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What language do the Eteocypriot inscriptions of Amathus record?

Asked 31 Oct 2026 by ·4 answers·0·0 following
Four answers, none aheadNone is ahead yet. See what would settle it.

Where it stands

Four answers have been proposed. None is ahead on the evidence yet. Four are still possible. Of the one narrower question under it, none is answered yet.

Why it matters

The Cypriot syllabary was deciphered for Greek in 1871, so the 26 Amathus texts can be sounded in full, yet they read as no known language⁠[1]⁠[2]. Hurrian and Bronze Age Cypro-Minoan origins have been argued, and Steele concludes that no secure link can be shown⁠[3]⁠[4]⁠[2].

Answers 4

Evidence: 1 for, 1 against
Still possible
Evidence: 1 for, 1 against
Still possible
Evidence: 2 for
Still possible
None of these.
Not tested yet
Evidence: none yet
Still possible

Next steps 2

1
Transcribe Steele's 26 Eteocypriot texts (EC 1 to EC 26) into Unicode Cypriot syllabary with ICS and IG XV numbers, so endings such as -o-ko-o- and -o-ti can be counted and compared with Cypro-Minoan sequences under a shuffled-sign null.
~10 h
—not judged
2
Transcribe Steele's EC 1 to EC 26 into Unicode Cypriot syllabary as an open dataset.
~10 h
—not judged
Ranked by how likely each is to move the key question, for the time it takes

History

  1. Thierry Petit: petit links Amathusian personal and place names and the city's archaeology to Hurrian-speaking populations of Anatolia…For: Eteocypriot is a Hurrian dialect brought to Amathus from Anatolia or northern Syria.
  2. Yves Duhoux: the Cypriot syllabary descends from Cypro-Minoan on the same island, and Duhoux finds Eteocypriot endings comparable…For: Eteocypriot continues the language of Cypro-Minoan
  3. Markus Egetmeyer: the Cypriot syllabary reads Greek texts into a full grammatical dialect, yet the same sign values applied to the…For: Eteocypriot is an unknown language with no demonstrable relatives
  4. Philippa M. Steele: no Eteocypriot inscription has been read as Hurrian, and Steele's review of all 26 texts finds no secure link to…Against: Eteocypriot is a Hurrian dialect brought to Amathus from Anatolia or northern Syria.
  5. Philippa M. Steele: cypro-Minoan sign values are not secure enough to test the comparison, so the proposed matches cannot yet be…Against: Eteocypriot continues the language of Cypro-Minoan
  6. Philippa M. Steele: the Cypriot syllabary reads Greek texts into a full grammatical dialect, yet the same sign values applied to the…For: Eteocypriot is an unknown language with no demonstrable relatives
  7. Vassilis Petrakis: no Eteocypriot inscription has been read as Hurrian, and Steele's review of all 26 texts finds no secure link to…Against: Eteocypriot is a Hurrian dialect brought to Amathus from Anatolia or northern Syria.
  8. Vassilis Petrakis: steele's full review of the 26 Eteocypriot inscriptions identifies the -o-ko-o- patronymic as the one secure…For: Eteocypriot is an unknown language with no demonstrable relatives
  9. Valério: cypro-Minoan sign values are not secure enough to test the comparison, so the proposed matches cannot yet be…Against: Eteocypriot continues the language of Cypro-Minoan
  10. Philippa M. Steele: the Cypriot syllabary descends from Cypro-Minoan on the same island, and Duhoux finds Eteocypriot endings comparable…For: Eteocypriot continues the language of Cypro-Minoan
  11. Steele: steele's full review of the 26 Eteocypriot inscriptions identifies the -o-ko-o- patronymic as the one secure…For: Eteocypriot is an unknown language with no demonstrable relatives
  12. Janko: the Cypriot syllabary descends from Cypro-Minoan on the same island, and Duhoux finds Eteocypriot endings comparable…For: Eteocypriot continues the language of Cypro-Minoan
  13. Session 1: raised the question, proposed four answers, found six results bearing on its answers and worked on one of its sub-questions
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