Editing Phaistos Disc (section)

== Decipherment attempts ==
{{Further|Phaistos Disc decipherment claims}}

A great deal of speculation developed around the disc during the 20th century, particularly capturing the imagination of amateur archeologists. Many attempts have been made to [[decipher]] the code behind the disc's signs, with a wide variety of theories having been suggested, including prayers, a narrative or an adventure story, a "[[psaltery|psalterion]]", a call to arms, a [[board game]], and a geometric [[theorem]]; some of these theories are considered to be [[pseudoarchaeology]], with little realistic chance of being accurate.

Most linguistic interpretations assume a [[syllabary]], based on the proportion of 45 symbols in a text of 241 tokens typical for that type of script; some assume a syllabary with interspersed [[logographic]] symbols, a property of every known syllabary of the [[Ancient Near East]] ([[Linear B]] as well as [[cuneiform]] and [[hieroglyph]]ic writing). There are, however, also alphabetic and purely logographical interpretations.

While enthusiasts still believe the mystery can be solved, scholarly attempts at decipherment are thought to be unlikely to succeed unless more examples of the signs turn up elsewhere, as it is generally thought that there is not enough context available for meaningful analysis. Any decipherment without external confirmation, such as successful comparison to other inscriptions, is unlikely to be accepted as conclusive.

=== Comparison with other scripts ===
While the Phaistos disc writing system is, on the whole, very different from other known scripts, several scholars have argued against it being an entirely independent invention.  [[Gunther Ipsen]] argued that the creator must have been influenced by other scripts, and points out the [[Anatolian hieroglyph|Hieroglyphic Luwian]] script from [[Anatolia]] as an example of an original script inspired by other writing systems (its symbol values inspired by [[cuneiform]], its shapes by Egyptian hieroglyphs).<ref name=ipsen1929>Gunther Ipsen (1929): "Der Diskus von Phaistos: Ein Versuch zur Entzifferung". ''Indogermanische Forschungen'', volume 47, issue 1, pages 1-40. {{doi|10.1515/if-1929-0102}}</ref>{{rp|p.11}}

Several scholars have proposed that the Phaistos signs are older or alternate forms of [[Linear A]] glyphs, specifically. Others have pointed to similar resemblances with the [[Anatolian hieroglyph|Anatolian (Luwian) hieroglyph]]s, or with [[Egyptian hieroglyph]]s.<ref name=cunyXXX>A. Cuny</ref>  More remote possibilities are the [[Phoenician abjad]] or the [[Byblos syllabary]].

==== Linear A ====
Comparison of the disc's signs with those of [[Linear A]] inscriptions go back to Evans in 1909.<ref name=evans1909/>  In 1959, [[Benjamin Schwartz (linguist)|Benjamin Schwartz]] asserted a genetic relationship between the Phaistos Disc script and the Cretan linear scripts.<ref name=schwa1959a/>{{rp|p.108}} Similar claims were made also by [[Werner Nahm]] in 1975,<ref name=nahm1975>Werner Nahm (1975): "Vergleich von Zeichen des Diskos von Phaistos mit Linear A". ''Kadmos'', volume 14, issue 2, pages 97–101 {{doi|10.1515/kadmos-1975-0202}}{{s2cid|201808440}}</ref> [[Torsten Timm]] in 2004,<ref name=timm2004>Torsten Timm (2004): "[http://kereti.de/pdf/igf_109.pdf Der Diskos von Phaistos – Anmerkungen zur Deutung und Textstruktur] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005104009/http://kereti.de/pdf/igf_109.pdf |date=2018-10-05  }}". ''[[Indogermanische Forschungen]]''volume 109, issue 2004, pages 204–231. {{doi|10.1515/16130405.204}} {{s2cid|170325659}}</ref> and others.

Some of these proposals point to similarities between some glyphs, such as 12 (SHIELD) [[File:Phaistos glyph 12.svg|40x30px|Phaistos glyph 12]], 43 (STRAINER) [[File:Phaistos glyph 43.svg|40x30px|Phaistos glyph 43]], and 31 (EAGLE) [[File:Phaistos glyph 31.svg|40x30px|Phaistos glyph 31]] to both [[Linear A]] and [[Linear B]] characters, and conjecture that they may have the same phonetic values—respectively 'qe', 'ta', and 'ku'. Based on the [[Linear A]] character distribution patterns collected by Giulio Facchetti,<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Statistical data and morphematic elements in Linear A|first=Giulio M.|last=Facchetti|journal=Kadmos|volume= 38|issue= 2. (1999)}}</ref> Torsten Timm goes as far as identifying 20 of the 45 characters with Linear A/B signs.<ref name=timm2005/>

==== Anatolian hieroglyphs ====
Parallels between the Phaistos disc script and [[Anatolian hieroglyph]]s were proposed, among others, by [[S. Davis]] in 1961<ref name=davis1961>S. Davis (1961): ''The Phaistos disc and the Eteocretan Inscriptions from Psychro and Praisos''. Witwatersrand University Press.</ref><ref name=newt1962>B. E. Newton (1962): [https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.10520/AJA00651141_760 "S. Davis: The Phaistos Disc and the Eteocretan Inscriptions (Book Review)]". ''Acta Classica'', volume 5, page 75.</ref><ref name=davis1965>S. Davis, (1964): "Cretan Hieroglyphs: The end of a Quest?" ''Greece & Rome'', volume 11, issue 2, pages 106-127. {{doi|10.1017/S0017383500014121}}</ref> and [[Jan G. P. Best|Jan Best]] and [[Fred Woudhuizen]] in 1988.<ref name=best1988>Jan G. P. Best, Fred C. Woudhuizen (1988): ''Ancient Scripts from Crete and Cyprus''.  Volume 9 of the publications of the Henri Frankfort Foundation. 131 pages. {{isbn|9789004084315}}</ref><ref name=best1989>Jan G. P. Best, Fred C. Woudhuizen (1989): ''Lost Languages from the Mediterranean''. Volume 10 of the publications of the Henri Frankfort Foundation. 179 pages. {{isbn|9789004089341}}</ref> In 2004, [[Winfried Achterberg]] and others proposed an extensive mapping to Anatolian hieroglyphs, which led them to a full decipherment claim.<ref name=acht2004>Winfried Achterberg, Jan Best, Kees Enzler, Lia Rietveld, and Fred Woudhuizen (2004): ''The Phaistos Disc: A Luwian letter to Nestor''. Volume 13 of the ''Publications of the Henry Frankfort Foundation''.{{isbn|978-90-72067-11-1}}</ref> The third revised and extended edition of the authors' monograph on the subject was published in 2021.<ref>Winfried Achterberg, Jan Best, Kees Enzler, Lia Rietveld, Fred Woudhuizen 2021, [https://www.academia.edu/66972374/ The Phaistos Disc: A Luwian Letter to Nestor.] Third revised and extended edition: 2021. Amsterdam. academia.edu</ref>