2018, Α. KARNAVA, «Die kypro-syllabischen Inschriften aus Rantidi bei Paphos», S. G. SCHMID & S. G. HORACEK (EDS.), »I don’t know what am I myself, it is so very difficult to explain«. Max Ohnefalsch-Richter (1850–1917) und die Archäologie Zyperns, SCB 1, Berlin, 315-327. (original) (raw)

The Cypriot syllabic inscriptions from Rantidi in Paphos remain, to this day, an unappealing and difficult to comprehend epigraphic material. Their testimony is nonetheless precious with regard to the early history of writing in the 1st mill. in Cyprus, particularly to the early history of the Paphian version of the Cypriot syllabary, the so-called archaic Paphian. They make up for a quarter of some 500 inscriptions we have in the Paphian syllabary and about a tenth of the 1,400 syllabic inscriptions we have overall from Cyprus. Additionally, they constitute part of the scarce evidence for the cult of an unknown male deity [NB: now known, see Karnava 2019 in CCÉC 49], venerated in a rather isolated forest area through dedications bearing the name of the dedicant, liquid offerings and figurines. This sanctuary, although not connected to a known urban center, is assumed to have been situated within the limits of the Paphian polity, since the dedicatory material is inscribed in Paphian. This paper details the history of Rantidi through the testimony of its syllabic inscriptions, as it was first discovered through the investigations of Max Ohnefalsch-Richter.

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