Guillermo Carvajal writes Michael Schumann analyzed a Linear A libation table from Mount Juktas, IO Za 2, preserving a Minoan ritual formula. The text invokes the Father of the Bull Contest of Dikte, calls for lamentation and libation, and names the sanctuary of Tinu and Ida-Mate, linked to archaic Dionysus and Demeter. The find connects the Juktas cult with Dikte and suggests continuity from Minoan to later Greek religion.
- Small dark green serpentinite table with central depression.
- Found by Karetsou in 1970s-1980s near a monumental altar with votive deposits.
- Schumann revises signs A301 and AB013 to ZA for a coherent reading.
- Catalogued as HM L3557, archaic paleography in Neopalatial deposition.
- Small dark green serpentinite table with central depression.
- Found by Karetsou in 1970s-1980s near a monumental altar with votive deposits.
- Schumann revises signs A301 and AB013 to ZA for a coherent reading.
- Catalogued as HM L3557, archaic paleography in Neopalatial deposition.
The Minoan civilization of Crete thrived in the Bronze Age, but its original name remains unknown as the Minoans left no written record of it. Though called “Minoan” today—a name coined by Sir Arthur Evans—neighboring cultures used similar terms like “Eteocretans” (Greek), “Caphtorim/Caphtor” (Biblical/Middle Eastern), and “Keftiu” (Egyptian). This consistency suggests the Minoans likely called themselves something similar, possibly “Caphtorim,” despite their undeciphered Linear A script. These external names offer clues to their self-identified origins.
