BI BLI OTECA DI PASI PHAE

Collana di lologia e antichit egee

diretta da Louis Godart e Anna Sacconi

*

x.





































BI BLI OTECA DI PASI PHAE

Collana di lologia e antichit egee

diretta da Louis Godart e Anna Sacconi

*

I. Vassilis L. Aravantinos, Louis Godart, Anna Sacconi, Thbes. Fouilles de la Cadme. i.
Les tablettes en linaire B de la Odos Pelopidou. dition et commentaire, 200.
II. . Vassilis L. Aravantinos, Louis Godart, Anna Sacconi et alii, Thbes. Fouilles de la
Cadme. ii. Les tablettes en linaire B de la Odos Pelopidou. Le contexte archologique, in
preparazione.
II. 2. Eleni Andrikou, Vassilis L. Aravantinos, Louis Godart, Anna Sacconi, Joanita
Vroom, Thbes. Fouilles de la Cadme. ii. 2. Les tablettes en linaire B de la Odos Pelopidou.
Le contexte archologique, La cramique de la Odos Pelopidou et la chronologie du linaire B,
2006.
III. Vassilis L. Aravantinos, Louis Godart, Anna Sacconi, Thbes. Fouilles de la Cadme.
iii. Corpus des documents darchives en linaire B de Thbes (1-433), 2002.
IV. Vassilis L. Aravantinos, Maurizio Del Freo, Louis Godart, Anna Sacconi, Thbes.
Fouilles de la Cadme. iv. Les textes de Thbes (1-433). Translitration et tableaux des scribes,
2005.
V. Maurizio Del Freo, I censimenti di terreni nei testi in lineare B, 2005.
VI. Jean-Pierre Olivier, avec la collaboration de Frieda Vandenabeele, dition holistique
des textes chypro-minoens, 2007.
VII. Frederik M. J. Waanders, An analytic Study of Mycenaean Compounds. Structure.
Types, 2008.
VIII. Anna Margherita Jasink, Cretan Hieroglyphic Seals. A new Classification of Symbols
and ornamental/filling Motifs, 2009.
IX. Gaia Servadio, Scritti siriani dellantichit. Testi preclassici e classici, 200.
X. tudes mycniennes 2010. Actes du XIII
e
Colloque international sur les texts gens, Svres,
Paris, Nanterre, 20-23 septembre 200, dits par Pierre Carlier, Charles de Lamberterie,
Markus Egetmeyer, Nicole Guilleux, Franoise Rougemont, Julien Zurbach, 202.
XI. Louis Godart, Anna Sacconi, Supplemento al Corpus delle iscrizioni vascolari in lineare
B, in preparazione.
XII. Anastasia Dakouri-Hild, Thbes. Fouilles de la Cadme. v. The House of Kadmos at
Boeotian Thebes: The Excavations of Antonios D. Keramopoullos (1906-1929), in preparazione.
XIII. Ioannis Fappas, Thbes. Fouilles de la Cadme. vi. The Trade of the Large Size Stirrup-jars
in Boeotia, in preparazione.
XIV. Ino Nicolaou, Anna Panayotou, Prosopography of Ancient Cyprus, in preparazione.

UNI VERSI T DEGLI STUDI DI ROMA LA SAPI ENZA

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2010

ACTES DU

XIII
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COLLOQUE I NTERNATI ONAL

SUR LES TEXTES GENS


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TABLE


Avant-propos XI
Liste des participants XIII
Programme du colloque XVII
Abrviations XX

NOUVEAUX TEXTES ET INSTRUMENTS DE TRAVAIL

M. DEL FREO, Rapport 2006-2010 sur les textes en criture hiroglyphique crtoise,
en linaire A et en linaire B 3
M. EGETMEYER, A. KARNAVA, M. PERNA, Rapport 2006-2010 sur les critures
chypriotes syllabiques 23
V. ARAVANTINOS, A. VASILOGAMVROU, The first Linear B documents from Ayios
Vasileios (Laconia) 41
E. SKAFIDA, A. KARNAVA, J.-P. OLIVIER, Two new Linear B tablets from the site of
Kastro-Palaia in Volos 55
C. W. SHELMERDINE, Iklaina tablet IK X 1 75
L. GODART, Du nouveau lhorizon du Linaire B 79
J.-P. OLIVIER, 107
A. SACCONI, Il supplemento al corpus delle iscrizioni vascolari in lineare B 123
F. AURA JORRO, The index of numerical references in Linear B documents 143

PIGRAPHIE ET HISTOIRE

A. BERNAB, TH Av 101 and Mycenaean to-pa-po-ro(-i) 167
M. CIVITILLO, Ethnicity and language : Once again on personal names from Knossos 177
R. DUEV, di-wi-ja and e-ra in the Linear B texts 195
Y. DUHOUX, Les mini-tablettes linaire B 207
R. FIRTH, An Interpretation of the Specifications of Textiles on Ln 1568 227
A. FRANCESCHETTI, Gli ideogrammi dei vasi in lineare B : analisi dellortografia,
delle forme e dei materiali
243

D. NAKASSIS, Labor mobilization in Mycenaean Pylos 269
St. NIKOLOUDIS, Thoughts on a possible link between the PY Ea series and a
Mycenaean tanning operation 285
M.-L. NOSCH, The textile logograms in the linear B tablets: Les idogrammes
archologiques des textiles 303
Th. G. PALAIMA, Security and insecurity as tools of power in Mycenaean palatial
kingdoms 345
R. PALMER, Deer in the Pylos tablets 357
C. W. SHELMERDINE, Pylos sealings and sealers 383
C. VARIAS GARCA, The word for honey and connected terms in Mycenaean Greek 403

LANGUES ET ECRITURES

L. DUBOIS, Un vieux prfixe grec 421
X TABLE


M. EGETMEYER, Sprechen Sie Golgisch? Anmerkungen zu einer bersehenen
Sprache 427
J. L. GARCIA RAMON, En travaillant une grammaire du mycnien: 1. a-pi-e-qe
/amp
h
i
h
enk
w
e/ (on) mentionna, (on) numra . 2. Absence daugment et mode
injonctif. 3. di-ri-mi-jo : Drimios, fils de Zeus. 435
N. GUILLEUX, LHerms Areias des sources mycniennes et les malheurs dArs avec
les Aloades 455
D. KLLIGAN, Three Mycenaean warrior names 475
CH. DE LAMBERTERIE, L'apport du mycnien ltymologie grecque 489
A. MORPURGO DAVIES, Open problems in mycenaean phonology and the input of
morphology 511
V. PETRAKIS, Reverse phonetisation? From syllabogram to sematogram in Aegean
scripts 523
PH. STEELE, The diversity of the Cypro-Minoan corpus 537
R. THOMPSON, In defence of ideograms 545
FR. WAANDERS, Aperu des formes verbales dans les textes mycniens : remarques
sur la morphologie verbale et sur la distribution et les valeurs des thmes temporels 563

CONCLUSIONS ET COMPTES RENDUS

FR. BADER, Lesprit de Gif 577
Comptes rendus des runions 581

INDEX

Index des textes 585
Index des groupes de signes et des mots 601














MATILDE CIVITILLO

ETHNICITY AND LANGUAGE: ONCE AGAIN ON PERSONAL
NAMES FROM KNOSSOS


The present paper examines the highly controversial question of the use of
personal names from Knossos as a means to reconstruct the distribution of the Greek and
non-Greek population among different social strata. After discussing some well-known
studies on the subject, I focus on the difficulties in establishing any secure correlation
between ethnicity and language in the context of cultural assimilation and partial
bilingualism that we usually assume for Mycenaean Knossos. Since a groups use of a
particular language cannot be used as an ethnic criterion, but is rather a conscious choice
intended to stress or deny distinctiveness
1
, and the giving of personal names is
ultimately a social process
2
Discussing the proportion of Greek versus non-Greek names in documents from
the Room of the Chariot Tablets, Jean Driessen remarked that if the concentration of
Greek names is related to the social context of the personnel mentioned on the documents,
it could aid our understanding of the social composition of the Knossian population in the
latter stages of the Bronze Age. Notably, he interprets the high percentage of Greek
names in RCT documents (70% or even 90%)
, sociolinguistic examinations of Mycenaean personal
names should shift from a rigidly ethnic-oriented perspective to a cultural one. I also
dwell on the sometimes insoluble problems (external and internal to our documentation)
posed by this kind of analysis, such as the role of the scribe in transcribing personal
names and the difficulty of conducting prosopographical studies of the Knossian tablets.
Finally, I will illustrate all these limitations, along with the intrinsic difficulties involved
in establishing if a name can be labelled as Greek or non-Greek, in a case-study of
personal names on L- tablets.
3
, in spite of a limited quantity of Minoan
names restricted to thematically inferior socio-economic contexts
4
(for example, in Ce
tablets, dealing with livestock), as possibly reflecting the first imposition of a socially
distinct group -the Mycenaean military elite just established at Knossos-, on a subject
Minoan population in an initial stage of Hellenization
5

1
J.M. HALL, Ethnic Identity in Greek Antiquity, Cambridge 1997, p. 180-181.
. Since RCT is the oldest deposit of
2
On this approach, cf. S. LIEBERSON, E.O. BELL, Childrens first names: An empirical study of social
taste, American Journal of Sociology, 98 (1992), p. 513-514; S. COTTS WATKINS, A.S. LONDON, Personal
Names and Cultural Change: A study of the naming patterns of Italians and Jews in the United States in
1910, Social Science History 18.2 (1994), p. 170.
3
Scribes RCT, p. 192-193; R.J. FIRTH, A statistical analysis of the Greekness of mens names on the
Knossos Linear B tablets, Minos 27-28 (1992-1993, 1995), p. 86, 93.
4
Scribes RCT, p. 194.
5
J. DRIESSEN, Collectors items. Observations sur l'lite mycnienne de Cnossos, in Mykenaka,
p. 203. These documents may provide an epigraphic background to the warrior graves built around Knossos
(Scribes RCT, p. 10) from LMII to LMIIIA:2, representing groups and individuals who either aspired to or
had achieved an elite status within the local social and political hierarchies and that on the basis of the
178 MATILDE CIVITILLO

Linear B documents at Knossos, as Landenius Enegren has recently confirmed on
prosopographical grounds
6
, Driessen wonders whether it could be historically significant
to compare these results with an analysis of personal names registered in documents from
later deposits, to ascertain whether in these later documents Greek and non-Greek names
are still clearly distributed within different socio-economic contexts or occur indifferently
at all social levels. He also wonders whether such a comparison could be linguistically
significant, whether, that is, it could throw light on the language-shift in Crete, i.e., the
progressive Hellenization of the island
7
. The question, he concludes, is whether the
language shift and the process of language influence [as perceivable through the variation
in personal name patterns] evolve in the same direction
8
and if an increase or decrease
of interferences -the non Greek names- stands in a causal relationship with time-lapse
9
.
Unfortunately -Driessen states-, no reference work exists to perform such an analysis,
only partial studies, such as those by Baumbach (Ap, As, C-, D-series)
10
, Ilievski (D-
series)
11
and Varias Garcia (B-series)
12
, the statistical analyses carried out by R. Firth
13

and, finally, Landenius Enegrens enumeration of Greek and non-Greek names in the
whole Mycenaean corpus from Knossos
14

strong Mainland-derived influences they show, are mostly interpreted as belonging to an intrusive
Mycenaean elite (L. PRESTON, A Mortuary Perspective on Political Changes in Late Minoan IIIIIB
Crete, AJA 108, No. 3 (July 2004), p. 321-348).
. Except for this last study, which does not
6
E. LANDENIUS-ENEGREN, The People of Knossos: Prosopographical Studies in the Knossos Linear B
Archives, Boreas 30, Uppsala 2008, p. 36, affirms that no cross-references relate individuals recorded in
Hand 124 with any certainty to other individuals in the corpus registered with the same names,
suggesting that the RCT documentation should be interpreted separately from the remaining Knossian
archival deposits.
7
Adopting Renfrews theory of elite dominance for language displacement, the author suggests that,
at the time of the Mycenaean administration of Knossos, the Mycenaean language was imposed along with
a set of prestige artifacts and status symbols of Mainland derivation diastratically restricted to palatial
productions and denoting a minority but well-organized, politically and militarily hegemonic group. It is
assumed that the languages of the two groups, Minoans and Mycenaeans, existed for some time side by
side, until the language of the existing population died out. C. RENFREW, Archaeology and Language. The
Puzzle of Indo-Eurpean Origins, London, 1987, p. 94-95, 124, 131-136. On this topic, J. DRIESSEN, Kretes
and Iawones: Some Observations on the Identity of Late Bronze Age Knossians, in A-na-qo-ta, p. 89-100.
8
Cf. also J. DRIESSEN, Collectors items, cit. (n. 5), p. 212-214.
9
Scribes RCT, p. 194.
10
L. BAUMBACH, An Examination of the Personal Names in the Knossos Tablets as Evidence for the
Social Structure of Crete in the Late Minoan II Period, in Minoan Society, p. 3-10; EAD., The Personal
Names on the Knossos Ap tablets, in O-o-pe-ro-si, p. 273-278; EAD., Names of Shepherds at Knossos,
Acta Classica 30 (1987), p. 5-10; EAD., The People of Knossos: Further Thoughts on some of the Personal
Names, in Mykenaika, p. 57-63.
11
P.H. ILIEVSKI, Observations on the Personal Names from the Knossos D Tablets, in Mykenaika,
p. 321-349.
12
C. VARIAS GARCIA, La metodologa actual en el estudio de los textos micnicos: un ejemplo prtico,
Faventia: Revista de filologia clssica, 12-13.1-2 (1990-1991), p. 349-370; Idem, Antroponimia micnica
en las tablillas de la serie B de Cnoso y en Micenas, BCH 122 (1998), p. 440-443; Idem, The Personal
Names from the Knossos B-Tablets and from the Mycenae Tablets, in A-na-qo-ta, p. 349-370.
13
R.J. FIRTH, A statistical analysis, cit. (n. 3), p. 83-100.
14
E. LANDENIUS-ENEGREN, People of Knossos, cit. (n. 6), p. 97-190.
ETHNICITY AND LANGUAGE: ONCE AGAIN ON PERSONAL NAMES FROM KNOSSOS 179

adopt a sociolinguistic perspective, these studies all assume that the distribution of Greek
and non-Greek names is historically (and, in some cases, also ethnically) significant, as
non-Greek names, they argue, generally appear to be restricted to inferior classes, a
working force composed of shepherds or textile workers, in a dialectical opposition
with an economic elite represented by the collectors.
However, while these analyses do provide us with a general frame of reference for
the composition of Mycenaean society at Knossos, caution is called for. The Knossian
documentation invites some general methodological questions and poses several specific
problems.
First of all, the application of a working model based on the aprioristic assumption
of a direct correlation between language, ethnicity and social context has led to radically
opposed estimates of the composition of the population of Knossos, the most significant
example being Baumbachs study of Ap and As sets
15
. It is very hard to judge whether
carrying a Greek name actually implies ethnic group affiliation. While one could argue,
with Weinreich
16
, that in conditions of language shift a congruence between mother-
tongue and social status can be traced even if it is only transitional because some
socially distinct groups often lead the rest of the population, in the case of personal
names the situation is far more fluid. Considering name-giving as a social process, in a
context of social change (as in the case of the imposition of a foreign ruling class) names
can be expected to change as well. It is reasonable to assume that in such a situation
people will adopt or be given new names (or variants of old ones) that are considered
more appropriate. Most important, names can change without any relationship to the
ethnic identity of individuals. Sociolinguistic parallels
17
show indeed that in a context of
language shift and cultural assimilation there can be trends to the changing of personal
name patterns in a minority group in order to avoid social discrimination or gain
economic advantages. In the case of Mycenaean Crete, we can thus infer as Ruijgh does
in his study of names recorded in C-tablets that members of a socially inferior class
may have chosen Greek names for themselves to acquire social status
18
. Conversely, we
find non-Greek names among individuals of high status (collectors). These we can
interpret, with Driessen
19

15
Baumbachs study of the distribution of Greek and non-Greek names (1:6) in Ap tablets leads her to
conclude that the picture which emerges...is one of a labour force of indigenous and other slave women
under Greek masters (L. BAUMBACH, The Personal Names, cit. (n. 10), p. 277). But on the basis of an
analogous study on the As tablets, indicating a 1:3 ratio of Greek to non-Greek names, she also stated that
Greek and non-Greek names are almost inextricably mixed in the tablets suggests that at the time when the
Knossos tablets were written the Mycenaean newcomers had merged to such an extent with the local
inhabitants that there were no social distinctions between the two groups (L. BAUMBACH,
An Examination, cit. (n. 10), p. 6).
, within the broader framework of the Mycenaean elites self-
legitimizing strategy, as indicating a change in the boundaries of the ruling class in order
to incorporate local elements. Moreover, Mycenaean names may have been adopted by
16
U. WEINREICH, Languages in Contact, The Hague 1966
4
, p. 109.
17
S. COTTS WATKINS, A.S. LONDON, Personal Names, cit. (n. 2), p. 171-173 and related bibliography.
18
C.J. RUIJGH, po-ku-ta et po-ku-te-ro, drivs de *pku 'petit btail', in Mykenaka, p. 554.
19
J. DRIESSEN, Kretes and Iawones, cit. (n. 7), p. 99-100.
180 MATILDE CIVITILLO

the Cretan population (and vice versa) well before the first imposition of a Mycenaean
ruling class at Knossos, given the close relations existing between Minoans and
Mycenaeans at least since the beginning of the Late Bronze Age. Leaving aside any
speculation about other possible scenarios, the most important conclusion we can draw
from all the foregoing considerations is that the distribution pattern of Greek and non-
Greek names cannot be mechanically interpreted as reflecting ethnic distribution, but
must be regarded as a social phenomenon.
As for the correlation between name pattern changes and the language shift -
admitting that the time gap between RCT and late documents is indeed significant in
terms of language displacement-, it is even more difficult to define. In fact, the process
appears to be nonlinear. Actually, sociolinguistic parallels indicate that, while indeed in
an effort to integrate the second generation in a group speaking a less prestigious
language will abandon some traditional names (although others remain popular) to adopt
some untraditional (foreign) ones, the third generation often want their original names
back, in a reverse effort to stress their cultural identity
20
Another important factor we need to consider when studying personal names in
Linear B tablets is the role of the scribe who wrote them down
. However, it is impossible to
assess this kind of sociolinguistic change, which has no connection to the language shift,
in personal name patterns from Knossos.
21
. If we assume a non-
conformity of Minoan personal names with the dominant phonological patterns in
Mycenaean Greek, we can also suppose that the rendering of such names would have
posed a perplexing problem to the Mycenaean scribe. Given that not all names are
culturally available
22
, we can indicate, on the basis of sociolinguistic parallels, several
ways in which the scribe could deal with this problem: substitution
23
of the Minoan name
with a brand new name without any relation to the original one, or with a nickname; or an
attempt to find a compromise by preserving the foreign name through Mycenaeanisation,
transliteration or translation maintaining as much as possible of the original. Apart from
nicknames and Mycenaeanised names possibly assigned to individuals whose names were
difficult to pronounce or understand, cases of substitution, transliteration or translation
24

20
Cf., for example, I. LEHISTEs study on changes in name pattern among immigrants in the United
States over three generations: The attitudes of bilinguals toward personal names, American Speech 50.1/2
(1975), p. 30.

21
In an interesting study on the name patterns found among Italians and Jews in the United States, the
authors interestingly concluded that census enumerators played a major role in determining the form in
which a given name was recorded. While some enumerators could actually recognize Italian or Jewish
names and did not anglicize them, the majority found difficulties with them, and thus wrote them
phonetically, misspelled them, or merely wrote down the nearest English equivalent (S. COTTS WATKINS,
A.S. LONDON, Personal Names, cit. (n. 2), p. 177, 191).
22
S. LIEBERSON, What's in a name?...Some sociolinguistic possibilities, International Journal of the
Society of Language 45 (1984), p. 77-87, apud S. COTTS WATKINS, A. S. LONDON, Personal Names, cit.
(n. 2), p. 170.
23
The literature on name changing provides interesting anecdotal evidence about attitudes toward
personal names in bilingual communities. Cf., for example, I. LEHISTE, The attitudes, cit. (n. 20), p. 30.
24
Just by way of an example, while a study of the Americanization of Czech given names by
J.B. DUDEK (The Americanization of Czech Given Names, American Speech 1.1 (1925), p. 18) informs
ETHNICITY AND LANGUAGE: ONCE AGAIN ON PERSONAL NAMES FROM KNOSSOS 181

completely elude us. As a result, in approaching the study of personal names we have to
assume a wide range of unattainable phenomena in our documentation, which probably
bias our picture.
Apart from these basic issues, several other obstacles to a sociolinguistic analysis
of Knossian personal names arise from the nature of the documentation itself, which in
many cases does not allow us to determine the occupation or social status of individuals.
If the premise for any sociolinguistic analysis of personal names is the singling out of
tablets containing a sufficiently high number of anthroponyms belonging to people
whose status is generally accepted
25
, the fragmentary nature of a great number of
Knossos tablets (where the documents sometimes lack headings, ideograms and/or trade
names) often makes it difficult to assign a person or group of persons to a specific
profession or industrial activity (even when the Scribal Hand can be sufficient indication
of a specific economic area
26
) and determine the position of these persons within the
highly hierarchical Mycenaean administrative system
27
. This is only possible in a few
cases, such as with individuals who occur in documents with a repetitive format (e.g.,
shepherds or collectors in D-tablets); or whose names are preceded by a preposition
(pa-ro and o-pi
28
) allowing their identification as workshop supervisors; or who are
identified by occupational designations we can understand. Except in such cases, the
social status of the registered individuals is not wholly clear. Moreover, in many cases
members of working groups are not mentioned by their personal names, but by trade
names, do-e-ro/a, ethnics, or VIR/MUL ideograms only, which presents a serious obstacle
to any sociolinguistic analysis of Knossian anthroponyms. We can even wonder if our
sample is actually representative of the whole population of Crete. As Varias Garcia
suggested on the basis of a prosopographical analysis of B-tablets, this may not be the
case, because the palace administration was interested in registering not only worker
teams, but especially their foremen, who almost all were Greek and who even appear in
separate lists
29

us that the native name Blazena has a counterpart in Beatrice, and Rzena in Rose, this kind oI inIormation
is not available to us when we study Minoan and Mycenaean names.
. Interestingly, even the shepherds in the D-tablets are interpreted as
25
Scribes RCT, p. 189.
26
E. LANDENIUS-ENEGREN, People of Knossos, cit. (n. 6), p. 13.
27
As argued by TH.G. PALAIMA (Mycenaean seals and sealings in their economic and administrative
contexts, in Tractata Mycenaea, p. 254), the highly centralized Mycenaean administrative structure
operated through a hierarchical system of control radiating from a central regional controlling site to local
workers through high status officials stationed in settlements and centres who were responsible for
collectors and workshop supervisors who, in their turn, directed workers.
28
On the meaning of the preposition pa-ro, cf. J.L. MELENA, Studies on some Mycenaean inscriptions
from Knossos dealing with textiles, Minos Suppl. 5, Salamanca 1975, p. 85; C. PITEROS, J.-P. OLIVIER,
J.L. MELENA, Les inscriptions en linaire B des nodules de Thbes: La fouille, les documents, les
possibilits dinterprtation, BCH 114 (1990), p. 152 and 177. On o-pi, cf. J.T. KILLEN, The Knossos o-pi
tablets, in Primo Congresso, p. 636-643.
29
C. VARIAS GARCIA, The Personal Names, cit. (n. 12), p. 359. The authors hypothesis is chiefly
based on KN B 798, by Hand 107, a list of collectors. Cf. J.T. KILLEN, Linear B a-ko-ra-ja/jo, in
Studies Palmer, p. 124-125; J. DRIESSEN, Collector's items, cit. (n. 5), p. 209-210.
182 MATILDE CIVITILLO

lesser-status individuals generally
30
, but not universally
31
, since D. Nakassis
32
and
E. Landenius Enegren
33
All the above-detailed limitations clearly seriously hinder any attempt to perform a
sociolinguistic investigation of Mycenaean personal names. We do not have any idea of
the criteria used in name giving in Mycenaean Crete and our sample is probably not
statistically representative of the whole population of the island. Moreover, to these
limitations we must add another crucial problem: the criteria involved in the interpretation
of a name as Greek vs. non-Greek. In order to illustrate them, I present below a
discussion of anthroponyms attested on L-tablets, based on their generally accepted
interpretations.
have both recently proposed an interpretation of their role as
shepherd supervisors belonging to the elite, with parallels in Old Babylonian Ur.
The main features of L-tablets are well known: they are written for the most part
by Hand 103
34
-one of the most prolific scribes at Knossos, author of ca. 300 tablets- and
connected by the recurrence of certain names and by their find-spot to secondary scribes
35

responsible for recording individual or working groups of textile weavers and finishers
assigned to them -according to Enegren-, and employed in different sectors and stages
of production within the textile industry. The tablets all come from the same find-spot
(the West Magazines) and are assignable to the same period, LM IIIA:2 or IIIB:1
36
; thus,
they are later than the documents from RCT. The tablets of the L- series are classified as
Lc, Ld, Le, Ln, and residual L sets, according to scribal hand and contextual evidence
37

30
Cf., for example, J.T. KILLEN, Some Thoughts on ta-ra-si-ja, in Economy and Politics, p. 173 (not
persons of particularly elevated status).
.
As for the social status of the registered individuals, on strictly prosopographical grounds
one can distinguish between collectors belonging to the ruling class, workshop
supervisors -with names preceded by pa-ro or o-pi- probably of a middle class, and textile
31
J.-P. OLIVIER, Knossos Da-Dg, in Texts, Tablets and Scribes, p. 220-221.
32
D. NAKASSIS, Named Individuals and the Mycenaean State at Pylos, in Colloquium Romanun,
p. 557-558, with references.
33
E. LANDENIUS-ENEGREN, People of Knossos, cit. (n. 6), p. 37-39.
34
It seems highly probable that all the tablets by Hand 103 (Ak(1), Am, Ap, As(1), E(2), Lc(1), Le, Ln,
L(1), L(2), M, Od, V(4)) are connected to textile industry except for the Gg(1) set, listing offerings:
E. LANDENIUS-ENEGREN, People of Knossos, cit. (n. 6), p. 20 and n. 77; T.J. KILLEN, The textile industries
at Pylos and Knossos, in Pylos comes alive, p. 49-63.
35
The other authors of L- tablets are 113/115, 116, 114, 124, 207, 210, 211, 208, 209, 214, 213, 212
and 221. Cf. R. J. FIRTH, M.-L. NOSCH, Scribe 103 and the Mycenaean Textile Industry at Knossos: The
Lc(1) and Od(1) Sets, Minos 37-38 (2002-2003, 2005), p. 133. E. LANDENIUS-ENEGREN, People of
Knossos, cit. (n. 6), p. 63-69; EAD., A prosopographical study of scribal Hand 103, methods, aims and
problems, in Politeia, p. 115-130, PI. XIX, on personal names recorded in H. 103 and recurrent in other
scribal hands. Among these scribes, Hand 115 records the finishing of textiles in set Lc(2) and the
distribution of wool in Od tablets, and mentions the same individuals registered by Hand 103 (J. KILLEN,
The Knossos Ld(1) tablets, in Colloquium Mycenaeum, p. 151-181).
36
LANDENIUS-ENEGREN, A prosopographical study, cit. (n. 35), p. 116.
37
Lc(1) set (Hand 103) records the setting of targets for textile manufacturers under the ta-ra-si-ja
system (R. J. FIRTH, M.-L. NOSCH, Scribe 103, cit. (n. 35), p. 121). The Ld set registers the same cloth at
different stages in its processing, and the Le tablets record receipts for cloth from the same workgroups
listed in Lc(1), in the same Hand, 103 (J.T. KILLEN, Ld(1) tablets, cit. (n. 35), p. 152).
ETHNICITY AND LANGUAGE: ONCE AGAIN ON PERSONAL NAMES FROM KNOSSOS 183

workers possibly of lesser status
38
. The sets of tablets, however, are highly dissimilar
from one another as regards the distribution of personnel. Ln 1568 (Hand 103), one of the
most important L-series documents, records personnel (a-ze-ti-ri-ja, ,
decorators, and ne-ki-ri-de, *, women manuIacturing or decorating shrouds
39
)
referred to by their names under the authority of workshop supervisors, and thus offers an
interesting, if limited, cross-section of Knossian society
40
. However, the Lc set (by an
unidentified Hand) lists only a workshop supervisor ((o-pi-)si-ri-ja-we) by his name; the
Lc(1) set (H. 103) only registers two collectors (e-]me-si-jo-jo and we-]we-si-jo-jo); Lc(2)
(H. 113/115) lists collectors only (te-ra-po-si-jo[, ku-ru-so-no and [i-se]-we-ri-jo-jo) and
Ld(1) (H. 116) a collector (wi-jo-qo-ta-o) and a supervisor (e-ta-wo-ne-we). In these sets,
while workshop supervisors and collectors are designated by their personal names, the
working groups are referred to by their occupational or ethnic designations, or as
collectors groups, causing some imbalance in our sample
41
Moreover, the fragmentary nature of many documents, the high percentage of
hapax legomena, and the scarcity of occupational designations make the identification of
individuals listed in some tablets of the L-sets impossible. In the spirit of this study,
I have left these names (9, or 22% of the whole onomastic sample from the L-sets; see
below n. 107) out of my analysis. Excluding fragmentary personal names of which only
. The Le set (H. 103) lists a
collector (ko-ma-we-to) and a textile worker (a-po-te), along with personnel identified by
ethnic designations. Set L (H. 114?) registers a supervisor only (re-wa-jo); L(3) (H. 207)
a collector (i-se-we-ri-jo) and an individual whose status cannot be ascertained (]sa-me-
u[), while L(4) (H. 208) lists a workshop supervisor (qo-u-qo-ta) and an individual of
uncertain status (ka-to-ro). The highly fragmentary sets L(5) (H. 209) and L(9) (H. 213)
list two supervisors mentioned in other sets as well (po-po on L 513 and we-we-si-jo on
L 7396), along with one possible textile worker (ra-su-ti-jo). Finally, sets L, L(1), dealing
with linen, and L(2) (H. 103) register textile workers by their personal names along with
some collectors and workshop supervisors (e-ta-wo-ne-wo on L 695; po-po on L 648, o-
pi-si-ri-ja-we on L 8105).

38
This is the generally accepted interpretation of the social identity of this group of people.
Nevertheless, we have to mention the case of a-po-te, a textile worker registered in Le 641 with the
patronymic a-re-jo, possibly suggestive of higher status. DMic 1, p. 96-97; Y. DUHOUX, L'ordre des mots
en mycnien, Minos 14 (1975), p. 161.
39
According to J.T. KILLEN (Two Mycenaean words: I: ne-ki-ri-de, in o-o-pe-ro-si, p. 279), *
is a nomen agentis derived Irom , 'corpse.
40
For the connection between this tablet and some Ak texts (Hands 102 and 108), Lc(1) 526 (103) and
Le 641 (103), cf. J.T. KILLEN, Two Notes on the Knossos Ak Tablets, in Acta Mycenaea, p. 425-440 and
C. VARIAS GARCIA, La metodologa, cit. (n. 12), p. 364-365.
41
Groups with occupational designations (a-ra-ka-te-ja -*, 'spinners: Lc(1) 531.B (103); da-
te-we-ja (?): Lc(1) 540.B (103), L(1) 594.b (103); e-ro-pa-ke-ja (?): Lc(1) 534.B (103), Ld(1) 595.1
(116?); ne-we-wi-ja (*ne-werwiai, cI. and ~ , wool), Lc(1) 560.B (103); ke-ri-ni-ja (?) KN
Lc 535.B). Groups with ethnic designations (a-mi-ni-so ko-u-re-ja, da-wi-ja, do-ti-ja, da-*22-ti-ja, e-ki-si-
ja, e-ra-ja, (i-)ja-pu
2
-wi-ja, ko-no-so ko-u-re-ja, ko-no-so te-pe-ja, pa-i-ti-ja, qa-mi-ja, ri-jo-ni-ja, se-to-i-ja,
si-ra-ri-ja[, tu-ri-si-ja, *56-ko-we). Collectors groups (]ku-wo on Lc(1) 532, e-me-si-jo-jo on Lc(1) 551,
we-we-si-jo-jo on Lc(1) 7392). R.J. FIRTH, M.-L. NOSCH, Scribe 103, cit. (n. 35), p. 126-128.
184 MATILDE CIVITILLO

two signs survive
42
, as well as those whose interpretation as personal names is not
commonly acknowledged (5)
43
In the above-mentioned studies on naming patterns among different Mycenaean
social groups, the authors usually estimate the probability of a name being Greek or non-
Greek on etymological and morphological grounds
, only 40 names are fully or partially readable (Table I), of
which 23, the majority, are hapax legomena, while 12 are attested only at Knossos and 5
on the Mainland as well. Finally, as to the social status of the registered individuals, 7 of
the names analyzed are certainly attributable to collectors, 8 to workshop supervisors, and
25 to textile workers.
44
. Such a classification is made
difficult -it goes almost without saying- by the ambiguity of the Linear B script in the
spelling of the Mycenaean language and the brevity of many names, as well as other well-
known problems
45
, which makes the distinction to some degree subjective, as borne out
by the frequent reinterpretation of anthroponyms and different results reached by each
scholar for the same groups of names
46
A comparison with Garcia Ramons classification of classical Greek names
. Obviously, the lack of generally accepted criteria
-for example, as regards labelling as Greek or non-Greek names derived from loan
words that we still find in alphabetic Greek- does not allow us to reconstruct a reliable
name distribution pattern and imposes caution when evaluating the results reached by
different scholars on different sets of tablets.
47

42
]-da-na (L 192), 124, C; ]wa-de (Le 5903), 103, (-); ]ra-wo (L 578), (-), F3?/F14?/H3?; ]te-we
(L 5927), 103, (-); e-me[ (L 5927), 103, (-).
will
help to illustrate the complexity of the Mycenaean onomasticon. At the first level, Garcia
Ramon distinguishes between names that are intelligible or non-intelligible ex Graeco
ipso. Within each of these two groups, he then distinguishes two subgroups: among
43
]ta-ra-jo (L 433), (-), E4, hapax. The interpretation of this name is debated: cf. DMic 2, p. 315. ka-ma
(L 520), (-), F8, is probably a toponym and not a personal name (cf. DMic 1, p. 309-310). ]qe-re-jo (L 523),
(-), F8, hapax, interpreted hypothetically as personal name by E. LANDENIUS-ENEGREN, People of Knossos,
cit. (n. 6), p. 159, is perhaps an adjective (cf. DMic 2, p. 196). o-qo-o-ki-te (L 588), (-), F14, is an hapax of
uncertain reading: o-qo-o and qi-te? (cf. DMic 2, p. 46). ]a
3
-tu-ti-ja[ (L 5949), 103, (-), is very dubiously an
ethnic adjective (DMic 1, p. 140).
44
The names are generally classified as: personal names with certain or probable Greek etymology,
personal names without Greek etymology, and personal names with doubtful Greek etymology.
Cf. C. VARIAS GARCIA, The Personal Names, cit. (n. 12), p. 354; L. BAUMBACH, An Examination, cit.
(n. 10), p. 7-9; EAD., The Personal Names, cit. (n. 10), p. 277-278; EAD., The People of Knossos, cit.
(n. 10); p. 62-63. P.H. ILIEVSKI, Observations, cit. (n. 11), p. 339-348.
45
P.H. ILIEVSKI, Vocabulary words from the Mycenaean personal names, in Colloquium
Mycenaeaum, 135; ID., Some observations on Mycenaean personal names of non-Greek origin, Actes du
IIe congrs international des tudes du Sud-Est europen (Athnes, 7-13 mai 1970), Athnes 1978, tome 3
(Linguistique et Littrature) p. 11-17; Docs
2
, p. 93.
46
Cf. L. BAMBACHs (Names of shepherds, cit. (n. 10), p. 5) and P.H. ILIEVSKIs (Observations, cit.
(n. 11), p. 338) results on the number of Greek names among the personal names on D- tablets.
47
J.L. GARCIA RAMON, Onomstica y Cultura Clsica, Estudios Clsicos 120 (2001), p. 107. HMG,
p. 399-402, follows another classification, distinguishing within each of the two major group of names
(with and without Greek etymology) names with a direct correspondent in alphabetic Greek and names
without a direct correspondent but with at least one recognizable element in Greek or another language
(especially Anatolian and Semitic), and, finally, names without any known parallel.
ETHNICITY AND LANGUAGE: ONCE AGAIN ON PERSONAL NAMES FROM KNOSSOS 185

intelligible ones, personal names deriving from Greek words -e.g., from appellatives- and
foreign names understandable in Greek by adaptation -e.g., by folk etymology. Among
non-intelligible names, Garcia Ramon distinguishes a subgroup of names for which no
explanation is possible, and another that we can explain on the basis of another known
language. Example of the latter among the names of collectors
48
in the L- tablets include
ku-ru-so-no
49
(gen.), interpreted as * (cI. )
50
'Golden, Irom , a
Semitic loan word
51
well attested in Mycenean (cf., for example, ku-ru-so, ku-ru-si-wo-ko
etc). Likewise, te-ra-po-si-jo
52
is generally interpreted as a simple name, * (-
), to be compared with , meaning 'Servant, without a Greek etymology

but
understandable in Greek
53
. Two other collectors names have stems which cannot be
explained by Greek etymologies, such as ]we-ri-jo-jo (= i-se-we-ri-jo-jo)
54
and e-me-si-
jo-jo
55
(possibly including the non-Greek prefix e-me- according to Billigmeier
56
), but
they appear to be Hellenized
57

48
All the listed names, except ku-ru-so-no, occur in the collectors position in tablets by Hand 117,
and some (i-se-we-ri-jo and ko-ma-we) are grouped together in B 798, a sort of list of collectors
(E. LANDENIUS-ENEGREN, People of Knossos, cit. (n. 6), p. 60). Moreover, we-we-si-jo is an important
Knossian collector frequently attested at Knossos in documents dealing with textiles and sheep rearing,
chiefly by Hand 117 but with cross-references in Hands 103 and 108. The latter is the scribe of some Ak
tablets characterized by a remarkably high proportion of collectors names according to J.T. KILLEN,
Two Notes, cit. (n. 40), p. 426.
through the addition of the adjectival suffix i-jo, one of the
most common IE and Greek word-forming elements, meaning belonging to. Classifying
these names simply as Greek (because understandable in this language or because
bearing Greek endings) or non-Greek (on etymological grounds) led scholars to draw
49
L. GODART et alii, Quarante-trois raccords et quasi-raccords de fragments indits dans le volume I du
Corpus of Mycenaean Inscriptions from Knossos , BCH 110 (1986), p. 29, suggest that the name could
belong to a collector, but there is probably no connection between the names attestations in Lc 504 and
X 1014 (E. LANDENIUS-ENEGREN, People of Knossos, cit. (n. 6), p. 59, p. 138).
50
HPN, p. 472.
51
GEW 2, p. 1122-1123.
52
This name can be interpreted as belonging to a collector on the basis of its attestations in tablets by
Hand 117 (E. LANDENIUS-ENEGREN, People of Knossos, cit. (n. 6), p. 56). For its interpretations, cf. DMic
2, p. 335.
53
GEW 1, p. 663-664.
54
The interpretation of this name is debated (DMic 1, p. 287; E. LANDENIUS-ENEGREN, People of
Knossos, cit. (n. 6), p. 182). C. VARIAS GARCIA, The Personal Names, cit. (n. 12), p. 355, take it to be a
personal name with a doubtful Greek etymology, *, while admitting that we know of no Greek
name beginning with - o - (C. VARIAS GARCIA, El dativo singular atemtico en las inscripciones
en lineal B de Micenas, Faventia 16/2 (1994), p. 12, n. 19). J. CHADWICK (The group sw in Mycenaean,
Minos 9 (1968), p. 63) explained the name as a loan-word.
55
In all its occurrences, the name appears to designate the same individual (E. LANDENIUS-ENEGREN,
People of Knossos, cit. (n. 6), p. 55), a collector.
56
J.C. BILLIGMEIER, An inquiry into the non-Greek names on the Linear B tablets from Knossos and
their relationship to languages of Asia Minor, Minos 10 (1969), p. 178. According to this scholar, e-me-si-
jo could be formed with the non-Greek prefix also occurring in e-mi-ja-ta (KN V 831.1). Owing to the
difficulty of finding a Greek etymology for the stem, the name is interpreted as non-Greek by P.H. ILIEVSKI,
Observations, cit. (n. 11), p. 326, 335, 338 also.
57
P.H. ILIEVSKI, Observations, cit. (n. 11), p. 334; tudes, p. 126.
186 MATILDE CIVITILLO

very different -and hence unreliable- pictures of name distribution. The collectors names
whose Greek etymology is certain seem to be ko-ma-we-to
58
, *(), with the
adjectival suffix --, meaning Hairy, Long-haired (cf. ); we-we-si-jo, a
shortened form of a longer name (*werwes-pkos or *werwes-kmos vel. sim.)
59
, and wi-
jo-qo-ta-o (gen.)
60
, *-, a nominal compound in qo-ta (/-k
wh
ontas/) with a
nominal stem deriving from , meaning 'Slayer with poison. Two of these names, we-
we-si-jo and ko-ma-we, are also attested on the Mainland, and this, according to Killen
61
,
shows that the members of the collector class, who perhaps belonged to the same dynasty,
tended to be given names from a certain limited stock. While most collectors names on
L-tablets are simplicia, the only compound name (wi-jo-qo-ta) cautions us against
drawing any secure sociolinguistic conclusions from Mycenaean personal names, as it is a
collectors name in tablets by Hands 217 and 116, but a shepherds name in a tablet by
Hand 117. This example is enlightening, not only because it shows a certain degree of
circulation of Greek names among the lower social classes, but also because it teaches us
to beware of deducing social affiliation exclusively on the basis of the meaning of names
or whether they are simplicia or compounds. Finding names such as wi-jo-qo-ta, as well
as other martial names, not only among the military elite at Knossos (RCT) and Pylos
(o-ka tablets), but also among individuals for whom we posit high status in Mycenaean
industries not related to warfare, as well as personnel we think of as having lesser status
(such as shepherds and bronze-workers), is interpreted by Palaima
62
At the same time if, in general terms, it is possible to glimpse in Greek onomastic
material a general trend towards a relationship between name types and social position
(with compounds prevalently attested among upper strata and simplicia descriptive
names, short names, nicknames among lower classes
as potentially
offering us insights into the family histories, fortunes and aspirations of the individuals
who work in those professions. Moreover, the adoption of such names by individuals of
lower socio-economic status might represent, in Crete, a sign of cultural assimilation or a
deliberate aspiration to social promotion by assuming names with high cultural
distinctiveness.
63

58
The name is frequently attested in the collector position in tablets by Hands 117 and 120, and in
textile contexts by Hand 103 (E. LANDENIUS-ENEGREN, People of Knossos, cit. (n. 6), p. 56), and probably
refers in all its occurrences to the same individual. Cf. DMic 1, p. 373-375.
), the case of wi-jo-qo-ta does not
59
M.S. RUIPREZ, Mycenaean we-we-si-jo, AlIabetical Greek and , in Floreant,
vol. 2, p. 537-542.
60
Ld 598 (Hand 116). wi-jo-qo[-ta occurs in a textile-production context on Dq 7852 (217?); wi-jo-qo-
ta-o is registered on Dq 1026 (Hand 217) and is generally assumed to refer to a collector. However, it refers
to a shepherd on Db 1305.B (Hand 117), associated with the toponym do-ti-ja. Cf. F.M. WAANDERS, An
analytic study of Mycenaean compounds, Biblioteca di Pasiphae, VII, Pisa-Roma 2008, p. 42;
Personennamen 149, p. 199; Docs, p. 95, 427; Docs
2
p. 487, 591; P.H. ILIEVSKI, Observations, cit.
(n. 11), p. 333. For its interpretation as *-, cI. bibliography in DMic 2, p. 431.
61
J.T. KILLEN, Ld(1) tablets, cit. (n. 35), p. 177.
62
TH. G. PALAIMA, Mycenaean Militarism from a Textual Perspective. Onomastics in Context: lawos,
damos, klewos, in Polemos, p. 375.
63
J. CHADWICK (The Mycenaean World, Cambridge 1976, p. 64), gives as example e-ki-no, Sea-
Urchin, po-me, Shepherd or ka-ke-u, Smith etc.
ETHNICITY AND LANGUAGE: ONCE AGAIN ON PERSONAL NAMES FROM KNOSSOS 187

allow us to make generalizations or automatic assumptions based on this trend. The
example of wi-jo-qo-ta is not isolated in the Mycenaean corpus; for example, Garcia
Ramon
64
Another problem we are faced with when attempting sociolinguistic analyses of
personal names is how to interpret nicknames and ethnics. Some authors of studies in
Knossos onomastics
mentions the cases of a shepherd named e-ke-da-mo, , 'He who
submits men (PY Cn 285.11) and of a military official (PY An 654.8) called a-re-ku-tu-
ru-wo e-te-wo-ke-re-wi-jo, . While the patronymic (-,
Holder of true fame) can be related to a mans high social position, the nickname
Cock is more likely to be ranked among those generally ascribed to lesser-status
individuals. The ambiguity of the meaning of names is further highlighted by the above-
mentioned collectors name te-ra-po-si-jo, meaning Servant.
65
chose to leave out of consideration these two categories of names
because they cannot be related to linguistic and ethnic affiliation. For example, Ilievski
66

stressed that ethnics derived from pre-Greek toponyms with the addition of Greek
suffixes may denote both non-Greek and Greek individuals. In L-tablets, some ethnics are
attested among workshop supervisors (e-]ta-wo-ne-we,*
67
, cf. Hom. ,
from , a town in Boeotia, Il. 2.497
68
) and textile workers (ru-ki-ti-ja
69
, from the
ethnic adjective *, 'the woman oI and ra-su-ti-jo
70
, Irom *, ra-
su-to). As to nicknames, their interpretation seems quite difficult because we have no
knowledge of the criteria by which they were assigned. While we can suppose that po-ni-
ke-ja (dat.)
71
, *, who is dealing with purple (derived from a non-Greek
word)
72
, and di-*65-pa-ta, *- (cI. ), 'weaver
73
, could derive from
occupational designations possibly related to the work the women in question performed
within the textile industry (respectively, as workshop supervisor and textile worker), we
also find nicknames deriving from occupational designations related to animal husbandry
borne by textile workers, such as qo-u-qo-ta (the name of a workshop supervisor),
generally interpreted as *
w

w
, cI. , 'Cowherd
74

64
J.L. GARCIA RAMON, Onomstica, cit. (n. 47), p. 112 and n. 11. P.H. ILIEVSKI, Some observations,
cit. (n. 45), p. 23.
. Cases like this also
occur in D-tablets, where some nicknames borne by shepherds are, in their turn,
65
Cf., for example, C. VARIAS GARCIA, The Personal Names, cit. (n. 12), p. 359.
66
P.H. ILIEVSKI, Observations, cit. (n. 11), p. 338.
67
The name is attested, along with the preposition pa-ro, on KN Ld 584.2, and hence refers to a
workshop supervisor: J.T.KILLEN, Ld(1) Tablets, cit. (n. 35), p. 159.
68
Cf. DMic 1, p. 254 and H. VON KAMPZ, Homerische Personennamen, Gttingen 1982, p. 290.
69
Cf. DMic 2, p. 267.
70
P.H. ILIEVSKI (Observations, cit. (n. 11), p. 335) compares ra-su-ti-jo with the male name qa-ra-su-
ti-jo (KN Dd 1150.B, Nc 4489 and Xd 154), suggesting that both could be derived from a pre-Greek
toponym in -. The name reIers to a 'male Iinisher, rather than a 'male weaver according to
J.T. KILLEN, Ld(1) Tablets, cit. (n. 35), p. 167 n. 30.
71
DMic 2, p. 138.
72
From , derivative in -- Irom , 'red, without a certain etymology: GEW 2, p. 1033-
1034, probably non-Greek; Formation, p. 382.
73
tudes, p. 68 and n. 100; Interpretation, p. 296; DMic 1, p. 185.
74
E. LANDENIUS-ENEGREN, People of Knossos, cit. (n. 6), p. 67. DMic 2, p. 211.
188 MATILDE CIVITILLO

connected with the textile industry or do not have any relation to their profession
75
The same mixed occurrence of names intelligible in Greek and others that are not
observed among collectors is found among workshops supervisors. Ruijgh interprets re-
wa-jo as *, the patronymic of *, in its turn an hypocoristic of *
vel. sim.
.
Ilievski explains this evidence by suggesting that the individuals bearing these names may
also have had other, more respectable, professions. One wonders, however, if those
names were not true personal names without a direct correlation to the occupations they
referred to.
76
no-si-ro
77
, instead, is interpreted by Billigmeier as a non-Greek name, being
formed with the non-Greek prefix no-. Finally, the interpretation of three names seems
dubious. Landau and Ruijgh interpret ma-tu-, borne by a female supervisor, as a
possible Greek name in - (*, cf. ?, foolishness)
78
. The probably
feminine name po-po has been tentatively interpreted as a simple name in -, ?,
? or ?
79
Finally, Melena hypothetically interprets (o-pi-)si-ri-ja-we as
chez Siriaus
80
, while Bartonek rather sees it as possibly deriving from an adjective in -
went-
81
Among textile workers names we find the only attestation in the Mycenaean
corpus of the name of the Greek god , which derives from a non-Greek word of
unknown etymology
.
82
: it is the name a-pa-i-ti-jo, which is generally interpreted as an
adjectival derivative with the suffix -ijos from *a-pa-i-to, * or *
(cf. , )
83
. Among Greek names, ru-si(-qe) is interpreted as
84
,
a hypocoristic oI /
85

75
P.H. ILIEVSKI, Observations, cit. (n. 11), p. 337.
vel sim., who breaks up the army, and (ku-
su-)a-ta-o (to be explained xyn a-ta-o) is interpreted by Ruijgh as *h, a
76
tudes, p. 225 and n. 78; cf. DMic 2, p. 247.
77
The name is preceded by pa-ro and is presumed to be feminine because the tablet primarily records
womens names (J.T. KILLEN, o-pi tablets, cit. (n. 28), p. 638 n. 11); however, on As 603 it occurs in a list
of male personnel. According to J.C. BILLIGMEIER, An inquiry, cit. (n. 56), p. 178, the non-Greek prefix
no- is attested on other Knossian names such as no-da-ro (As 609.3 etc) and no-sa-ro (Dx 6059).
78
tudes, p. 249; Personennamen, p. 82, 157, 177, 199.
79
Probably a female personal name on tablets by Hand 103 (Ln 1568, L 648, L 567, Od 689 and Xe
524) but perhaps masculine (J.T. KILLEN, o-pi tablets, cit. (n. 28), p. 637-638, followed by E. LANDENIUS-
ENEGREN, People of Knossos, cit. (n. 6), p. 67) on L 513, by Hand 209. Except on L 513 and Ln 1568, this
personal name is preceded in all the extant tablets by o-pi, which indicates that the individual is likely to be
a workshop supervisor. C. VARIAS GARCIA, La metodologa, cit. (n. 12), p. 364; A. BARTONK,
Mycenaean common nouns in the disguise of proper names, in Floreant, vol. 1, p. 128; Mmoires II,
p. 301. Cf. also DMic 2, p. 140.
80
J.L. MELENA, Studies, cit. (n. 28), p. 85; this reading suggests for this individual a role as workshop
supervisor.
81
HMG, p. 581.
82
GEW 1, p. 646.
83
HPN, p. 529; DMic 1, p. 73; P. ILIEVSKI, Interpretation of some Mycenaean personal names: nomina
theophora, in Floreant, vol. II, p. 307.
84
DMic 2, p. 271; HPN, p. 291.
85
tudes, p. 294 n. 24.
ETHNICITY AND LANGUAGE: ONCE AGAIN ON PERSONAL NAMES FROM KNOSSOS 189

hypocoristic of a name such as *-h
86
. Finally, a
3
-ka-ra is interpreted as *
(cf. ), Gleam
87
. Some others textile workers names may be Greek, but their
interpretation is dubious. ko-re-wo, probably a womans name, although this is not
universally accepted
88
, is interpreted by Bartonek
89
as *, to be compared with
(hom. ), sword sheath, and thus as a personal name deriving from an
appellative denoting an everyday-life object. Doria tentatively interprets ]o-pe-te-wo(-qe)
(gen.) as a name in - to be read *
90
, and thus related to o-pe-ta, and
o-pe-re-ta, /, while Georgiev suggests a transcription as
*
91
. Finally, as regards the highly controversial compound name a-qo-ta, the
interpretations proposed are *?, to be compared with , 'He who owns no
oxen
92
, *-
w
, [celui] qui prend les routes de mer (cf. )
93
and */Am-
kh
w
oits/ from */An(o/a)kh
w
oits/, an apocopised variant of a-no-qo-ta/-na-qo-ta
94
(just
like the above-mentioned wi-jo-qo-ta, borne by a shepherd in KN Da 1289 and by a
collector in other tablets by H. 117). Moreover, three textile workers names (2 of which
bisyllabic) have been interpreted alternately as Greek or non-Greek, thus posing serious
problems when attempting to draw up a pattern analysis. e-ni, perhaps *
95
, could be
tentatively interpreted as a non-Greek name in -i (a stem usually occurring in non-
Hellenic names at Knossos) or as an hypocoristic form of a longer name such as, for
example, e-ni-to-wo (PY Eb 1187, Ep 539.10), *
96
vel sim. A. Bartonek
97

interprets the female name ta-su as a name in -, ? or *?, meaning
bold, derived from an adjective denoting character attitudes, whereas Varias Garcia
98

86
tudes, p. 186. Cf. , : HPN, p. 57, 60.

interprets it as non-Greek, the female ending in -u (mainly attested at Knossos) being
87
J.L. GARCIA RAMON, In Vorbereitung: Die historischen Personennamen des Mykenischen
(HPNMyk), Minos 35-36 (2000-2001), p. 469; cf. also DMic 1, p. 132.
88
C. VARIAS GARCIA, La metodologa, cit. (n. 12), p. 364.
89
A. BARTONK, Mycenaean common nouns, cit. (n. 79), p. 127. Cf. Personennamen, p. 73, 177, 210
and recently E. LANDENIUS-ENEGREN, People of Knossos, cit. (n. 6), p. 134.
90
The name probably refers to two different individuals (E. LANDENIUS-ENEGREN, People of Knossos,
cit. (n. 6), p. 66). M. Doria, I nomi greci con suffiso - con particolare riguardo al greco miceneo,
in Studi triestini di antichit in onore di Luigia Achillea Stella, Trieste 1975, p. 118. Cf. HPN, p. 355.
91
V. GEORGIEV, Supplment au lexique des inscriptions crto-mycniennes, Sofia 1955, s.v.
92
Personennamen, p. 27, 156, 169.
93
C.J. RUIJGH, Problmes de philologie mycnienne, Minos 19 (1985), p. 151.
94
M. BUZALKOVSKA ALEKSOVA, Is apocope in Mycenaean Greek possible?, in Secondo Congresso,
p. 223.
95
J.T. KILLEN, 155 raccords de fragments dans les tablettes de Cnossos, BCH 92 (1968), p. 120. The -
i ending is generally attested in names with non Greek origin, while Greek etymologies could perhaps be
ascribed to some of these, the major problem in interpreting them lying in the fact that they are all short
disyllabic names: cf. J.T KILLEN, Names in -i on Knossos Tablets, in Mykenaika, p. 351-363;
A. MORPURGO DAVIES, The morphology of personal names in Mycenaean and Greek: some observations,
in Floreant, p. 392-405.
96
DMic 1, p. 220-221.
97
A. BARTONK, Mycenaean common nouns, cit. (n. 79), p. 29; cf. DMic 2, p. 319; E. LANDENIUS-
ENEGREN, People of Knossos, cit. (n. 6), p. 173.
98
C. VARIAS GARCIA, La metodologa, cit. (n. 12), p. 364.
190 MATILDE CIVITILLO

unknown in Greek
99
. Finally, wi-da-ma-ta
2
, while regarded as non-Greek by Billigmeier
and Melena
100
, who suggest Anatolian cognates, notably for the prefix wi-da-, is
explained by Baumbach, Ruijgh and Neumann
101
Among non-Greek names, we find sa-mu-ta-jo
as a Greek compound, *,
derived from , 'Subdued by Iorce (cI. Hom. -, -), or /Wi-
damantja/ from /*Wi-damatn-/.
102
; sa-de-so
103
, which could be
interpreted as a name in -so, one of the most characteristic survivals of the pre-Greek
substrate, also occurring in Anatolian languages
104
; a possible feminine in -u (ru-nu
105
);
and a probable name in -e (ze-me-(qe))
106
Considering all the limitations outlined above, the high number of names of
doubtful interpretation, and the possibility that the examined sample is biased by the
fragmentary state of the documentation
.
107

99
P.H. ILIEVSKI, Some observations, cit. (n. 45), p. 12.
, the present overview suggests that it is
100
J.C. BILLIGMEIER, An inquirity, cit. (n. 56), p. 178; J.L. MELENA, El testimonio del micnico a
propsito de los nombres de las distintas fuerzas en Homero, Emerita 44 (1976), p. 430; C. VARIAS
GARCIA, La metodologa, cit. (n. 12), p. 364 does not include this name among personal names with
certain Greek etymology.
101
L. BAUMBACH, The Personal Names, cit. (n. 10), p. 277; tudes, p. 276 and n. 25; G. NEUMANN,
Deutungsvorschlge zu mykenischen namen, in Mikenaka, p. 438-439; Idem, Wertvorstellungen und
Ideologie in den Personennamen der mykenischen Griechen (Verffentlichungen der Mykenischen
Kommission, Bd. 15), AnzWien 131, 1995, p. 134.
102
C. VARIAS GARCIA, The Personal Names, cit. (n. 12), p. 367; tudes, p. 225; DMic 2, p. 279.
103
E. LANDENIUS-ENEGREN, People of Knossos, cit. (n. 6), p. 166.
104
P.H. ILIEVSKI, Observations, cit. (n. 11), p. 325.
105
For the interpretation as non-Greek name, cf. DMic 2, p. 270 and R.A. SANTIAGO, Nombres en -eus y
nombres en -u- en micnico. Contribucion al estudio del origen del sufijo -eus, Faventia monografies 6,
Bellaterra 1987, p. 138.
106
For the names interpretation, cf. J.T. KILLEN, Names in -e and -e-u in Mycenaean Greek in Indo-
European Perspectives: Studies in Honour of Anna Morpurgo Davies, J.H.W. Penney (ed.), Oxford 2004,
p. 281-298.
107
Indeed, an analysis of the 9 personal names excluded from the present study for lack of clues
regarding social status could change our overall picture of personal name distribution in the L-sets. ka-to-ro
(gen.), occurring without a context on L 489 (208?), can't be linked undisputedly with other instances of the
name: E. LANDENIUS-ENEGREN, People of Knossos, cit. (n. 6), p. 55. The name is generally interpreted as
/-, 'He who distinguishes himselI Irom *kas, * - (cI. DMic 1, p. 331 and
A. HEUBECK, Bemerkungen zu den mykenischen Personennamen (IV). 1. do-ri-ka-o, 2. e-ki-wo, 3. pu-wa-
ne, Beitrge zur Namenforschung 11 (1960), p. 2). zo-ta(-qe) (L 588, 103) is interpreted (DMic 2, p. 459)
as * or *, corresponding, according to A. BARTONK (Mycenaean common nouns, cit.
(n. 79), p. 129), to , and hence meaning 'He who wears a belt. ko-pu-ra (FN? on L 593, L 5998,
103), belonging in all instances to the same individual, is explained by P.H. ILIEVSKI (The suffix -ulo/a- in
the Mycenaean personal names, in Acta Mycenaea II, p. 275) as a diminutive in -, *Korpullas, related
to , 'Iruit (cI. , , : HPN, p. 234. cf. also Personennamen, p. 73 and DMic
1, p. 380. te-jo (L 565) is interpreted by P. ILIEVSKI, Interpretation, cit. (n. 83), p. 300, as *, while a
Mycenaean spelling such as *te-i-jo would be expected, on the basis of the feminine te-i-ja. p

--no-
(L 759v.), if complete and interpreted as Poimanori (cf. ), could be a nickname meaning
shepherd (A. BARTONK, Mycenaean common nouns, cit. (n. 79), p. 128, ). However
J.T. KILLEN, Names in -i, cit. (n. 95), p. 353, proposes an interpretation of p

--no- as an i-stem
ETHNICITY AND LANGUAGE: ONCE AGAIN ON PERSONAL NAMES FROM KNOSSOS 191

impossible to recognize a meaningful distribution pattern of Greek and non-Greek
names among the collectors, workshop supervisors and textile workers recorded in the L-
tablets. Moreover, we can attach little significance to the presence among the
anthroponyms of textile workers of a number of uninterpreted names, all but one hapax
legomena (8 out of 25, namely a-po-te, ]ku-da-ra-ro, i-ku-tu-re, na-e-ra-ja, qe-pa-ta-no,
ru-sa-ma, wa-wa-ka and *56-po-so), since these according to Ilievski are not necessarily
non-Greek
108
. Thus, the onomastic pattern of L-sets seems not to match the picture of a
clear-cut distribution pattern of Greek and non-Greek names among different social
classes drawn by previous studies on textile tablets (Ln 1568 and Ap set)
109

. Returning to
Driessens question whether the concentration of Greek names is related to social status,
we will have to conclude that, in the case of the L-tablets, no such correlation can be
recognized. Moreover, regarding the question whether the increase over time of Greek
personal names among the lower social classes could be significant from an historical
point of view, we have to conclude that the L-series provides too little evidence to allow
us to draw any conclusions; if, indeed, conclusions of any sort can be drawn from this
kind of material.


personal name, while cautioning that the reading is highly uncertain. di-du-me (L 588), while interpreted as
*, a nickname in - Irom meaning 'twin (Memoires I, p. 200 n. 42; tudes, p. 269 n. 172;
DMic 1, p. 173), is interpreted as non-Greek by J.T. KILLEN (Names in -e, cit. (n. 106), p. 281-298) along
with others names in -me mainly occurring at Knossos. The doublets di-du-me and di-du-mo on MY Oe
129.a and KN X 5751 could indeed represent the original non-Greek form and the same name with a more
Greek-looking ending. Finally, Killen proposes a possible explanation as a non-Greek name for ]sa-me-u[
(L 455, 207; sa-me-we on TH Wu 59.-D), generally seen as a possible derivation from the ethnic
adjective /Sameus/, from /Sam/, cI. ( C. PITEROS, J.-P. OLIVIER, J.L. MELENA, Les inscriptions, cit.
(n. 28), p. 155), although we cannot exclude that sa-me is an entirely non-Greek name whether containing
the same (non Greek) root as or not ( J.T. KILLEN, Names in -e, cit. (n. 106), p. 222-223). Finally,
no possible explanation has been offered for ]ku-ta-mi (L 759v.) and ]jo-du-mi (L 698, 103) (cf., resp.,
DMic 1, p. 412 and DMic 1, p. 301).
108
P.H. ILIEVSKI, Observations, cit. (n. 11), p. 331; a similar situation to that observable for
shepherds names on D- tablets: P.H. ILIEVSKI, ibidem, p. 337-338.
109
In his analysis of Ln 1568, C. VARIAS GARCIA (La metodologa, cit. (n. 12), p. 364 and n. 43)
observes a similar ratio of non-Greek to Greek names (6:2) to that indicated by L. BAUMBACH, (The
Personal Names, cit. (n. 10), p. 273-278) for the Ap tablets (6:1), and thus comes to the same conclusions
about the social composition of the Cretan population.
192 MATILDE CIVITILLO

Tav. I
Anthroponyms in the L- sets belonging to individuals
whose status is generally accepted (40)

M/F: masculine/feminine
G: Greek personal name
NG: Non-Greek personal name
UN: Uninterpreted personal name
?: Name of dubious interpretation


Collectors
ko-ma-we-to (gen.),
*()
M G Le 5629.3 (103). ko-ma-we, KN Dv 5278.B (117);
-ma-[, KN X 9434.B; ko-ma-we-ta, KN B
618.2 (103); B 798.5 (107); ko-ma-we-te, KN C(2)
913.2 (112?); ko-ma-we-te[, KN Dk(1) 1049.a
(120); ko-ma-we-to, KN Ap(1) 988.b, Dk(1) 920.a
(120), Dv 1272.A (117), Dv 7176.a (117), Dv
8562.B (117); X 9711. PY An 519.10 (S657-H 1);
Jn 750.9 (S310-H 2); PY Cn 925.1 (S925-H 1);
PY Tn 316 v.3-.3a; TH Of 35.1 (303)
wi-jo-qo-ta-o (gen.), *-

M G Ld(1) 598.1 (116). wi-jo-qo-ta: KNDb 1305.B
(117); Dq(3) 7852.a (217?). wi-jo-qo-ta-o: KN
Dq(3) 1026.a (217)
we-we-si-jo M G Lc(1) 7392.B (103); Le 654.6 (103). we-we-si-jo,
KN Da 1156.A (117); 1161.A (117); 1163.A (117);
1164.A (117); 1420.a (117); 8201.A, Db 1155.A
(117); 1165.A (117); 1166.A (117); Dd 1579.A
(117); De 1151.A (117); Dg 1158.A (117); Dv
1169.A (117); 1430.A (117); 1607.A (117); 5075.A
(117); 5989.A (117); PY Jn 431.18 (S310-H 2);
658.2 (S658-H 21); 725.3 (S310-H 2). we-we-si-jo[
KN Ak(2) 9173.1; we-]we-si-f

[ (108), Dv 8241.
]we-we-si-jo[, KN L (9) 7396 (213?); X9606. we-
we-si-jo-jo, KN Ak(2) 622.1 (108); Da 1162.a
(117); Db 1159.A (117); 1160.A (117); 1168.A
(117); 1344.A (117); 1464.A (117); Dc 1154.A
(117); 1167.A (117); Dd 1157.A (117); De 1152.A
(117); 1153.A (117); 1648.A (117); Dv 1509.A
(117); Od 502.b; X 453.1 (138?); 7759; 8196
ku-ru-so-no (gen.), M Deriving from a
NG word
understandable in
Greek
KN Lc(2) 504.B (113) (nom. on X 1014 (-)?)
te-ra-po-si-jo[, *
(-)
M Deriving from a
NG word
understandable in
Greek
KN Lc 446. te-ra-po-si-jo on Da 1314.a (117); Db
1263.A (117); De 1361.A (117); 1371.A (117); Dv
1439.a (117)
ETHNICITY AND LANGUAGE: ONCE AGAIN ON PERSONAL NAMES FROM KNOSSOS 193

e-me-si-jo-jo (gen.) M NG (Hellenized?) e-me-si-jo, KN De 1381.A (117); e-me-si-jo-jo,
KN E 843.1 (102); 7338: e-]me-si-jo-jo Lc(1)
551.B (103), L(1) 8159.b (]e-me--jo-jo) (103), X
35
]we-ri-jo-jo (=i-se-we-ri-jo-
jo) (gen.)
M NG (Hellenized?) KN B 798.11 (107); Dd 5105.B (117); L(3) 473.B
(207); ]we-ri-jo, KN Dv 9600.a (117); X 8625.b;
]-ri-jo-jo, KN Lc(2) 7377 (= 507).B (113)

Workshop supervisors
e-ta-wo-ne-we (dat.) (+pa-
ro), *
M Ethnic () e-ta-wo-ne: KN Ld(1) 591.2 (116); (1) 5607.2
(116?); Xe 5540.A(103); 7711.b; 8291.1 (103). e-
ta-[-ne-?: KN Xe 7850.2 (103). e-ta-wo-ne-u,
PY An 519.7 (S657-H 1); Aq 64.13 (S64-H 21).
e-ta-wo-ne-we KN Ld(1) 584.2 (116). e-ta-wo-ne-
wo KN L 695.1a (103)
qo-u-qo-ta (+ ]pi, o-pi?),
*
w

w

M G KN L(4) 480.b (208)
re-wa-jo (dat.) (+pa-ro),
*
M G KN L 871.a (114?)
ma-tu- (dat.) (+o-pi),
*
F G? KN Ln 1568 lat. inf.b (103)
po-po, (+o-pi) ?
? or
M/F G? KN Ln 1568.2b (103); L(5) 513.b (209); (1)
567.1 (103); (1) 648.b (103); Od (1) 689.b (103);
Xe524.1 (103)
(o-pi-)si-ri-ja-we (chez
Siriaus)
M G? KN Lc 646.A (103); L 8105.a (103)
no-si-ro (+pa-ro) M/F Generally
interpreted as NG
KN As (1) 603.1 (103) (masculine); Ln 1568.5
(103) (feminine?)
po-ni-ke-ja (dat.) (+o-pi)
*
F Deriving from a
word of NG origin
understandable in
Greek
KN Ln 1568 lat. inf.b (103)

Textile workers
ra-su-ti-jo M Ethnic
(*)
KN L(9) 761 (213)
ru-ki-ti-ja F Ethnic () KN Ln 1568.1b (103); Xd <314> ("124"?)
a-pa-i-ti-jo, *,
*
M Theophoric
deriving from a
word of NG origin
KN L 588.1 (-)
(ku-su-)a-ta-o, *h M G KN L 698.2 (103). cf. a-ta-o: PY An 340 (S129-H
22), Fn 324.12 (S324-Ciii), Jn 431.23 (S310-H 2).
a-ta-o-jo on PY Vn 34.5 (Ciii)
194 MATILDE CIVITILLO

a
3
-ka-ra, * F G KN L(1) 567.2 (103)
di-*65-pa-ta, *- F G KN Ln 1568.2b (103)
ru-si(-qe), M G KN L 588.1 (-)
a-qo-ta, *?, *-

w
, */Am-kh
w
oits/?
M G? KN L 588.2 (-)
e-ni, *? M G? KN L(3) 593.B (103); (2) 647.B (103); (2) 5910.1
(103); (2) 5924.B (103); (2) 5961.1 (103); (2)
5998.B (103). cf. e-ni, PY Xa 1342.2 (Ciii)
ko-re-wo, *? F G? KN Ln 1568.2b (103)
]o-pe-te-wo(-qe),* ?,
*?
M G? o-pe-te-we: KN So 4447 (129?); ]o-pe-te-wo-qe:
KN L(2) 593.Aa (103)
wi-da-ma-ta
2
Wid(a)mat/Wi-
damantja
F G/NG? KN Ap 639.9 (103); Ln 1568.1b (103)
ta-su F G/NG? KN Ln 1568.2b (103)
sa-mu-ta-jo M NG KN L 520.3 (-); PY Jn 389.4 (S310-H 2); Vn
865.3 (Ci); MY V 662.3 (61)
ru-nu F NG? KN Ln 1568.4b (103)
sa-de-so M NG? KN L868.b (-)
ze-me(-qe) M NG? KN L 588.1 (-)
a-po-te M UN KN Le 641.1 (103)
i-ku-tu-re
; Od(1) 562.3 (103)
M UN KN L 588.1 (-)
]ku-da-ra-ro M UN KN L 523.b (-)
na-e-ra-ja F UN KN Ln 1568.3b (103)
qe-pa-ta-no F UN KN Ln 1568.3b (103)
ru-sa-ma F UN KN Ln 1568.3b (103)
wa-wa-ka F UN KN Ln 1568.1b (103); cf. wa-wa-ko in TH Av
102.1.
*56-po-so F UN KN Ln 1568.1b (103)