These are the sources referred to inline or in shortened form on this website.

[in progress]

Baumbach 1987: Baumbach, Lydia. “Names of Shepherds at Knossos.” Acta Classica XXX (1987), pp. 5-10.

Davis & Valério 2020: Davis and Valério, “Names and Designations of People in Linear A: A Contextual Study of Tablets HT 85 and 117.” B. Davis and R. Laffineur (eds), Neôteros. Studies in Bronze Age Aegean Art and Archaeology in Honor of Professor John G. Younger. Peeters: 2020. Pp. 23-31.

Facchetti 1996: Facchetti, Giulio M. “Comparable Name-Lists in Linear A.” Kadmos Bd. 35. Walter de Gruyter, 1996. Pp. 100-104.

Hajnal 2018: Hajnal, Ivo. “Graeco-Anatolian contacts in the Mycenaean period“

Meissner 2019: Meissner, Torsten. “Greek or Minoan? Names and Naming Habits in the Aegean Bronze Age“

Negri 2001: Negri, Mario, “Onomastica Minoica: I Nomi in -A-Re.” SMEA 43/1 (2001), pp. 75-91.

Peruzzi 1959: E. Peruzzi (1959) “Recent Interpretations of Minoan (Linear A),” WORD, 15:2, 313-324, DOI: 10.1080/00437956.1959.11659701

Salgarella 2022: Salgarella, Ester. “Cracking the Cretan code.” https://aeon.co/essays/without-a-rosetta-stone-can-linguists-decipher-minoan-script

Steele & Meissner 2017: Steele, Philippa M. and Meissner, Torsten. “From Linear B to Linear A: The problem of the backward projection of sound values.”

Thompson 2003: “Special vs. Normal Mycenaean Revisited.” Minos 37-38, 2002-2003, pp. 337-369.

Uchitel 2016: Uchitel, Alexander. “Ships and shipment in Minoan Linear A.” Minos 39, 2016, pp. 9-16.

van Soesbergen 2022: van Soesbergen, Peter George. The Decipherment of Minoan Linear A: Hurrians and Hurrian in Minoan Crete. Volume I, Part IV.
I do not use van Soesbergen’s proposed etymologies, but his analyses of what is and is not a personal name are useful.

Minoan/Linear A | Mycenaean Greek/Linear B | Finding Minoan/Non-Greek Names in Linear B Sources | Resources to Avoid

Minoan/Linear A

Linear A Texts

Linear A (lineara.xyz)
Contains a huge number of Linear A inscriptions (possibly all—the site doesn’t have an “About” page that explains the site contents) searchable by text, tablet name, and a variety of tags. Entries often have pop-up windows with extra information. An essential tool for research in Linear A.

Linear A Texts in Phonetic Transcription
Wayback Machine archive of John Younger’s well-respected and currently defunct Linear A website. The text formatting requires some experience with Linear A to understand; I recommend starting with lineara.xyz and moving to John Younger’s site when you’re familiar with how Linear A lists are laid out.

• Texts from Hagia Triada
• Texts from sites other than Hagia Triada
• Religious texts

SigLA: The signs of Linear A: a paleographical database
Slightly difficult to browse, and using the information has a learning curve, but it contains a huge percentage of the body of Linear A tablets. No information about individual words, but you can find every tablet where a given word appears.

Onomastic Research in Linear A

Davis and Valério, “Names and Designations of People in Linear A: A Contextual Study of Tablets HT 85 and 117.” B. Davis and R. Laffineur (eds), Neôteros. Studies in Bronze Age Aegean Art and Archaeology in Honor of Professor John G. Younger. Peeters: 2020. Pp. 23-31.

Facchetti, Giulio M. “Comparable Name-Lists in Linear A.” Kadmos Bd. 35. Walter de Gruyter, 1996. Pp. 100-104.

Negri, Mario, “Onomastica Minoica: I Nomi in -A-Re.” SMEA 43/1 (2001), pp. 75-91.

Peruzzi, E. (1959) “Recent Interpretations of Minoan (Linear A),” WORD, 15:2, 313-324, DOI: 10.1080/00437956.1959.11659701

Other Research in Linear A

Linear A Texts
Wayback Machine archive of John Younger’s well-respected and currently defunct Linear A website.

Bennet, J. “Now You See It; Now You Don’t! The Disappearance of the Linear A Script on Crete,” in J. Baines, J. Bennet, and S. Houston (eds.), The Disappearance of Writing Systems: Perspectives on Literacy and Communication (London 2008) 1-29.

Davis, Brent. 2013. “Syntax in Linear A: The Word Order of the Libation Formula.” Kadmos 52(1),
35–52.

— “Introduction to the Aegean Pre-Alphabetic Scripts.” Kubaba 1, 2010. Pp. 38-61.

Finkelberg, Margalit. “Minoan Inscriptions on Libation Vessels.” Minos 25-26(1990-91) 43-86.

Steele, Pippa. CREWS Display: Replica Linear A Tablet. April 20, 2018.

Thomas, Rose. “Some reflections on morphology in the language of the Linear A libation formula.” Kadmos 2020; 59(1/2). Pp. 1-23.

Uchitel, Alexander. “Ships and shipment in Minoan Linear A.” Minos 39, 2016, pp. 9-16.

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Mycenaean Greek/Linear B

Linear B Texts

Linear B (linearb.xyz)
From the same author as lineara.xyz. Contains a huge number of Linear B inscriptions (possibly all—the site doesn’t have an “About” page that explains the site contents) searchable by text, tablet name, and a variety of tags. Entries often have pop-up windows with extra information. An essential tool for research in Linear B.

Onomastic Research in Linear B

Billigmeier, Jon C. “An Inquiry into the Non-Greek Names on the Linear B Tablets from Knossos and Their Relationship to Languages of Asia Minor.” 1970. Pp. 177-183.

Davies, Anna Morpurgo. “The Morphology of Personal Names in Mycenaean and Greek.”

Enegren, Hedvig Landenius. The People of Knossos: Prosopographical Studies in the Knossos Linear B Archives. Boreas. Uppsala Studies in Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Civilizations 30. Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, 2008. 219. ISBN 9789155471088. SEK 240.00 (pb).
A complete prosopography (list of all known people) of the Linear B tablets from Knossos, with extensive analysis of the names, scribes, and social structure of Knossos.

Garcia Ramon, J.L. “Mycenaean Onomastics.” Yves Duhoux and Anna Morpurgo Davies (eds.), A Companion to Linear B: Mycenaean Greek Texts and their World, Volume 2. Walpole, MA: Peeters, 2011. Pp. 213-251.

Hajnal, Ivo. “Graeco-Anatolian contacts in the Mycenaean period“

Ilievski, Petar Hr. “The Suffix -ulo/a- in the Mycenaean Personal Names.”
Ilievski is an early researcher who has a tendency to propose Greek readings that are not confirmed by later scholars, but his work is often useful. Confirm his readings with later scholars.

Meissner, Torsten. “Greek or Minoan? Names and Naming Habits in the Aegean Bronze Age.” Robert Parker (ed.), Changing Names: Tradition and Innovation in Ancient Greek Onomastics. Proceedings of the British Academy (London, 2019; online edn, British Academy Scholarship Online, 19 Sept. 2019).

Nakassis, Dimitri. Individuals and Society in Mycenaean Pylos. Netherlands: Brill, 2013.
Analysis of what the Linear B tablets from Pylos reveal about the people and society of the time. Includes a complete prosopography (list of all known people) of the Linear B tablets from Pylos. This is by far one of the best resources for the names and social structure of Pylos, and likely much of the rest of the Greek world. (But note that Pylos is distinct from Crete, which had a somewhat different social structure and a largely Minoan population. The non-Greek names from Pylos are drawn from across the Aegean world, whereas the non-Greek names from Crete are largely Minoan.)

— “The individual and the Mycenaean state : agency and prosopography in the Linear B texts from Pylos.” Ph.D. diss. University of Texas at Austin, 2006.
The dissertation version of Individuals and Society at Mycenaean Pylos. Nakassis refined the work between 2006 and its publication in book form in 2013, but the meat of the work is there. This is a free substitute for those who can’t get ahold of the book.

Palaima, Thomas G. “Mycenaean Militarism from a Textual Perspective: lāwos, dāmos, klewos.“

Other Research in Linear B

Davis, Brent. “Introduction to the Aegean Pre-Alphabetic Scripts.” Kubaba 1, 2010. Pp. 38-61.

Judson, Anna P. “The Mystery of the Mycenaean ‘Labyrinth’: The Value of Linear B PU2 and Related Signs.”

— “THE TABLET-MAKERS OF PYLOS: AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION INTO THE PRODUCTION OF LINEAR B TABLETS.” The Annual of the British School at Athens 118 (2023): 147–70. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0068245423000059.

Salgarella, Ester. “Cracking the Cretan code.” https://aeon.co/essays/without-a-rosetta-stone-can-linguists-decipher-minoan-script

Thompson 2003: “Special vs. Normal Mycenaean Revisited.” Minos 37-38, 2002-2003, pp. 337-369.

Tomas, Helena. 2013. Saving on Clay: The Linear B practice of cutting tablets. In: Piquette, K. E. and Whitehouse, R. D. (eds.) Writing as Material Practice: Substance, surface and medium. Pp. 175-191. London: Ubiquity Press. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/bai.i

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Finding Minoan/Non-Greek Names in Linear B Sources

Baumbach, Lydia. “The people of Knossos: Further thoughts on some of the personal names.”
An examination of the names in the KN C-series tablets found at Knossos.

Baumbach, Lydia. “Names of Shepherds at Knossos.” Acta Classica XXX (1987), pp. 5-10.

Firth, Richard J. “Further statistical analysis of the personal names used on Crete during the late Bronze Age.”

Ilievski, Petar Hr. “Observations on the Personal Names from the Knossos D Tablets.” In Mykenaika, 1992, pp. 321-349.

Meissner, Torsten. “Greek or Minoan? Names and Naming Habits in the Aegean Bronze Age” Robert Parker (ed.), Changing Names: Tradition and Innovation in Ancient Greek Onomastics. Oxford Academic Books, 2019. Pp. 21-46.

Steele, Philippa M. and Meissner, Torsten. “From Linear B to Linear A: The problem of the backward projection of sound values.” Philippa M. Steele (ed.), Understanding Relations Between Scripts: The Aegean Writing Systems. Philadelphia: Oxbow Books, 2017. P. 93-110.

van Soesbergen 2022: van Soesbergen, Peter George. The Decipherment of Minoan Linear A: Hurrians and Hurrian in Minoan Crete. Volume I, Part IV.
I do not use van Soesbergen’s proposed etymologies, but his analyses of what is and is not a personal name are useful.

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Resources to Avoid

There are three things that serve as excellent warnings that a source is bad:

1. The author identifies Linear A with a known language. This is the brightest of red flags. Scholars have gone over Linear A with a fine-toothed comb for over 70 years, looking for any connection with known languages. If there was a connection, they would have found it. Anyone who claims they’ve broken the code and Linear A is definitely [insert language here] is a wingnut.

Note that it’s valid to suggest that the Minoan language contains elements of, or loanwords from, other languages. The Minoans were travelers and traders who criss-crossed the Mediterranean. It would be more surprising if they didn’t pick up pieces from other languages.

2. The author claims to have translated sections of Linear A. She or he can make this claim without associating Linear A with a known language. The usual method is to look at the words on a tablet whose meaning is known, then assign a meaning to the nearby words. It’s reasonable to do this with a few words—after all, we know the meaning of KU-RO from context—but the people who make claims like these claim to have translated well over a hundred words.

3. A paper is not formatted professionally. Anyone can upload papers to Academia.edu or Researchgate.net. Most papers are copies of journal articles or book chapters, and they show it: The typography is polished, the footnotes are perfectly formatted, and the page headers and footers have page numbers and publication data. While not all professionally published articles are good, they suggest a baseline level of competence that self-published papers lack. So if a paper looks more like a Word file than a journal page—or worse, IS a Word file, and not a PDF—it’s probably not trustworthy.

Blogs are another form of unprofessional publication. There are legitimate scholarly blogs out there, but they’re swamped by the number of amateur blogs. (cough) Unfortunately, the nature of the Internet means it’s easier to find a bad blog than a good paper. If you find a blog and the contents sound legitimate, look up the blog owner. A blog owner worth trusting will have credentials, and possibly professional publications.

And an honorary fourth red flag:

4. The source is old. A lot has changed in the field of Linear B scholarship, even within the past 20 years. Even a source that was state of the art when it was published can be outdated to the point of near-uselessness now.

My very general guidelines, based on a month or two of amateur study, are:

• Sources from the 50’s and 60’s are too old to be useful, except for the occasional point that was worked out early.
• Sources from the 70’s are highly questionable.
• Sources from the 80’s and 90’s are often useful, but beware of transliteration. The accepted sound values of many signs have changed.
• Sources from the 2000’s through mid-2010’s are excellent, but a few sound values will be wrong.
• Sources from the mid-2010’s through the present are excellent and usually have up-to-date sound values.

Bad Sources

Skip these sources. (Note that although most of them have multiple red flags, red flag #1 is the easiest to describe.)

• konosos.net makes a remarkably kack-headed argument that the Minoan language is Japanese.
• Iurii Mosenkis believes that Linear A is Greek.
• Olivier A. Samson believes that Linear A is Greek.
• Richard Vallance Janke is an “independent scholar” of questionable quality and substantial gullibility who believes that he has translated part of Linear A.
• Peter George van Soesbergen believes Linear A is a Hurrian dialect. He’s better educated than the average person on this list, with a dissertation on the onomastics of Linear A and B and a long academic history as a professor of classical studies. However, his adoption of some questionable readings, plus his belief that Linear A is a Hurrian dialect, regretfully puts him in the list of sources to avoid.

Dedicatory inscriptions are the only Linear A sources where we can be reasonably certain we’re looking at a person’s name, not a place name, an occupation, or a type of goods. These are the names of the Minoan men and women who dedicated an object to their gods. The names are written first in the standard notation for Linear A names, then with spelling that is closer to standard English pronunciation.

• A-KO-A-NE, Akoane
• A-RE-PI-RE-NA, Arepirena
• DI-SI-KA, Disika; or I-ZU-DI-SI-KA, Izudisika (see below)
• I-DA-MI, Idami
• JA-DI-KI-TU, Yadikitu
• JA-I-NWA-ZA, Yainwaza or Yahinwaza
• MI-DA-MA-RA₂, Midamarya
• O-SU-QA-RE, Osukware/Osuquare
• PI-TE-RI, Piteri
• TU-ME-I, Tumei or Tumehi
• TU-NA-TE, Tunate; or NA-TE, Nate (see below)
• TU-RU-SA, Turusa
• U-QE-TI, Ukweti/Uqueti

It’s impossible to assign a gender to most of the names. The only names that offer a hint to their gender are MI-DA-MA-RA2, which was written on a silver hairpin and may be a woman’s name, and O-SU-QA-RE, which has the -ARE/-aro ending common among non-Greek men’s names in Linear B and might be a male name.

For sources and notes about individual names, see below.

How Certain Are We That These Are Personal Names?

[in progress]

The libation formula consists of six elements that recur in the same order. Elements 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are single words, and though there’s considerable variation between versions of each word (because of dialect, grammar, or local spelling), they’re recognizable as variants of the same word. But element 2? Element 2 is a wildcard. Sometimes it’s one word, sometimes several, and every inscription’s element 2 is unique. This is what you’d expect to see if element 2 was the location where the dedicant inserted their name.

Of course, the words might not be personal names. They could be titles, descriptors, or place names. There are several inscriptions with complex second elements, which suggests that some second elements do contain more than a personal name–which, in turn, suggests that [in progress]

These words can be identified as personal names as unambiguously as Linear A allows a name to be identified:

• I-DA-MI, the only word in the inscription’s second element
• JA-I-NWA-ZA, the only word in the inscription’s second element
• O-SU-QA-RE, the only word in the inscription’s second element
• PI-TE-RI and A-KO-A-NE, two words that follow a common word that’s believed to refer to the religious site of Mt. Dikte. (See “The Problem of Dikte” below.) This is the only inscription that has two words that could be identified as personal names, and one of the other words in the formula has a different ending than its versions all the other inscriptions, suggesting that the different ending is a plural form. This potential conjugation strengthens the likelihood that PI-TE-RI and A-KO-A-NE are two people.
• TU-ME-I, a word that follows a common word that’s believed to refer to the religious site of Mt. Dikte. Based on its parallel to PI-TE-RI and A-KO-A-NE, TU-ME-I is a personal name.
• U-QE-TI, the only word in the inscription’s second element

These names are more ambiguous, and will be discussed as I develop this portion of the site:

• A-RE-PI-RE-NA, Arepirena
• DI-SI-KA, Disika; or I-ZU-DI-SI-KA, Izudisika (see below)
• JA-DI-KI-TU, Yadikitu
• MI-DA-MA-RA₂, Midamarya
• TU-NA-TE, Tunate; or NA-TE, Nate (see below)
• TU-RU-SA, Turusa

The Problem of Dikte

Several inscriptions have a second section that begins with a variant of (J)A-DI-KI-TE-TE-DU-PU₂-RE, and is sometimes followed by a word that is probably a personal name. DI-KI-TE is believed to refer to Mt. Dikte, a site of deep religious importance. All of the items inscribed with this word were found at Palaikastro, a site at the eastern end of Crete, near one of the possible locations of Mt. Dikte. (Today the word refers to the entire mountain range.) DU-PU₂-RE may mean something like “lord”; it always appears in conjunction with another word, and the associated words are plausibly identified as place names.

These are the inscriptions that contain this element, with the most likely words of the second element bolded:

PK Za 15: [destroyed]JA-DI-KI-TE-TE-DU-PU₂-RE

• This is the only surviving word on this stone vessel, but it’s clear and complete. Given the poor condition and varying spelling of the other inscriptions, this inscription is valuable evidence that (J)A-DI-KI-TE-TE-DU-PU₂-RE was more or less the full form of this word.

PK Za 8: NU . PA3-E . JA-DI-KI-TE-TE-*307-PU₂-RE . TU-ME-I
JA-SA-U-NA-KA-NA-SI
I-PI[damaged]

• This is the best-preserved of the inscriptions.

PK Za 11: A-TA-I-*301-WA-E . A-DI-KI-TE-TE .
. [damaged]RE . PI-TE-RI . A-KO-A-NE . A
SA-SA-RA-ME . U-NA-RU-KA-NA-TI .
I-PI-NA-MI-NA SI-RU [damaged] I-NA-JA-PA-QA

IO Za 2: A-TA-I-*301-WA-JA . JA-DI-KI-TU . JA-SA-SA-RA-ME . U-NA-KA-NA-SI . I-PI-NA-MA .
SI-RU-TE . TA-NA-RA-TE-U-TI-NU . I . [destroyed]

• An interesting case. Although JA-DI-KI-TU is similar to (J)A-DI-KI-TE-TE-DU-PU₂-RE, it’s missing the DU-PU₂-RE portion that’s sometimes interpreted as “lord.” A variation of (J)A-DI-KI-TE-TE-DU-PU₂-RE? Or a personal name derived from the name of the religious site?

PK Za 12: A-TA-I-*301-WA-JA . A-DI-KI-TE[damaged] [heavily damaged]SI[heavily damaged]
[damaged]RA-ME[damaged] [damaged]A-NE[damaged] U-NA-RU-KA-JA-SI A-PA-DU-PA [heavily damaged]JA[heavily damaged] JA-PA-QA

• This inscription is too damaged to learn anything from.

Annotated List of Inscriptions

Through comparison of dozens of inscribed objects, scholars have worked out the pattern of the Minoan libation formula. The various elements recur in a more or less set order, but not all elements need to be present in a single inscription. The only part of the formula that isn’t a standard word (or word form) is the second word, which scholars agree is probably the name(s) of the dedicant(s).

Inscriptions Where Most of the Formula Is Preserved

IO Za 2: A-TA-I-*301-WA-JA . JA-DI-KI-TU . JA-SA-SA-RA-ME . U-NA-KA-NA-SI . I-PI-NA-MA .
SI-RU-TE . TA-NA-RA-TE-U-TI-NU . I . [destroyed]

• Square libation table found at Mount Iouktas, Crete. C. 1600-1500 BCE.
• Possible personal name: JA-DI-KI-TU, possibly related to Mt. Dikte. Brent Davis suggests a relationship to the Linear B anthroponym di-ko-to. [link]

IO Za 6: TA-NA-I-*301-U-TI-NU . I-NA-TA-I-ZU-DI-SI-KA . JA-SA-SA-RA-ME .

• Orange alabaster cup with inscription written on the outside, found at Mount Iouktas. C. 1600-1500 BCE.
• J.G. Younger suggests the likely name, I-NA-TA-I-ZU-DI-SI-KA, is two words: I-NA-TA-I-ZU (placename; cf. Inatos) and DI-SI-KA (personal name) [link]. This is supported by PKZa11, in which the sequence that appears where the name should be, A-DI-KI-TE-TE . [damaged]RE . PI-TE-RI . A-KO-A-NE, contains the possible place name A-DI-KI-TE-TE (related to Mt. Dikte?) and two intact personal names, PI-TE-RI and A-KO-A-NE. (But note that in PKZa11, the words are separated.)
• If the later place name is Inatos, then it seems to me that the Minoan place name would more likely be I-NA-TA, meaning that I-NA-TA-I-ZU-DI-SI-KA represents I-ZU-DI-SI-KA of I-NA-TA.
• Possible personal name: I-NA-TA-I-ZU-DI-SI-KA, or DI-SI-KA, or I-ZU-DI-SI-KA

KN Zc 7: A-KA-NU-ZA-TI . DU-RA-RE . A-ZU-RA .
JA-SA-RA-A-NA-NE . WI-PI .

• Ceramic cup. Found in the basement of a house at Knossos alongside KN Zc 6.
• J.G. Younger suggests this is a “deliberately garbled” religious text: U-NA-RU-KA-NA-TI . DU-PU₂-RE . A-ZU-RA . JA-SA-SA-RA . I-PI-NA-MA . A-ZU-RA is the only word without an alternate translation. Would this make it a personal name?

KO Za 1: A-TA-I-*301-WA-JA [line break] TU-RU-SA . DU-*314-RE [DU-PU₂-RE?] . I-DA-A . U-NA-KA-NA-SI . I-PI-NA-MA . SI-RU-TE

• Inscribed vessel found at Kophinas, Crete
• Younger suggests that TU-RU-SA, DU-*314-RE [DU-PU₂-RE?], and I-DA-A may all be names. I note that words beginning I-DA are common in libation formulae, so I’m skeptical of I-DA-A.
• DU-PU2-RE appears three times in inscriptions: PA-TA-DA-DU-PU₂-RE (HTZb160), JA-DI-KI-TE-TE-DU-PU₂-RE (PKZa15), and possibly JA-DI-KI-TE-TE-*307-PU₂-RE (PKZa8). The parallel with TU-RU-SA . DU-*314-RE suggests to me that this is another two-part phrase, with TU-RU-SA modifying DU-PU₂-RE in some unknown way.
  • Possible variants of DU-PU₂-RE appear in Linear B in several men’s names. [link, p. 55]
  • Miguel Valerio (2007) suggests that DU-PU₂-RE means something like “master” [link], although he has since backed off of this hypothesis [link].
• Steele & Meissner 2017 interpret TU-RU-SA as Linear B place name tu-ri-so.
• Possible personal name: TU-RU-SA

PR Za 1: TA-NA-SU-TE-[ ]-KE
SE-TO-I-JA
A-SA-SA-*802-ME

• SE-TO-I-JA is identical to Linear B place name se-to-i-ja.
• This inscription appears to not have a personal name, unless SE-TO-I-JA is a place name used as a personal name.
• J.G. Younger suggests the last word is another version of TE-SU-DE-SE-KE-I, from KNZf31.

TL Za 1: A-TA-I-*301-WA-JA . O-SU-QA-RE . JA-SA-SA-RA-ME . U-NA-KA-NA [damaged] I-PI-NA-MA SI-RU-TE

• Probable personal name: O-SU-QA-RE
• -are/-aro is a common ending for non-Greek male Linear B names, so this name may be male.

ZA Zb 3: VIN 32
DI-DI-KA-SE A-SA-MU-NE A-SE
A-TA-I-*301-DE-KA . A-RE-PI-RE-NA . TI-TI-KU

• Stone vessel, perhaps an offering of wine. Found at Epano Zakros, villa, Crete. LM I (c. 1700-1470 BCE)
• A-SE appears three times as a list header or item, suggesting it is a place name.
• TI-TI-KU appears on HT 35 as the header for a list of commodities. Possibly a place name.
• If A-TA-I-*301-DE-KA is a conjugation of A-TA-I-*301-WA-JA, then A-RE-PI-RE-NA may be a personal name.
• Possible personal name: A-RE-PI-RE-NA

SY Za 4: A-TA-I-*301-WA-JA . JA-I-NWA-ZA . PA₃-NI-WI

• Serpentine libation table. Found in a context suggesting MM IIIB-LM IA (c. 1700-1600 or 1550 BCE).
• Possible personal name: JA-I-NWA-ZA

Damaged Inscriptions

AP Za 2: [damaged]NA-SI . I-PI-NA-MA . [damaged] I-KU-PA₃-NA-TU-NA-TE[damaged]PI-MI-NA-TE . I-NA-JA-RE-TA . [damaged]QA .

• Stone libation table from a Minoan villa at Apodolou, Crete. Middle Minoan III-Late Minoan I (c. 1750-1470 BCE).
• J.G. Younger switches the order of the fragments and suggests that the inscription reads [damaged] KU-PA3-NA-TU-NA-TE [damaged]NA-SI . [I-]PI-MI-NA-TE . I-NA-JA-RE-TA . [damaged]QA . According to this reading, the personal name would be KU-PA₃-NA-TU-NA-TE.
• Just as J.G. Younger noted that I-NA-TA-I-ZU-DI-SI-KA was long for one name, and proposed dividing it into a place name and a personal name, I propose that KU-PA₃-NA-TU-NA-TE is two words: KU-PA₃-NA, a variant of the common place name and/or personal name KU-PA₃-NU, and TU-NA-TE, the personal name. This would strengthen the identification of KU-PA₃-NU as a place name.
• Alternatively, KU-PA₃-NA-TU appears on HT 47a and HT 119, both times in lists of commodities in a spot that could be either a personal name or (more probably) a place name. KU-PA₃-NA-TU-NA-TE may represent the personal name KU-PA₃-NA-TU and the secondary name or appellation NA-TE, or the personal name NA-TE from the location of KU-PA₃-NA-TU.
• Probable personal name: KU-PA₃-NA-TU-NA-TE or TU-NA-TE or NA-TE

KN Za 10: [damaged]TA-NU-MU-TI . JA-SA-SA-RA-MA-NA . DA-WA[damaged] . DU-WA-TO . I-JA[damaged]

• Dated to LM I (c. 1675-1470 BCE) or LM IA (c. 1675-1550 BCE).
• [ ]-TA-NU-MU-TI may be the personal name, since it comes before the JA-SA-SA-RA-ME element of the libation formula. Unfortunately, the beginning of the word is lost.
• Alternatively, Younger interprets [ ]-TA-NU-MU-TI as the first word of the libation formula.

PK Za 8: NU . PA3-E . JA-DI-KI-TE-TE-*307-PU₂-RE . TU-ME-I
JA-SA-U-NA-KA-NA-SI
I-PI[damaged]

• Possible personal name: TU-ME-I

PK Za 11: A-TA-I-*301-WA-E . A-DI-KI-TE-TE .
. [damaged]RE . PI-TE-RI . A-KO-A-NE . A
SA-SA-RA-ME . U-NA-RU-KA-NA-TI .
I-PI-NA-MI-NA SI-RU [damaged] I-NA-JA-PA-QA

• Stone libation table from Palaikastro, Crete.
• Younger suggests that A-DI-KI-TE-TE is a place name, possibly related to Mt. Dikte.
• Probable personal names: PI-TE-RI and A-KO-A-NE

PK Za 12: A-TA-I-*301-WA-JA . A-DI-KI-TE[damaged] [heavily damaged]SI[heavily damaged]
[damaged]RA-ME[damaged] [damaged]A-NE[damaged] U-NA-RU-KA-JA-SI A-PA-DU-PA [heavily damaged]JA[heavily damaged] JA-PA-QA

• Younger suggests that A-DI-KI-TE-[?] is a place name (see PKZa11) and the personal name is SI-[.

PL Zf 1: [damaged]TA . WI-TE-JA-MU . U-QE-TI . JA-SA-SA-RA-ME . TA-NU-NI-KI-NA . NI-NU-NI . [damaged] . [damaged]I[damaged]

• Silver pin, written right to left
• Possible personal name: U-QE-TI

SY Za 1: A-TA-I-*301-WA-JA . I-DA-MI . JA[the rest is missing]

• Libation table, found in Building U, room 8. Found in a context suggesting MM IIIB-LM IA (c. 1700-1600 or 1550 BCE).
• Probable personal name: I-DA-MI

SY Za 3: A-TA-I-*301-WA-[JA] [damaged] SE?-KA-NA-SI [damaged] SI-[RU]-TE

• Libation table. Found in a context suggesting MM IIIB-LM IA (c. 1700-1600 or 1550 BCE).
• SE?-KA-NA-SI is in the right location to be a personal name, but the -KA-NA-SI ending may be a verb form, as in JA-SA-U-NA-KA-NA-SI. [link] This formula may not contain a personal name.

Inscriptions That Are Not the Libation Formula

ARKH Zf 9: JA-KI-SI-KI-NU • MI-DA-MA-RA₂ •

• Hairpin found in a Minoan sacred cave at Arkalochori, Crete. Late Minoan I (1600-1450 BCE)
• J.G. Younger suggests that MI-DA-MA-RA₂ is the personal name. [link]
• The item is a silver hairpin, raising the possibility that MI-DA-MA-RA₂ is a female name.

CR(?) Zf 1: A-MA-WA-SI . KA-NI-JA-MI . I-JA . QA-KI-SE-NU-TI . A-TA-DE

• Gold hairpin of unknown provenance, possibly Knossos; Late Minoan IA.

KN Zc 6: *34-TI-RI-A-DI-DA-KI-TI-PA-KU .
NI-JA-NU .
JU-KU-NA-PA-KU-NU-U-I-ZU .

• Inked inscription in the interior of a conical ceramic cup. Found in the basement of a house at Knossos alongside KN Zc 7.

KN Zf 13: A-RE-NE-SI-DI-*301-PI-KE-PA-JA-TA-RI-SE-TE-RI-MU-A-JA-KU

• Gold ring found at Mavrospilio, Tomb IXe, Crete. The only gold ring with a Linear A inscription. Provisionally dated to MM III-LM I on stylistic grounds.

KN Zf 31: SI-SI-ZA-NE-*310 . DA-DU-MI-NE . QA-MI-*47-NA-RA . A-WA-PI . TE-SU-DE-SE-KE-I . A-DA-RA . TI-DI-TE-QA-TI . TA-SA-ZA . TA-TE-I-KE-ZA-RE .

• Silver pin

KO(?) Zf 2: A-RA-KO-KU-ZU-WA-SA-TO-MA-RO-AU-TA-DE-PO-NI-ZA

• Bronze mesomphalos bowl

Updated April 10, 2025

There are two phases of Minoan names: Names attested in Linear A, when Minoans ruled Crete and wrote in their native language (c. 1800-1450 BCE), and names attested in Linear B, when Mycenaeans ruled a mixed Mycenaean and Minoan population on Crete and wrote in Greek (c. 1400-1200 BCE).

Minoan names attested in Linear B are mixed with Greek names. As this page develops, I’ll have extensive information on Greek names as well.

[in progress]

Minoan Names

• Minoan Names: The Shortlist
• Minoan Personal Names from Dedicatory Inscriptions
• Minoan Names That Survived into Mycenaean Times

Mycenaean Names

• Minoan Names in Mycenaean Times: The Shortlist
• Women’s Names
• Men’s Names

Sources and Resources

• Minoan and Mycenaean Greek Name Resources
• Sources

Updated April 10, 2025