Papers by Antonis Gennadiou
Waxmann: Münster-New York, 2019
Αντώνης Γενναδίου, ‘Το Ετεοκυπριακό αίνιγμα και η ἀπό Αἰθιοπίης προέλευση’, Επιστημ. Επετηρίς Κυπρ. Εταιρ. Ιστορ. Σπουδών, ΙΔ’, Λευκωσία 2021, 391-412/Antonis Gennadiou, 'The Eteocypriot enigma and the origins from Aethiopia', Yearbook of the Cyprus Soc. of Hist. Studies, XIV, Nicosia 2021, 391-412 Επιστημονική Επετηρίς της Κυπριακής Εταιρείας Ιστορικών Σπουδών, τ. ΙΔ’, 2021
The text is in Greek and on the PDF you may see only the first page. A summary in English is prov... more The text is in Greek and on the PDF you may see only the first page. A summary in English is provided below.
During the Iron Age in Cyprus at least three languages were used for which there are documents: Greek, Phoenician and another language that until today remains incomprehensible. The modern scholarship describes the latter one with the conventional term "Eteocypriot", suggesting that it might have arisen from a Late Cypriot idiom. Although this language is recorded only in few texts dating from the 7th-4th c. BC, is of particular interest since the epigraphic material is predominantly associated with the ancient kingdom of Amathus; a kingdom whose tradition suggests its founding by indigenous Cypriots. The article does not deal with the inscriptions themselves, but examines the historical grounds for their appearance on the island, and investigates the origins of the Cypriots who spoke or understood this incomprehensible language, or claimed to have been connected in one way or another with the indigenous element. In particular, based on the available literary sources, and the historical circumstances, as well on archaeological data this article suggests that these Cypriots might have been linguistically and/or other way related to the ancient Ethiopians and specifically to those Ethiopians who lived in Ancient Nubia.
This article aims to reconsider the traditional views and to propose new suggestions for the inte... more This article aims to reconsider the traditional views and to propose new suggestions for the interpretation of signs KU, RU and KO on Salaminian coins of the 5th cent. BC. Based on historical, numismatic and linguistic criteria, it is suggested that ku-ru-ko, as the proper reading of this sequence, is the name of the Salaminian king Gorgos of the early 5th cent. BC, mentioned by Herodotus (Γόργος). When the KU sign appears on its own, it is suggested to be an abbreviation of Gorgos’ name and not the initial of Kyprion (Κυπρίων meaning King of Cypriots), as thought so far. With these inscription types, I believe that now we have a confirmed concordance of the archaeological evidence with the literary tradition, regarding the reign of Gorgos.
Drafts by Antonis Gennadiou
Proposed reading order of KU-RU-KO signs on coins of Salamis and the attribution of them to certa... more Proposed reading order of KU-RU-KO signs on coins of Salamis and the attribution of them to certain kingship. A lecture given in Cyprus Numismatic Society on November 16 2019.
This is a draft paper. It aims to make an effort for understanding the origins of the ‘EteoCyprio... more This is a draft paper. It aims to make an effort for understanding the origins of the ‘EteoCypriote’ language which is mostly traced on the Amathusian inscriptions. The suggested conclusion was formed based first and foremost on historical grounds since its cardinal argument was historiographical. However, to ground such an issue, one needs to extend the research beyond the historical perspective. For this reason other sources were employed from the archaeological and the linguistic fields resulting to a potential origin of this epichoric Cypriote language.
Important Note: For the monetary section of this paper please see the revised interpretation of the ku-ru-ko sequence mentioned in the paper titled "Reconsidering and Rereading the Cypro-syllabic signs KU, RU and KO on Ancient Salamis Coins". See also my article ‘The Signs KU, RU and KO on Salaminian Coins of the 5th cent. BC’, in The Numismatic Chronicle 180 (2020), pp. 69-94.
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Papers by Antonis Gennadiou
During the Iron Age in Cyprus at least three languages were used for which there are documents: Greek, Phoenician and another language that until today remains incomprehensible. The modern scholarship describes the latter one with the conventional term "Eteocypriot", suggesting that it might have arisen from a Late Cypriot idiom. Although this language is recorded only in few texts dating from the 7th-4th c. BC, is of particular interest since the epigraphic material is predominantly associated with the ancient kingdom of Amathus; a kingdom whose tradition suggests its founding by indigenous Cypriots. The article does not deal with the inscriptions themselves, but examines the historical grounds for their appearance on the island, and investigates the origins of the Cypriots who spoke or understood this incomprehensible language, or claimed to have been connected in one way or another with the indigenous element. In particular, based on the available literary sources, and the historical circumstances, as well on archaeological data this article suggests that these Cypriots might have been linguistically and/or other way related to the ancient Ethiopians and specifically to those Ethiopians who lived in Ancient Nubia.
Drafts by Antonis Gennadiou
Important Note: For the monetary section of this paper please see the revised interpretation of the ku-ru-ko sequence mentioned in the paper titled "Reconsidering and Rereading the Cypro-syllabic signs KU, RU and KO on Ancient Salamis Coins". See also my article ‘The Signs KU, RU and KO on Salaminian Coins of the 5th cent. BC’, in The Numismatic Chronicle 180 (2020), pp. 69-94.
During the Iron Age in Cyprus at least three languages were used for which there are documents: Greek, Phoenician and another language that until today remains incomprehensible. The modern scholarship describes the latter one with the conventional term "Eteocypriot", suggesting that it might have arisen from a Late Cypriot idiom. Although this language is recorded only in few texts dating from the 7th-4th c. BC, is of particular interest since the epigraphic material is predominantly associated with the ancient kingdom of Amathus; a kingdom whose tradition suggests its founding by indigenous Cypriots. The article does not deal with the inscriptions themselves, but examines the historical grounds for their appearance on the island, and investigates the origins of the Cypriots who spoke or understood this incomprehensible language, or claimed to have been connected in one way or another with the indigenous element. In particular, based on the available literary sources, and the historical circumstances, as well on archaeological data this article suggests that these Cypriots might have been linguistically and/or other way related to the ancient Ethiopians and specifically to those Ethiopians who lived in Ancient Nubia.
Important Note: For the monetary section of this paper please see the revised interpretation of the ku-ru-ko sequence mentioned in the paper titled "Reconsidering and Rereading the Cypro-syllabic signs KU, RU and KO on Ancient Salamis Coins". See also my article ‘The Signs KU, RU and KO on Salaminian Coins of the 5th cent. BC’, in The Numismatic Chronicle 180 (2020), pp. 69-94.