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ANCIENT LANGUAGE FONTS
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The TrueType fonts listed here were designed by Kyle Pope from samples of ancient scripts. They will work with MAC and PC operating systems and may be freely downloaded and used, but not sold without permission.
PROTO-SINAITIC
| Proto-Sinaitic
is the name given to an alphabetic script first discovered in the Sinai
and later found to be used in areas of Palestine ca. 1550 - 1450 B.C.
Although we have only very limited examples of its use the language associated
with it was clearly Semitic. Many of the words are quite similar
to those found in Biblical Hebrew. This shareware/freeware TrueType
font was designed from the book Proto-Sinaitic Inscriptions and their
Decipherment, by William Foxwell Albright. (Oxford University
Press: London, 1969). Download: Proto-Siniatic TrueType Font. |
MINOAN LINEAR A
| Linear
A is the name given to a syllabic script discovered by Sir Arthur Evans
in his excavations on the island of Crete. Although examples of Linear
A have been found throughout the Mediterranean what we have is very sparse
and fragmentary. Although not widely accepted, in 1966 Cyrus H. Gordon
made a compelling argument that Linear A had a Semitic character to it
. His case is made in the booklet Evidence for the Minoan Language,
by
Cyrus H. Gordon (Ventnor Publishing: Ventnor N.J. 1966). Download: Minoan Linear A TrueType Font. |
RAS SHAMRA
| Ras
Shamra is the modern name for the site where the ancient city of Ugarit
has been excavated. Archives discovered at Ras Shamra which date
from 1400-1200 B.C. revealed the Norhwest Semitic language now called Ugaritic.
Ugaritic shares many elements in common with Biblical Hebrew. Although
it was written primarily with a cuneiform alphabetic script a few
tablets written in syllabic cuneiform have shed a great deal of light upon
the early vocalization of the language. This shareware/freeware True
Type font containing the main signs of the alphabetic script was designed
from the book A Basic Grammar of the Ugaritic Language: With Selected
Text & Glossary, by Stanislav Segert. (University of
California Press: Berkeley, 1984). Download: Ras Shamra TrueType Font. |
MYCENAEAN LINEAR B
| Linear
B is the name given to the second of two syllabic scripts discovered by
Sir Arthur Evans in his excavations on the island of Crete. Developed
from the earlier script known as Linear A, the language associated with
Linear B was identified in the 1950’s as the earliest known form of Ancient Greek. Although numerous tablets have been found from Knossos, Pylos
and Mycenae dating from 1300-1200 B.C. most of these are merely palatial
records and not literature. This shareware/freeware True Type font
was designed from the Linear B: An Introduction, by J. T. Hooker
(Bristol Classics Press: Bristol, 1980). It contains the syllabary
and the most common ideograms. Download: Mycenaean Linear B TrueType Font. |
PERSEPOLIS
| Persepolis was the name of the capital of the ancient Persian Empire under the Achaemenid dynasty. Inscriptions from Peresepolis and Behistun led not only to the decipherment of Old Persian but ultimately to Babylonian cuneiform as well. The Old Persian Cuneiform script served as both an alphabet and a syllabary with signs representing complete syllables at times and the first letter alone in other instances. This shareware/freeware True Type font contains all the signs of the alphabet-syllabary and the nine ideograms known to have been used. It was designed from the book Cuneiform by C. B. F. Walker. (Barnes & Noble Books: New York, 1990). Download: Persepolis TrueType Font. |
ARCHAIC GREEK
| While
it is generally accepted that the Greeks borrowed their alphabet from Phoenician,
the similarity between the two alphabets became much less apparant as the
Greek Alphabet evolved. In its early stages the Phoenician character
of the Greek script is quite evident. The shareware/freeware True
Type font Archaic Greekis based upon a ca. 500 B.C. treaty between
the Eleans and the Hereans. It was designed largely fom the book
Greek Inscriptions,by B.F. Cook (Barnes & Noble Books: New York, 1990). Download: Archaic Greek TrueType Font. |
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