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Nora Stone from Sardinia Translated in Alphabetic Akkadian Gives Statement about Purpose of Phoenician Temples (730 BCE)
- Author(s):
- David Olmsted (see profile)
- Date:
- 2020
- Group(s):
- Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean archaeology, Alphabetic Akkadian, Pagan Studies, Phoenician Studies
- Subject(s):
- Akkadians, Magic, Religions, Mediterranean Region, History, Ancient, Phoenicians
- Item Type:
- Online publication
- Tag(s):
- temple, nora, yah, sardinia, Akkadian, Ancient Mediterranean religions
- Permanent URL:
- http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/znyh-y257
- Abstract:
- The text on this large stone stele is a defense of Phoenician temple activity. Consequently, it was likely placed outside the main temple in the Phoenician trading port of Nora on the southern coast of Sardinia. Its theme is also Phoenician in that it is promoting emotion magic to overcome a drought. This drought is most likely the drought of 730 BCE which lead to the Assyrian invasion of the Levant. Finally, its letter style is mostly Phoenician with only a few late Philistine/early Etruscan style letters thrown in. Consequently, this text similar to the Phoenician gold Pyrgi foil (Olmsted November 28, 2020). Like the Pyrgi foil, the underlying language is the empire language of Akkadian used for trade, temple, and government throughout Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean. Deities mentioned are the god Yahu (Yahweh) and the Reed-Boat as an epithet for the goddess Ayu. This Alphabetic Akkadian text is compared and contrasted with the earlier proposed Hebrew translations.
- Metadata:
- xml
- Status:
- Published
- Last Updated:
- 2 years ago
- License:
- Attribution-ShareAlike
olmsted-2020-nora-stele.pdf