The Phaistos Disk: a Solar Calendar

Mediterranean Arhaeology and Archaeometry, Vol. 13, No 1, pp.235-264 Copyright @ 2013 MAA Printed in Greece. All rights reserved.

THE PHAISTOS DISK: A SOLAR CALENDAR. CONTRIBUTION TO A DECIPHERMENT

Mary Kilbourne Matossian

Department of History, University of Maryland, USA

Received: 30/9/2012 Accepted: 25/10/2012 Corresponding author: [email protected]

ABSTRACT The objective of this paper is to contribute to the decipherment of the Phaistos Disk. The present assumption is that the Disk was a solar calendar. The proposed method is used to recreate the night sky over Crete in the year 1613 B.C., beginning on September 1, and to follow the astral phenomena for a year thereafter. In addition, the figures on the Disk are interpreted by what is known about Bronze Age Cretan culture, especially agriculture. The result was a set of plausible interpretations of most of the icons found on the Disk. The conclusion is that the Phaistos Disk Unknown Script was created primarily to serve as a guide to the timing of agricultural activities and religious rituals.

KEYWORDS: opium, bull rituals, double axe, planets, constellations, Phaistos disc, Minoan calendar 236 MAry KilbourNe MAtossiAN

1. INTRODUCTION second-century b.c.e. Almagest, originated in Mesopotamia between 1300 and 1000 In 1908 an archaeologist, Luigi Pernier, B.C.. Taking the precession of the equinoxes discovered the Phaistos Disk in the ruins of into account, Schaefer argued that the the first palace at Phaistos, Crete, which had Mesopotamian constellations would have been destroyed by a severe earthquake. been visible near or at Lat. 33-36 degrees Many have tried, but none so far have (Schaefer, 2006) He did not estimate the succeeded in deciphering the figures longitude. printed on it. The purpose of this article is The palace at Phaistos was in south- to make a contribution to this central Crete at Latitude 35 degrees North decipherment. and longitude 25 degrees East. This was In a 1976 essay, Leon Pomerance argued quite close to the location specified by that the Phaistos Disk was an almanac or Michael Ovenden for the invention of the calendar. He identified two celestial constellations. The palace commanded a symbols on the Disk: the eagle as the view of the twin peaks of Mount Ida which constellation Aquila, and the seven dots lay due north. inside a circle as the Pleiades (Pomerance, Earlier attempted decipherments of the 1976). disc are numerous, all but a few of not In 1996 Goran Henriksson and Mary scholarly value and none yet of wide Blomberg suggested that the Minoans had academic acceptance. astronomical observatories in the peak The journal of Archeoastronomy (Vol II, sanctuaries of Petsophas and Graostalos number 3, Summer 1979) included a book (Henriksson and Blomberg, 1996). review by D. H. Kelley for the book by In 2011 Henrickson and Blomberg Pomerance (1976). published an article presenting evidence Dieter (1990, 1994) made some linguistic from Knossos that the Minoans had a solar evaluations, Dr. M. Frenkel claims that the and a lunisolar calendar. They said that the Disc is an astronomical calculator. His calendar began with the autumnal equinox. views were presented at Oxford VI and They identified the double axe sign with the SEAC 99 Conference (27-05-99). constellation Orion (Henriksson and In the words of the Author, Claire Grace Blomberg, 1996). Watson, "the disk is a Minoan wave spiral In 1966 University of Glasgow (left) on which is depicted the Aegean world of astronomer Michael Ovenden argued that Minoan Crete, including a cave, a boat, a the constellations recognized by the Greeks pyramid, a star, planets, a constellation, had been invented in 2800 B.C. ± 800 years. geometry, math, and everyday life in Crete that He designated the most likely place of mirrors the stars above. We reveal them on the invention as Latitude 36 and one and a half disk just as we revealed the kind grandmother, degrees north, and Longitude 26 and one by connecting identical pictographs with lines. third degrees east. As to the identity of the this is also how the constellations are revealed. inventors of the constellations Ovenden We know they are only stars, but to the people said: “i would like to put forward the claims of of the Aegean world, the stars and planets were the Minoans of the Minoans, based in Crete, the eyes of the gods watching over them". (see, who were in the Mediterranean in strength by http://www.diskoftheworld.com/) the beginning of third millennium [b.C..]” Ridderstad (2010) talked of a lunisolar (Ovenden, 1966). calendar, and Bernd Schomburg (2000) – In 2006 astronomer Bradley E. Schaefer Der Jahrtausend-Kalender der Minoer (= argued that the Greek constellations, as Minoan calendar with directions for the catalogued by Ptolemy of Alexandria in the measurement of the year and the tHe PHAistos DisK: A solAr CAleNDAr. CoNtributioN to A DeCiPHerMeNt 237 millennium), of a Minoan calendar with The hypothesized interpretations of the schematic winding ideogram. signs on the Disk were tested in two ways. Concerning the evidence of Minoan The first was to match the signs with the astronomy Blomberg and Henriksson seasonal sequence of events in agriculture, (2001) provide new trends and more results based on the climate of Crete and the that document this. changing condition of the plants and animals found there. The second was to 2. DATING THE PHAISTOS DISK match the signs with contemporary events in the sky, specifically, the rise, peak The dating of the Category 7 (most (culmination) and setting of constellations severe) volcanic eruption of nearby and planets as shown in computer Santorini has been confirmed by recent reconstructions. dendrochronological studies which When a sign on the Disk matched the concluded that a likely time of disturbance date of a known agricultural or celestial was in the range of 1627–1600 B.C.. event that was taken as a positive (Friedrich, 2006; Manning, 2007). All the verification. Equally important was the old palaces in Crete were destroyed by an absence of such signs at times in the year earthquake in this period. Accordingly this, when no such events normally occurred. the decipherment of the Phaistos Disk was The associations between agricultural and based on the median date, 1613 B.C. A celestial events were usually significant, second computer run of the data for 1650 suggesting that the motivation for creating B.C gave results about an hour different the Phaistos Disk was the need to schedule from the 1613 B.C. run. agricultural events appropriately. For example, the cluster called “Scorpius” was 3. METHODOLOGY associated on the Disk with a bare vine in The computer program used here was winter and leafy vine in summer. Your Sky, prepared by John Walker, founder The migration of birds (symbol V, like a of Autodesk, and posted on the Internet in gnomon) over Crete between Europe and 2003. your sky can display the sky as it Africa was the kind of event that reflected appeared at any date and time from 4713 important changes in temperature and B.C. to the distant future (the Sun, Moon, precipitation. The timing of V symbols is and planets are not shown for dates beyond relevant. There were no V symbols for the A.D. 8000 because the technique used to period August through October, when the calculate their positions is not valid beyond weather was warm. There were six V that date). This permits one to create a star symbols, suggesting heavy migration, map for almost any date in recorded history during April through July, possibly birds (http://www.fourmilab.ch/ ). It takes into moving from the heat of Africa north to account precession of equinoxes and gives Europe. There were two V symbols between Julian dates. I have set its virtual telescope November 11 and February 10, possibly for 35 degrees north and 25 degrees east, indicating migration from Europe back to close to the ruins of Phaistos. The significant Africa. (Note: This would suggest a positions of stars and planets were 1) near different migration timing than is true the eastern or western horizon at dawn, 2) today. Recent research supports the idea the peak (culmination) and 3) near the that the climate during Minoan civilization eastern or western horizon at sunset. I have was cooler and wetter due to El Nino assigned "sunrise" to appearances between activity, see, Grove and Rackham, 2001;. 5 and 7 a.m., "sunset" to between 5 and 7 Tsonis et. al, 2010). The Thera eruption may p.m. and culmination to 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. also have contributed to climate change for 238 MAry KilbourNe MAtossiAN that and following a few years. 4. EVIDENCE OF TIME-FACTORED The Phaistos Disk appears to be a 360- CHARACTER day Minoan calendar produced by local It is hard to recognize the Disk as a observations. Some of its signs can be calendar because there are only 122 signs on shown to be pictograms which, with the use side A and 119 signs on side B: 122 + 119 = of the computer, can be linked to celestial 241. In Table 1 the two sides of the disc and associates. Other signs can be interpreted the symbols with celestial analogs are with reference to Cretan agriculture and shown. These are presented as separate Greek myths (see Table 1) groups. However, on both sides of the Disk It was common for ancient peoples to there are small circles containing seven dots time their seasonal activities to the regular inside.The seven dots plus a circle were risings and settings of constellations. The counted as 8 days each. ancient Greeks and Romans used changes There are fifteen of these circles on side in the rising, peak and setting of stars and A: 15 x 8 = 120. There are two of these circles planets to determine the correct timing for on side B: 2 x 8 = 16. farm work (Hannah, 2005). Adding 122 symbols + 105 dots (15 x 7 =105) The climate of Crete today may be much for side A = 227. the same as the climate in the Late Bronze Adding 119 symbols + 14 dots (2x 7 =14) for Age. The months of June, July, and August side B = 133. are hot. In September the weather begins to Adding 227 + 133 ( symbols plus dots) = 360 cool and October is comfortable. The rainy days. season starts in late October and lasts until This coincided exactly with the Egyptian March or April. However, there is a week in calendar of 360 days, plus five intercalary January when the weather is fair and the days. But if the Phaistos Disk was a winds die down. Winter is mild. Wild calendar, why was it divided into two parts, flowers bloom in April and there is no rain one on side A, and one on side B? The key after May 10. In May the weather is ideal for to understanding this is that Mediterranean sailing, clear and warm, and the sea is calm. agriculture has two sowing seasons a year, In one respect the climate of Crete in the a sowing of grain in September or October seventeenth century B.C.. may have been for harvest around March and a sowing of different from the present. A study of Dead quick-maturing crops soon afterwards. If Sea levels found that rainfall was much the climate was cooler and wetter in 1613 more abundant in the Bronze Age than in B.C. than today, two growing seasons the period 1200 - 400 BC. (Enzel, 2003). So would have been more likely. the planting of crops in September, as Some important agricultural activities suggested in this decipherment, seems continued in the dry season. Cultivated plausible. olives and grapes had very deep roots to It seems correct to read the signs on the reach ground water. Other plants like the Disk from the center out since the maker of opium poppy were drought-resistant and, a spiral tends to start from the center and once sprouted, could survive without water wind around it. There is no doubt that the for weeks. Consequently the two sides of signs were imprinted on the Disk from right the Disk portrayed two different planting to left, that is, clockwise. Those who have seasons with continuity over the summer tried to interpret the Disk from the outside on Side B. in (counter-clockwise) have not A period of five intercalary days was succeeded.(see refrences in the probably inserted at the end of Side B. introduction) There is no suggestion of a winter break like tHe PHAistos DisK: A solAr CAleNDAr. CoNtributioN to A DeCiPHerMeNt 239 that of our Gregorian calendar on reflect the fact that the Bears are December 31. Instead, the start date for the continuously visible in the night sky of Crete calendar may have been the autumnal and do not rise or set. equinox. This may have been at the end of Aquila, which appears on the Disk but August, as supported by the practice of the not in the Almagest , was the eagle of Zeus in Egyptians, (Hannah, 2005). This could have Greek mythology. In some myths, Zeus was been the case in Minoan Crete as well. The born in Crete. calendar year would have begun as the summer’s worst heat was subsiding and 6. INTERPRETATION OF SIGNS rains may have revived plant life. the rosette. The appearance of the rosette Alternatively, the date could have been at the center of Side A suggests opium October 6, which has been proposed by according to the author’s opinion. The Henriksson and Blomberg, 1996, 2011). rosette design was found in opium poppies in the artifacts of the cults of Inanna and 5. FINDINGS Ishtar in Mesopotamia, Astarte in the Eleven of the twelve Greek zodiac Levant, and Demeter in Greece. The rosette constellations— Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, resembles the crown of the unripe poppy Taurus, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, seed capsule, which contains the opium. It Sagittarius, Capricorn, and Cancer—are may contain four to eighteen septa, found on the Phaistos Disk according to depending on elevation of the plant. Six author’s description. These eleven Cretan septa are usual in the highlands of Asia symbols correspond to the rising, Minor, so the eight septa shown on the Disk culmination or setting of the constellations rosette would be possible at Phaistos, which from September 1, 1613 until August 26, was located on a high hill. 1614 B.C. (see Table 1). The decipherment of Linear B writing on The missing constellation of Gemini is Minoan tablets firmly established the associated on the Phaistos Disk with a cultivation of opium in Minoan Crete. wrapped hand (suggesting a time for According to Karl Kerenyi (Kerenyi, 1976). making vows). Gemini may have been seen The clay tablets that have been as al-Jauza, the Central Woman, in whom deciphered testify to the fact that poppies some Arabs believe today (Allouche, 2005; were widely cultivated both in Crete and in Baalbaki, 2003; Bagley, 1974, and Varisco, Pylos in the Late Minoan period. The use of 2001) (Beit al-Jauza = Betelgeuse). The Indo- the poppy head as an ideogram in these European peoples gave the name of twins account books leaves no room for doubt. to a constellation that others saw as a The yield of poppies mentioned is so powerful female, the source of milk in the enormous that students long suspected that Milky Way. Her feet touched the western the figures referred to grain rather than edge of the Milky Way. poppies (Kerenyi, 1976). Constellations which appeared in the There was an eight-septa rosette design Almagest but not on the Phaistos Disc were on the ceiling in the palace of Knossos, Crete. Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, and Gemini (see At a small sanctuary in Gazi, a village near previous paragraph). The bright star Heraklion, the figure of a female with three Arcturus was mentioned in the Almagest , but opium seed capsules stuck by pins in her not its constellation Bootes, the Bear head was unearthed. Her eyelids were shut herdsman, who appears according to the and her mouth slightly open, suggesting she author’s description on the Phaistos Disc. had been ingesting or smoking opium The absence of the Bears on the Disk may (Goodison and Morris, 1998). 240 MAry KilbourNe MAtossiAN

The opium poppy needs a lot of sun— use. All poppy signs were associated with twelve hours a day during its 40–60 day the rise or peak of Mercury except the one growth cycle. Once planted in moist on July 9 which connects with Mars peak. conditions it needs no further watering. The connection between the rosette and The rosette is sign 1 on Side A, right in Venus is through opium. the center of the Phaistos Disk, suggesting The rosette = the crown of the seed importance. It recurs as sign 13 and again as container of the poppy. The Love sign 76 (September 1 and 20, and January goddess was the patroness of the opium 10). On both September 1 and 20 the planets poppy. Mercury (Hermes) and Venus (Aphrodite) ear of Grain. Near to the rosette center of rose at dawn in the east. The goddess Venus Side A is a symbol that appears to be an ear was associated with opium in of grain (Signs 3 and 15, September 3 and Mesopotamia; Hermes was mentioned in 22). On September 3 the bright star Spica association with opium in the Greek Hymn rose at 5 a.m. and at 4 a.m. on September 22. to Demeter. Sign 76 (January 10) may This star represents an ear of grain in the indicate the end of opium processing. The hand of the constellation Virgo. Signs 3 and rosette on Side B is number 72 (June 26). 15 may have been be planting dates for This appears to be the end of the harvest of wheat or barley when the climate was the poppies sown in mid-April. cooler and wetter. Today, the planting dates Hermes. Immediately after the first two for wheat or barley are last days of October rosettes on Side A, is the profile of a man through the first days of November. with 8 marks on his cheek. The 8 mark The ear of grain appeared as the star stood for Hermes (Mercury), the messenger Spica peaked at 6 a.m. on November 19 and between the worlds of the living and the January 4. These may have been dates for dead according to the author’s opinion. The harvesting and processing wheat and symbol represented the mating of two barley. snakes (in myth, Zeus and Hera). The 8 sign olives . There were two other important was attached to the staff of Hermes, first crops grown on Crete: olives and grapes. called the kerykeion. Later it was called the The leaves of the olive tree, Olea europaea, caduceus, a staff with two wings added to are arranged opposite each other on the the top and multiple snake windings. It stem, which is a way of identifying the sign was Hermes who brought Persephone back on the Disk. from Hades to her mother, Demeter, on Olive trees flower in May and are earth. thinned two weeks after full bloom. The Hermes was from Kyllene, otherwise olive fruit needs six to eight months to known as Mekone, the “poppy town”, mature. Olives are harvested from the (Merlin, 1984), Hence he is logically beginning of November until spring. connected with the rosette, emblem of In the Northern hemisphere, green opium. olives are picked at the end of September to Furthermore, consulting the sky for the about the middle of November. Blond dates September 2 and 21, one sees that the olives are picked from the middle of planet Mercury (Hermes) rose at 7 a.m. October to the end of November and black opium poppy. The sign of a flower on top olives are collected from the middle of of a long upright stalk may be an opium November to the end of January or early poppy. It occurred on May 29, July 9, February. August 9, September 7, and December 7. It The olive branch sign appears eleven is unclear whether it referred to events in times on the Disk. Every appearance was poppy cultivation or occasions for opium correlated with one of the three significant tHe PHAistos DisK: A solAr CAleNDAr. CoNtributioN to A DeCiPHerMeNt 241 positions of the constellation, excluding his Knife-blade. Sign 99 (June 19 and July 23), head. The starry torso of Leo, represented might be a knife blade suitable for grape by an olive branch, is a celestial analogue, harvesting. The first date might have the including a slight leftward bend of the top sacrifice of first fruits of this precious crop. of the branch. It was close to the summer solstice at that In Greek mythology, as mentioned time. The second knife sign might have above, Herakles attacked the Nemean Lion signaled grape harvest at that time. On both with a club made of wild olive wood. The dates the constellation Scorpius was at its lion survived, so Herakles had to strangle peak. Scorpius may have been associated him. He took the hollowed-out cranium of with death because of its fatal sting. A the dead lion to use as a helmet. harvest involves the death of the crop. This serves to explain the association October 17 was a date of unusual between the olive branch and the Leo significance for watchers of the night sky. At constellation. 5:30 a.m. Scorpius appeared in the east. Grapevine . The cultivation of the Saturn and Mars were in conjunction. There grapevine in Crete began by 2500 B.C.E. was a full moon. Next to Scorpius was Unlike olive trees, grapevines are Libra, the scales, symbol of balance. Next to deciduous and dormant in fall and winter Libra was Virgo. Due north of the scales (McGovern, 2003). was the constellation Corona Borealis, On Side B, the upright Y with leaves containing a U of seven bright stars. seem to be a grapevine sign, the vertical According to a Greek myth, Dionysos support for the vine. A leafy Y appeared on married Ariadne, princess of Crete and gave May 4, June 3, and June 30. A bare Y is her a gold wedding crown (the Corona represented September 24, October 17, and Borealis). January 27. The last three signs appeared Cancer. The inverse Y sign is that of the when the vine was dormant. The grapevine present as well as ancient constellation of should be linked to Scorpius. Scorpius is Cancer the Crab according to my associated with death, and the cutting of description. Without exception it coincided bunches of grapes may be analagous. with the rise, setting, or peak of that Dionysos is more closely linked to the constellation. The sign may have grapevine, but there is no agreed upon represented either a root or a thread spun constellation of Dionysos. As for other by twisting fibers. Originally the crab may constellations, like the dove, which cannot have represented a Y- shaped distaff, from be proved to be extant in the Bronze Age, it which a spinner draws several fibers and may be that the Minoans used a number of twists them to make a thread, the first step such images since it appears their in spinning. astronomy was more advanced than we Apiculture , the care of honeybees, was previously knew. Perhaps the Minoans practiced in Crete by the Late Bronze Age. conceived of Scorpius as Dionysos. It was mentioned in Linear B inscriptions The lily symbol appears on the Disk on from Crete. Honey was fermented to make April 29, June 10, July 17, and January 9. It mead and was offered to the gods (Kerenyi, is associated in the sky is Delphinos, the 1970). dolphin. The first three dates of lily signs Beekeeping was also related to celestial fall into the blooming period of the phenomena. The Pleiades, a group of seven Madonna lily, spring to midsummer. The stars in the constellation of Taurus, were fourth lily sign for January 9 was the date frequently cited by Hesiod as a sign by on which Delphinus was at its peak at 9 which to time agricultural operations that a.m. The same is true for 4-29 or 7-17. may include beekeeping. The constellation 242 MAry KilbourNe MAtossiAN of Orion and the planet Jupiter (Zeus) were occurrence of this sign on February 11, also associated with bees. Orion was born followed by an unspecified eight-day in a town called Hyrai, a form of hyron said period, may have marked the Cretan to be the Cretan word for a swarm of bees celebration of the beginning of spring and or beehive. Bees in Crete were supposed to the opening of the first wine jars. By this have fed Cretan Zeus as a baby. time spring in the Mediterranean area was bee : Minoan apiculture was revealed on well under way. In Athens this was the time the Disk by the presence of a bee on March of the festival of Anthesteria, lasting three 19, April 20, and May 19. That was when the days in late February or early March. It was flowers were in bloom, and the bees were dedicated to Dionysos and Hermes. At this beginning to collect nectar. On March 19, time the wine produced in the preceding the Pleiades rose at dawn, Orion set at 7 year was considered ready to drink and the p.m., and Jupiter was near its peak. The bee party season began. symbols on April 20 and May 19 coincided sideways V. The V turned sideways with the rising at dawn of the constellation suggested a flock of migrating birds in Orion. flight according to my description. Hesiod beehive . The beehive symbol appeared used as a sign the appearance of migrating on the Disk on April 3 and May 7 with the cranes, either going north toward Europe in rising of the Pleiades in early morning. It the late spring, or going south to Africa in appeared next on June 22, June 23, and July the fall, as signs for undertaking 5, when the Pleiades were at their peak at agricultural operations (Hannah, 2005). The dawn. It last appeared on August 2, when sideways V was always correlated with the the Pleiades set at 8 a.m.. The beehive sign dawn, peak and evening positions of the probably signaled the time for removing constellation Cygnus, the Swan. honey from the hives and cleaning them. It The dancing woman was also associated may have signaled the time to pour honey with the appearance of the constellation libations for the gods. Cygnus, which the Greeks called “Bird.” Jar . The jar sign appeared on Side B in Cygnus immediately preceded the dancer two places: Symbol 67 (June 21) and Symbol on October 19 and February 10, and 101 (August 1), in both cases preceding a followed the dancer three days later on beehive. The celestial analogue of the jar April 28, and again four days later on June was the Pleiades (honeycomb associate). 17. The June 21 date may have been a festival inverted triangle . The plain inverted in which honey was collected and offered to triangle which appears at the center of Side the gods. (KERENYI 1976) When the jar B of the Disk is yet another sign of Venus: appeared on August 1 Pleiades set in the the pubis, also known as the Mound of west. This may have represented the start of Venus. It appeared near dawn in the east on the honey harvest. sixteen occasions, and in the evening once, There were no apiculture signs during setting 8 a.m. on August 12. the fall and winter when the bees were Inverted triangle with dots. The inverted hibernating. This was a negative triangle, filled with dots, represents the confirmation of the decipherment. female pubis full of seeds, and was also There is an icon of a woman with the associated with Venus, who was a fertility long hair flying loose and a long skirt. This goddess. The triangle appears only on July sign appeared to be a woman in festival 20.. All five of the known planets were dress. She appeared on February 11, on visible, Venus was in conjunction with the April 25, June 13, and October 20. These sun, and there was a new moon, another may have been days of women’s rituals. The auspicious sign for fertility. This may have tHe PHAistos DisK: A solAr CAleNDAr. CoNtributioN to A DeCiPHerMeNt 243 been thought the best day in the year for a sacrifice made to the gods. The bull’s horn couple to conceive a child. appears on the Disk on July 1, October 15, Water signs. The man who appeared on November 4, November 23, December 20, March 9 coincided with the rise of and February 8. Perhaps on these days the Aquarius, the water carrier, at dawn in the Minoans engaged in bull-baiting sports, east. The sign for a stream of water such as the gymnast vaulting the back of the appeared seven times between March 5 and bull. All these signs were associated with May 27, and all were associated with rise, set at dawn or at sunrise respectively significant positions of Aquarius. or peak position of the visible constellation Hanging fleece or sheepskin: The hanging of the bull, Taurus. skin probably represented a sheep, rather Axe : The ominous single axe, which than some other animal, since the wool of appeared on July 15, suggested sacrifice. It the sheep had long-lasting value. The palace seems likely that this was the date when the at Pylos, a Minoan settlement in Greece, bull was killed.The appearance of the axe controlled 10,000 sheep (Hannah, 2005) was correlated with the appearance at 7:00 (Barker 2005: 58). The fleece sign may have a.m. of a lineup of all the five known signaled times for slaughtering lambs, planets. Taurus, Gemini, and Orion peaked. sheering wool, breeding sheep and eagle . On Side A the bull’s horn was processing wool. They are all associated followed on all four appearances by an with positions of the constellation Aries. eagle. This sign represented the ram’s head. The ram’s head appeared just constellation of Aquila, the eagle of Zeus . once, on April 30. This did not refer to This visible constellation moved in breeding, since the breeding season of coordination with that of Taurus on the sheep is from October to early December. opposite horizon. Both were masculine On April 30, the constellation Aries, the symbols. In a Cretan wedding song the Ram rose in the east at 4:00 a.m. It may have eagle represents the groom. been connected with sheep-shearing or The eagle was also associated with the some other act of husbandry (Barker, 2005). hammer, sign of the storm god Zeus. Zeus Dove . Doves mated and bred all year carried a staff; but Thor, his Scandinavian round. They were also seen as messengers counterpart, carried a hammer. This sign, between heaven and earth since they could which occurred eight times on the Disk, was fly very high. The dove was a symbol of the always associated with with rise, set at goddess Astarte (Ishtar) in Phoenicia. There dawn or at sunrise respectively or peak was a shrine to a dove goddess at the Palace position of the planet Jupiter. of Knossos of Crete. Later the Greeks Hoof . The single hoof may represent the sacrificed doves to Aphrodite (Venus). In a sure-footed goat. This sign appeared on Cretan wedding song of today, the bride is November 16 and January 1. These two represented by the dove. The dove sign was dates correspond to the setting of the associated with with rise, set at dawn or at constellation Capricorn, the sea goat, and its sunrise respectively or peak position of the rise at dawn. southern constellation Columba (dove) on Fish : The fish sign was associated with October 23 and January 12. Although this with rise, set at dawn or at sunrise constellation is a new discovery, it may have respectively or peak position of the been known in the ancient times. constellation Pisces on the zodiac. These bull’s horn. The bull’s horn represented may have been auspicious days for fishing the bull, a symbol of power and masculinity. while the date December 5 is forbidden for It played an important role in Minoan fishing. religion. The bull was the most expensive Dog . A dog’s head appeared ten times on 244 MAry KilbourNe MAtossiAN the Disk. Dogs were present in Minoan palace itself, is shown on Side A on Crete, probably used for hunting and September 6 and December 6. This sign possibly for herding sheep. These signs may have designated feast days for all the without exception were associated with personnel of the palace and their families. with rise, set at dawn or at sunrise Both days were associated with unusual respectively or peak position of the events in the sky. On September 6 the constellations Canis Major and Canis southern bright star Canopus showed Minor. faintly in the south for one night only, and The dog’s head on June 24 coincided the southern constellations were visible. On with the rising of Sirius in Canis Major at 5 December 6 the constellations Scorpius a.m. in the east. (Dionysos?) and Virgo, a wedded couple ship . The best time for sailing today in since October 17, peaked at 7 a.m. the Aegean is from mid-April to the end of Club . The club sign on the Disk October. There is a week in January of good suggested Herakles, who carried a club. All weather, when the winds die down. Sailing five occurrences of this sign were associated was represented by a ship sign on the Disk. with rise, set at dawn or at sunrise On Side B, a ship appeared on April 18, respectively or peak position of the probably the beginning of the sailing constellation of Hercules. season. On Side A there was a boat on runner . The runner, who appeared eight November 20, the probable end of the times on the Disk, was associated with the season, and on January 5, during the week positions of the constellation Bootes, which of probable good weather. included Arcturus, the fourth brightest star The appearance of ships between April in the sky. The appearance of Arcturus was and November (17 May, 27 June and 5 mentioned by Greek and Roman authors as August) may have represented scheduled a signal for undertaking agricultural work. voyages with export goods for Egypt and Its name meant “guardian of the bears.” elsewhere. They were associated with Bootes was imagined as chasing two bears, positions of stars in Argo Navis, the large Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. Without southern constellation in the southern sky exception the runner sign was associated of Crete, which included the subcon - with with rise, set at dawn or at sunrise stellations of Carina (keel), Puppis (poop), respectively or peak position of Bootes. and Vela (sail). The ship signs on the Disk lyre . The lyre, which appeared June 1 were correlated with with rise, set at dawn and July 7, was associated with positions of or at sunrise respectively or peak position the constellation Lyra. of Puppis and/or Vela.The constellation scales . The scales according to the Scorpius (Dionysos?) appeared at the same author’s opinion, which appeared October times as the subconstellations Puppis and 24, were associated with the rise of Libra in Vela of Argo Navis. According to myth, the east.. Dionysos traveled by ship spreading bow . The bow, which appeared on viticulture in the eastern Mediterranean. January 8, was associated with the rise of Warrior . The head with the high brush of Sagittarius the archer in the east. hair looks like that of a warrior. It was Pipes . Pan was a Greek god of fertility, associated with with rise, set at dawn or at the son of Hermes. He played his pipes to sunrise respectively or peak position of the mourn the loss of a nymph he loved. The planet Mars (Ares). The Philistine soldiers panpipes, January 24 and 28, were in Palestine, who had a similar headdress correlated with the setting of Virgo in the are believed to have emigrated from Crete. west at dawn. A layout of a building, perhaps the ragged piece. A difficult sign to decipher tHe PHAistos DisK: A solAr CAleNDAr. CoNtributioN to A DeCiPHerMeNt 245 was a ragged or torn piece of something Cretan religion. (Montagu, 1981) It is also (July 8) when Virgo set at 7 p.m. The torn possible that the Minoans ate the soft piece of something may have represented tissues of this mollusk out of season, when the torn hymen of Virgo. At that hour it contained neurotoxins, and experienced Jupiter was passing out of the constellation hallucinations and euphoria as a result Virgo and making conjunction with Saturn. (Glowaki, 2005). The man who stood amazed (?) on The spiral may also represent a spiritual August 7 at 6 a.m. may represent Bootes passage, or growth and development. The viewing the lineup of the five planets and Mother Goddess in India carries a conch Gemini and Orion at peak. shell in her hand. Spiral. Finally one must ask why the maker of the Disk decided to design it as a 7. CONCLUSION spiral. Kerenyi argues that the original design The evidence presented here supports of the labyrinth in the palace of Knossos was the view that the Phaistos Disk may well not a square but a spiral. This was probably have been a solar calendar intended to set the most sacred place in the Cretan religion. the time for agricultural activities and On a coin of Knossos of the fifth century b.c.e. religious ritiuals. The year consisted of 360 a four-part labyrinth is depicted connected days with five intercalary days added at the with a star in the center. This may have been end of summer. The proposed method is a hint that the movements of the stars and used to recreate the night sky over Crete in planets governed the Minoan religion the year 1613 B.C., beginning on September (Kerenyi, 1976). 1, and to follow the astral phenomena for a Why was the spiral pattern chosen? One year thereafter. In addition, the figures on candidate was a mollusk called the conch, the Disk are interpreted by what is known known to the Minoans both in natural form about Bronze Age Cretan culture, especially and reproductions. The origin of the name agriculture. is Greek: conche, probably pronounced konkha. There are many big spiral shells in ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS existence; the most likely candidate is strombus decorus raybaudii. If the apex is I wish to thank Michele Matossian, my removed from a conch shell and one blows daughter, for her leadership in preparing through it, the shell will produce loud, the final draft of the manuscript of my weird sounds. Perhaps it was used as a study of the Phaistos Disk. foghorn or in the more solemn rituals of the 246 MAry KilbourNe MAtossiAN

       Table 1. Symbol and constellation a n alogues of Phaistos disc’s time (side A).   



 

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