Doprinos linearnih B tekstova u rasvetljavanju grčke religije kasne bronzane epohe
Contribution of Linear B Texts to Elucidating the Greek Religion of the Late Bronze Age

Summary/Abstract: In his attempt to evaluate more accurately the contribution of Linear B texts to a knowledge of the early phase of the development of Greek religion, the author first gives a short survey of the conclusions that had been reached (prior to the decipherment of the Linear B script) on the basis of literary sources and the archaeological evidence that had been known at that time. It had been expected that the Linear B texts would solve controversial problems concerning the origin and the early period of Greek religion, but these hopes were only partially fulfilled. In view of the fact that their syllabic writing is inadequate to render Greek words with precision, the data from Mycenaean documents should be used cautiously and with a critical attitude. In the identification and interpretation of individual words, provided by these written documents special attention should be paid to the paleography of the inscriptions, to linguistic peculiarities of the archaic Mycenaean dialect as well as to the context, where the treated words appear. Interpreting the data from the tablets through philological and contextual methods and also taking into account parallels from other sources, especially archaeological ones, the paper deals with the following questions : a. What do the Linear B texts tell us about Mycenaean religion and to what extent they confirm or deny the conclusions derived from archaeological discoveries and philological analyses before the decipherment of the Linear B script? b. What new light do they shed on the Mycenaean cult? c. What conclusions could be drawn from etymological analyses of the divine names encountered on the Mycenaean tablets? d. What data do the documents offer as to the controversial question of whether or not there were separate temples in addition to domestic shrines? e. Is there any connection between the Mycenaean civilization and Greek mythology?

• Details
• Contents