> sheds light on how the ancient Minoan and Mycenaean elite

Mycenaeans are considered Greek.

Minoans generally not considered Greek.

Their script, Linear A, has never been deciphered, so we don’t actually know what language they spoke, but most linguists think it wasn’t Greek, based on how poorly Linear A’s signs map onto Greek phonetics when tested as they do successfully with Mycenaean Linear B.

Culturally the Minoans also look distinct from later Greek civilization. Different religious iconography (bull-leaping, goddess-centric imagery), different art style, no clear warrior-elite hierarchy the way Mycenaean and later Greek society had.

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qup an hour ago | parent | next [-]

> Their script, Linear A, has never been deciphered

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48600107

	▲	gus_massa an hour ago \| parent \| next [-]
		That was only a blog post about a secret draft that has not been published, nor peer reviewed. Let's classify it as "unconfirmed".
	▲	andsoitis an hour ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		I read it. The claim is still early and yet to be accepted.

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throwawayffffas 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Linear B also maps poorly to Greek as far as I know. It's clearly an adaption of a foreign script.

	▲	andsoitis 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Linear B maps onto Greek quite well once you understand that it is a syllabary, not an alphabet. The fit is imperfect in specific, well-understood ways. Once you correct for well-understood systematic gaps, though, the underlying grammar, vocabulary, and even some divine names (Poseidon, Zeus, Hera, Dionysus all show up) are recognizably continuous with classical Greek.

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anon48293 an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Except it does partially map into Greek, they had settlements on several Greek islands, influence on the Cyclades, and talk about similar Gods.

Even the cave where Zeus was allegedly born is on Crete.

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altmanaltman 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

The actual paper doesn't claim that, it understands they are two distinct cultures but itn covers the georgaphical Greece in the title not cultural.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S03054...