These seals precede the creation of the Phaistos Disk. These show the first stage of Minoan writing in which the signs are still mostly pictographic. These seals demonstrate Minoan Akkadian writing developed independently of Mesopotamian Cuneiform.
For translation methodology see latest: Druid-Akkadian Dictionary and Letter Charts.
(August 27, 2022, updated September 30, 2024) Crete started to be settled by the Neolithic farmers around 7,000 BCE who established the city of Knossos (Evans, 1994). Settlements were soon established all across the island (Tomkins, 2008). The Minoan civilization emerged around 3000 BCE when a noticeable increase in the number and sophistication of its material goods occurred. The Minoan civilization ended on Crete when the island was conquered by the Myceneans around 1450 BCE which was between the volcanic eruption on the island of Santorini in 1620 BCE (Höflmayer 2012) and before the Great Drought of 1170 BCE which ended the Bronze Age.
These seals are the earliest writing on the island and they are essentially pictographic. The existence of this stage indicates the Minoans were inventing their own writing system based upon their own language and culture. Nothing is their pictographs was copied from Egypt or Mesopotamia.
This is a seal found on Crete and is one of the earliest runic texts still being in its pictographic state. It dates to between 2000 and 1900 BC. This is one piece of evidence showing that runic writing originated with the Minoans.
Seal at Heraklion Archaeological Museum on Crete. Image from Ingo Pini via Wikimedia Commons at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pini-plombe-orig-II2_316d_3.2.jpg
(May 17, 2026) Runic Akkadian has 2 words for "cat," MiW and ŠeRaNu.
The ancient Egyptian word for cat is also miw which is similar to the sound they make. As the Akkadian phrase M.W it means “fertility-fluids are restrained” which must have seemed like the cats were going around speaking warnings of fate!
The other Akkadian word for cats is the phrase ŠeRaNu which as ŠR.N means “Sirius’ fate revealer.” Sirius is the sun’s companion star and as such it represented the involvement of the life powers with the astrological fate powers.
These words explain why cats are associated with witchcraft which was involved with shifting fate and why Egyptians honored their cats way beyond being beneficial mouse catchers. Egyptian cat temples were called “Bašet” (Basket, Bastet with Latin/English letters) which as B.Š.T means “house of activating astrology-magic/witchcraft” in Runic Akkadian. The word could also incorrectly be divided as B.ŠT which would sound like “house of skat” or simply “house of the cat.” “Cat” is found in Latin as catta/katta by 75 CE (Martial, c. 75 C.E.) and in Byzantine Greek as katta by 350 CE. It was in general use throughout Europe by 700 replacing the Latin word feles (feline).
English Translation
English Translation
Signs
Akkadian Words
Translation Into English
Signs
Translation Into English
(Sept. 13, 2022)
Image from: Decorte, R. P-J. E. (2017) ‘Cretan Hieroglyphic and the Nature of Script’ in Steele, P. M. (ed.) Understanding Relations Between Scripts: The Aegean Writing Systems, Oxford (Oxbow), ch. 3. Online at: https://www.academia.edu/11612879/Decorte_R_P_J_E_2017_Cretan_Hieroglyphic_and_the_Nature_of_Script_in_Steele_P_M_ed_Understanding_Relations_Between_Scripts_The_Aegean_Writing_Systems_33_56_Oxford_Oxbow
(Sept. 13, 2022)
Bottom image is the green cat seal translated at the top of the page.Image from: Decorte, R. P-J. E. (2017) ‘Cretan Hieroglyphic and the Nature of Script’ in Steele, P. M. (ed.) Understanding Relations Between Scripts: The Aegean Writing Systems, Oxford (Oxbow), ch. 3. Online at: https://www.academia.edu/11612879/Decorte_R_P_J_E_2017_Cretan_Hieroglyphic_and_the_Nature_of_Script_in_Steele_P_M_ed_Understanding_Relations_Between_Scripts_The_Aegean_Writing_Systems_33_56_Oxford_Oxbow
