}
|
|-
!k-, g-, kh-
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠊}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠋}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠌}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠍}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠎}}
|-
!l-
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠏}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠐}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠑}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠒}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠓}}
|-
!m-
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠔}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠕}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠖}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠗}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠘}}
|-
!n-
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠙}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠚}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠛}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠜}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠝}}
|-
!ks-
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠷}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠸}}
|
|
|
|-
!p-, b-, ph-
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠞}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠟}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠠}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠡}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠢}}
|-
!r-
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠣}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠤}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠥}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠦}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠧}}
|-
!s-
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠨}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠩}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠪}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠫}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠬}}
|-
!t-, d-, th-
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠭}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠮}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠯}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠰}}
|{{Script|Cprt|𐠱}}
|}
</div>

To see the glyphs above, you must have a [http://www.alanwood.net/unicode/fontsbyrange.html#u10800 compatible font] installed, and your 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 syllabary but the use of the symbols. Final consonants in the Cypriot syllabary 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 vowels. [[Diphthong]]s such as ae, au, eu, and ei are spelled out completely. However, [[nasal consonant]]s that occur before another consonant are omitted completely.<ref name="Chadwick" />

Compare Linear B {{Script|Linb|[[wikt:𐀀𐀵𐀫𐀦|𐀀𐀵𐀫𐀦]]}} ({{Transliteration|Linb|a-to-ro-qo}}, reconstructed as *{{IPA|el|án.tʰroː kʷos|}}) to Cypriot {{Script|Cprt|{{wikt-lang|grc|𐠀𐠰𐠦𐠡𐠩}}}} ({{Transliteration|Cprt|a-to-ro-po-se}}, read right-to-left), both forms related to {{langx|grc-x-attic|{{wikt-lang|grc|ἄνθρωπος}}}} ({{Transliteration|grc|ánthrōpos}}) "human".

One other minor difference involves the representation of the [[manner of articulation]]. In the Linear B script, [[liquid consonant|liquid]] sounds /l/ and /r/ are covered by one series, while there are separate series for the [[dental consonant|dentals]] /d/ and /t/. In the Cypriot syllabary, /d/ and /t/ are combined, whereas /l/ and /r/ are distinct.<ref name="Mitford" />

=== Paleography ===
There are minor differences in the forms of the signs used in different sites.<ref name="Chadwick" /> However, the syllabary can be subdivided into two different subtypes based on area: the "Common" and the South-Western or "Paphian".<ref name=" Mitford"/>

== Decipherment ==
[[File:Idalion bilingual and the decipherment of the the Cypriot syllabary.jpg|thumb|[[George Smith (Assyriologist)|George Smith]]'s decipherment of the Cypriot syllabary using the [[Idalion bilingual]].]]
[[File:National Museum of Beirut – Cypriot syllabary (Paphian).jpg|thumb|right|Stele from Lebanon in the National Museum of Beirut]]
The script was deciphered in the 19th century by [[George Smith (Assyriologist)|George Smith]] due to the [[Idalion bilingual]]. Egyptologist [[Samuel Birch (Egyptologist)|Samuel Birch]] (1872), the numismatist Johannes Brandis (1873), the philologists [[:de:Moritz Schmidt|Moritz Schmidt]], [[:de:Wilhelm Deecke (Sprachforscher)|Wilhelm Deecke]], Justus Siegismund (1874) and the dialectologist H. L. Ahrens (1876) also contributed to decipherment.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cannavò |first=Anna |url=http://lila.sns.it/mnamon/index.php?page=Scrittura&id=4&lang=en |title=Mnamon: Ancient writing systems in the Mediterranean |date=2021 |publisher=Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa |isbn=978-88-7642-719-0 |chapter=Cipro-sillabico - (IX - II sec. a.C.) |doi=10.25429/sns.it/lettere/mnamon002 |language=it}}</ref>

==Corpus==
About 1,000 inscriptions in the Cypriot syllabary have been found throughout many different regions. However, these inscriptions vary greatly in length and credibility.<ref name="Mitford" /> 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 merely names of the deceased. A few dedicatory inscriptions were also found but of very little contribution to decipherment. The most important tablets are mainly found in [[Enkomi (archaeological site)|Enkomi]] and [[Paphos]].

Efforts to collect and publish the known corpus began in the 1800s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Luynes |first=Honoré d'Albert |title=Numismatique et inscriptions chypriotes |publisher=Typographie Plon Freres |year=1852 |location=Paris}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Schmidt |first=M. |title=Sammlung kyprischer Inschriften in epichorischer Schrift |publisher=Verlag von Hermann Dufft |year=1876 |location=Jena}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Deecke |first=W. |title=Sammlung der griechischen Dialekt-Inschriften |year=1884 |editor-last=Collitz |editor-first=H. |volume=l |location=Göttingen |chapter=Die griechisch-kyprischen Inschriften in epichorischer Schrift |editor-last2=Bechtel |editor-first2=F.}}</ref> In the 1900s the work was taken up by T. B. Mitford and Olivier Masson.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bazemore |first=Georgia Bonny |year=2001 |title=Cypriote Sylllabic Epigraphy: The Need for Critical Re-examination of the Corpus |journal=Kadmos |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=67–88 |doi=10.1515/kadm.2001.40.1.67 |s2cid=162399752}}</ref> Over the years a number of inaccuracies and duplications crept into the collects corpus. In 2015, Massimo Perna published a consolidated and corrected corpus totaling 1,397 inscriptions.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Perna |first=Massimo |year=2015 |title=Corpus of Cypriote syllabic inscriptions of the 1st millennium BC |url=https://kyprioscharacter.eie.gr/en/t/AS |website=Kyprios Character. History, Archaeology & Numismatics of Ancient Cyprus}}</ref>

=== Enkomi ===
The earliest dated inscription from Cyprus was discovered at [[Enkomi (archaeological site)|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 Cypriot syllabary was derived from [[Linear A]] and not [[Linear B]]. Several 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 evolved and the signs have become simple patterns of lines. Linguists named this new script as [[Cypro-Minoan syllabary]].<ref name="Chadwick" />

=== Idalium ===

[[Idalium]] was an ancient city in Cyprus, in modern [[Dali, Cyprus|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 707 BCE. From this area, archeologists found many of the later Cypriot syllabic scripts. In fact, Idalium held the most significant contribution to the decipherment of Cypriot syllabary – the [[Idalion Tablet|Tablet of Idalium]]. It is a large bronze tablet with long inscriptions on both sides.<ref name="Chadwick" /> The Tablet of Idalium is dated to about 480–470 BCE. Excluding a few features in morphology and vocabulary, the text is a complete and well-understood document. It details a contract made by the king Stasicyprus and the city of Idalium with the physician Onasilus and his brothers.<ref name=" Mitford"/> As payment for the physicians' 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]].<ref name="Mitford" />

=== Recent discoveries ===
Recent discoveries include a small vase dating back to the beginning of the 5th century BCE and a broken marble fragment in the Paphian (Paphos) script. The vase is inscribed on two sides, providing two lists of personal names with Greek formations. The broken marble fragment describes a fragment of an oath. This inscription often mentions King [[Nicocles (Paphos)|Nicocles]], the last king of Paphos and includes some important words and expressions.<ref name=" Mitford"/> Four inscribed objects were found in the British Museum stores, a silver cup from Kourion, a White Ware jug, and two limestone tablet fragments.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kiely |first=Thomas |last2=Perna |first2=Massimo |year=2011 |title=Four Unpublished Inscriptions in Cypriot Syllabic Script in the British Museum |journal=Kadmos |volume=49 |issue=1 |pages=93–116 |doi=10.1515/kadmos.2010.005 |s2cid=162345890}}</ref>

The number of discoveries of new inscriptions has increased. However, most of the new discoveries have been short, or bear only a few signs. One example is a small clay ball.<ref name="Chadwick" />

== Unicode ==

{{Main|Cypriot Syllabary (Unicode block)|Aegean Numbers (Unicode block)}}

The Cypriot syllabary was added to the [[Unicode]] Standard in April 2003 with the release of version 4.0.

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

{{Unicode chart Cypriot Syllabary}}

{{Unicode chart Aegean Numbers}}

==See also==
*[[Pre-Greek substrate]]
*[[Tamassos bilinguals]]

== References ==
{{Commons category|Cypriot inscriptions}}
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{Citation |title=Ancient Scripts from Crete and Cyprus |year=1988 |editor-last=Best |editor-first=Jan |editor-last2=Woudhuizen |editor-first2=Fred |place=Leiden |publisher=Brill |doi=10.1163/9789004673366 |isbn=978-90-04-08431-5 |s2cid=160361420}}
* {{Cite book |last=Egetmeyer |first=Markus |title=Wörterbuch zu den Inschriften im kyprischen Syllabar |publisher=de Gruyter |year=1992 |isbn=9783110122701 |location=Berlin |doi=10.1515/9783110853520}}
* {{Cite book |last=Heubeck |first=Alfred |title=Schrift |publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht |year=1979 |isbn=9783525254233 |location=Göttingen |pages=54–64}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hintze |first=Almut |title=A Lexicon to the Cyprian Syllabic Inscriptions |publisher=Buske |year=1993 |location=Hamburg}}
* {{Cite book |last=Masson |first=Olivier |title=Les Inscriptions chypriotes syllabiques |last2=Mitford |first2=Terence B. |publisher=Boccard |year=1983 |location=Paris}}
* {{Cite book |last=Reece |first=Steve |title=Encyclopedia of Greece and the Hellenic Tradition |publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn |year=2000 |editor-last=Speake |editor-first=Graham |editor-link=Graham Speake |location=London |pages=1587–1588 |chapter=The Cypriot Syllabaries}}
* {{Cite book |title=Script and seal use on Cyprus in the Bronze and Iron Ages |publisher=Archaeological Institute of America |year=2002 |isbn=978-0960904273 |editor-last=Smith |editor-first=Joanna S.}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Steele |first=Philippa M |author-link=Philippa M. Steele |year=2014 |title=The /d/, /t/, /l/ and /r/ series in Linear A and B, Cypro-Minoan and the Cypriot Syllabary |journal=Pasiphae |volume=8 |pages=189–196}}
* {{Cite book |last=Steele |first=Philippa M. |title=A Linguistic History of Ancient Cyprus: The non-Greek languages, and their relations with Greek, c. 1600–300 BC |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2013a |isbn=9781107042865 |doi=10.1017/CBO9781107337558}}
* {{Cite book |last=Steele |first=Philippa M. |title=Syllabic writing in Cyprus and its context |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2013b |isbn=9781108442343 |editor-last=Steele |editor-first=Philippa M. |doi=10.1017/CBO9781139208482}}
* {{Cite book |last=Steele |first=Philippa M. |url=https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/284465 |title=Writing and Society in Ancient Cyprus |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2018 |isbn=9781107169678 |doi=10.1017/9781316729977 |s2cid=166103644}}

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

{{Cyprus topics}}
{{list of writing systems}}
{{Greek language}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cypriot Syllabary}}
[[Category:Syllabary writing systems]]
[[Category:Obsolete writing systems]]
[[Category:Culture of Cyprus]]
[[Category:Ancient Cyprus]]
[[Category:Hellenic scripts]]
[[Category:Arcadocypriot Greek]]
[[Category:History of the Greek language]]
[[Category:Right-to-left writing systems]]
[[Category:Linear A]]