Introduction

Chapters in this book

1. i-iv i
2. Contents 1
3. Preface 3
4. Introduction 5
5. 1. Iconography, symbolism and writing at the dawn of civilization – Old Europe from the seventh to the fourth millennia B.C. 11
6. 2. The organizing principles of Old European writing – Motivated and arbitrary symbols and their affinity with the mythical symbolism 31
7. 3. Writing from Old Europe to ancient Crete – A case of cultural continuity 49
8. 4. Literacy in ancient Crete – On the social functions of linear and hieroglyphic writing 87
9. 5. The Cretan legacy in the East: Writing systems in the multilingual society of ancient Cyprus 109
10. 6. The spread of European writing beyond ancient Cyprus – The influence of Aegean and Cypriot literacy in Asia Minor and the Near East 117
11. 7. On the three ways of writing the oldest literary language in the world: Greek 123
12. 8. The impact of Aegean culture on the western periphery – The case of the Lipari script and the role of Etruscan writing in Italy 147
13. Conclusion: Giving profile to a new paradigm for research into antiquity 175
14. Bibliography 183
15. Illustrations, figures, tables and maps 209
16. Index 391