Languages and scripts of the Ancient World (under construction)
Languages, scripts, and their overlap
Trimegistos at this time does not distinguish language and script by splitting up this information in two fields, which would no doubt be the more correct scholarly procedure. Many languages are closely linked to a specific script, however, and for economical reasons we have opted to not specify that script. In cases where these languages are written in another than the standard script (so-called allographical texts), we have signalled this in the field Language / Script, by 'anomalous: ' followed by a description of the linguistic-orthographic combination, e.g. 'Middle Egyptian written in Demotic script'. Click here for a full list of all texts with anomalous combinations of language and script. Of course this is a matter of appreciation, as some new combinations of language and script have become so standard that they have received a new name, e.g. Coptic (i.e. the ancient Egyptian language written by means of the Greek script with some extra signs borrowed from Demotic). For some other languages, the choice of script seems to be free to some extent, in which case we have just added the script without adding 'anomalous'.
In all other cases one of the terms below is used, or a combination introduced by 'bilingual: '. Click here for a full list of all multilingual texts.
Alphabetic list of languages and scripts in Trismegistos
There is substantial chronological overlap between the four or five scripts developed to write down the Ancient Egyptian language. As said above, the various linguistic stages - Old Egyptian, Middle Egyptian, Late Egyptian, Demotic and Coptic - are not distinguished in Trismegistos for the time being.
Abnormal Hieratic (mentioned in Wikipedia script)
Abnormal Hieratic is the name of a more cursive script developed from hieratic.
Trismegistos should have all texts written in Abnormal Hieratic (see Demotic and Abnormal Hieratic Texts (DAHT)).
There are currently 75 Abnormal Hieratic texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for a full list.
Albanian - also known as Caucasian Albanian (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script)
(Caucasian) Albanian is a Northeast Caucasian language written in a specifically developed alphabet with the same name.
Trismegistos currently only has the rare manuscripts written in (Caucasian) Albanian language and script pre-dating AD 800.
On 24 November 2014 there were 2 Albanian texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Ancient South Arabian (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script)
Ancient (or Old) South Arabian is the name for a group of Southern Semitic languages of the South of the Arabian peninsula (Minaean, Sabaic, ...). It is written in a script with the same name, developed straight from Proto-Sinaitic.
Trismegistos is on the verge of integrating the considerable corpus of inscriptions, through a cooperation with our partner The Digital Archive for the Study of Pre-Islamic Arabian inscriptions (DASI). Several hundreds has of palm leaves have been also been found, but are not yet fully covered.
On 24 November 2014 there were 5 Ancient South Arabian texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Arabic (Wikipedia language)
Arabic is the name of a Semitic language written in a script with the same name developed from Nabataean, Syriac and Aramaic.
Trismegistos currently has Arabic papyri through the Arabic Papyri Database (APD) also from after AD 800, and some pre-800 literary manuscripts.
On 24 November 2014 there were 2,069 Arabic texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Aramaic (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script)
Aramaic is a Northwest Semitic language written in the alphabet with the same name. The so-called Christo-Palestian dialect is included here as well.
Trismegistos should have all the texts from Egypt (ATE), as well as literary texts pre-dating AD 800, except for the Qumran material (LDAB). Otherwise coverage may be patchy.
On 24 November 2014 there were 1,249 Aramaic texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Armenian (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script)
Armenian is the name of the language which forms a separate family in Indo-European, which is written in the specific Armenian script.
Trismegistos currently only has manuscripts written in Armenian language and Armenian Script pre-dating AD 800. The early inscriptions are still lacking.
On 24 November 2014 there were 5 Armenian texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Brittonic (Wikipedia language)
Brittonic is the blanket name for the ancient Celtic language(s) that used to be spoken in Great Britain south of Scotland and that now have disappeared (except for Welsh and Breton), and for which in almost all cases the typical Ogham script was used.
Trismegistos should have almost all Brittonic texts, on the basis of the Celtic Inscribed Stones Project (CISP) .
On 24 November 2014 there were 13 Brittonic texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Carian (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script)
Carian is the name for the Indo-European (Anatolian) language originally spoken in Caria (SW Turkey) and written with a specific form of the Greek script (though with different phonetic values!)
Only the inscriptions from Egypt are currently in Trismegistos. Those from the Carian homeland are still lacking.
On 24 November 2014 there were 82 Carian texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Celtiberian (Wikipedia language)
Celtiberian is the name for the Celtic language variant, mostly written in a specific form of the Iberian script, although in some cases the Latin alphabet is used.
Trismegistos should have almost all Celtiberian texts, on the basis of the Hesperia database.
On 24 November 2014 there were 265 Celtiberian texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Celtic (Wikipedia language)
Celtic is a blanket term for texts in languages belonging to the Celtic family of Indo-European. Trismegistos uses it for some texts from the British isles and some from Northern Italy and Switzerland
On 24 November 2014 there were 34 texts marked as Celtic in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Coptic (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script)
Coptic is the name for the stage of the Egyptian language written with the Greek alphabet with some extra signs taken from Demotic (also known as the Coptic alphabet). In a great majority of cases the dialect is indicated: Sahidic, Bohairic, Akhmimic, Sub-Akhmimic, Fayumic, Middle Egyptian, or Lycopolite. The pre-standardized form, called Old Coptic, is also included here.
Trismegistos should have all documentary papyri in Coptic and the literary ones pre-dating AD 800. Coverage of the inscriptions is patchy and there are almost no literary manuscripts from after AD 800.
On 24 November 2014 there were 17,971 Coptic texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Cypriot (Wikipedia script)
Cypriot is the name for a syllabary used to write down Greek language (and exceptionally also the local Eteocypriot) on Cyprus.
Trismegistos currently only has the inscriptions in Cypriot syllabary from Egypt, not those from Cyprus.
On 24 November 2014 there were 82 Cypriot texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Demotic (Wikipedia language and script)
Demotic is in the first place a name for the cursive script derived from hieratic, and used to write down a stage of the Egyptian language, which is then also given the same name.
Trismegistos should have all texts written in Demotic (see Demotic and Abnormal Hieratic Texts (DAHT)).
On 24 November 2014 there were 16,587 Demotic texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Ethiopian (Ge'ez) (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script)
Ethiopian is a name commonly used to refer to texts in Ge'ez, the oldest attested language of the Ethiopian Semitic languages, written in the specific (now syllabic) script with the same name.
Trismegistos only has a few texts from Axum.
On 24 November 2014 there were 7 Ethiopian texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Etruscan (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script)
Etruscan is a linguistic isolate written in an alphabet with the same name derived from Western Greek.
Trismegistos should have almost all Etruscan texts, on the basis of a cooperation with Gerhard Meiser, who is preparing a new edition of Rix, Etruskische Texte.
On 24 November 2014 there were 10,100 Etruscan texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Gaulish (Wikipedia language)
Gaulish is the name of the ancient Celtic language that used to be spoken in France, but that has died out completely (Breton is a form of Brittonic). It was written either in Greek or Latin script, although there are some examples in the Etruscan alphabet. The examples from Italy are designated as Cisalpine Gaulish.
Trismegistos should have most Gaulish texts, based on the 1988 corpus by Duval, Recueil des Inscriptions Gauloises, and on the Cisalpine Gaulish texts in the Lexicon Leponticum (LexLep).
On 24 November 2014 there were 667 Gaulish texts (378 in Latin script, 276 in Greek script, 6 in Etruscan script) in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Georgian (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script)
Georgian is the name of a Kartvelian language written in an alphabet (with three different stages) with the same name.
Trismegistos only has the literary texts pre-dating AD 800, in Asomtavruli script. The early inscriptions are currently missing, but we hope to add them in cooperation with the project 'Epigraphic Corpus of Georgia'.
On 24 November 2014 there were 11 Georgian texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Goidelic (Wikipedia language)
Goidelic is the blanket name for the ancient Celtic language(s) that used to be spoken in Ireland and western Scotland and now survives in Irish and Gaelic, and for which in almost all cases the typical Ogham script was used.
Trismegistos should have almost all Brittonic texts, on the basis of the Celtic Inscribed Stones Project (CISP).
On 24 November 2014 there were 697 Goidelic texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Gothic (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script)
Gothic is the name of a North Germanic language written in a script with the same name, developed from Greek.
Trismegistos has almost all Gothic texts, mainly (Bible) manuscripts.
On 24 November 2014 there were 11 Gothic texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Greek (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script)
Greek does not need much introduction as one of the main languages and scripts of the ancient world. In Trismegistos the term is only used for alphabetical texts and does not cover Linear B nor Cypriot syllabic.
Trismegistos will have almost all Greek (alphabetical) manuscripts and papyri up to the year AD 800, but will lack most inscriptions on stone and other hard materials (with the exception of those of Egypt and soon also those of the Latin West).
On 24 November 2014 there were 98,509 Greek texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Hebrew (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script (square script) or Paleo-Hebrew)
Hebrew is a Northwest Semitic language originally written in the Palaeo-Hebrew alphabet but later in the 'square script' alphabet with the same name, a specific form of Aramaic.
Trismegistos should have all the texts from Egypt (ATE), as well as literary texts pre-dating AD 800, except for the Qumran material (LDAB). Otherwise coverage is almost zero, without examples of Paleo-Hebrew. We hope to change this by collaborating with the project 'Inscription of Israel / Palestine' in the future.
On 24 November 2014 there were 187 Hebrew texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Hieratic (Wikipedia script)
Hieratic is a name for a script which is the cursive counterpart to hieroglyphic, used to write down stages of Ancient Egyptian, mainly on papyrus and ostracon.
Trismegistos should have most texts written in hieratic if they are dated after BC 800 (see Hieratic and Hieroglyphic Papyri (HHP)). For earlier texts, coverage is limited to Books of the Dead and documentary papyri from Deir el-Medina.
On 24 September 2015 there were 7,522 Hieratic texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Hieroglyphic (Wikipedia script)
Hieroglyphic is the name for the traditional iconic script used to write down Ancient Egyptian, mainly on stone but also on papyrus (often then using so-called cursive hieroglyphs).
Trismegistos has many hieroglyphic texts from the period after BC 800, but cannot claim any exhaustivity. Temple texts are almost completely missing, and so will be many statues and stelae. Ushebtis and amulets are excluded altogether. Except for some papyri, there are almost no texts pre-dating BC 800.
On 24 September 2015 there were 6,133 Hieroglyphic texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Iberian (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script)
Iberian is the name for a non-Indo European language mainly attested in eastern Spain, in most cases written in (a) typical semi-syllabic script(s) with the same name. Greek script is also sporadically used.
Trismegistos currently has few texts, but hopes to include them in the future on the basis of the Hesperia database.
On 24 September 2015 there were 15 Iberian texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Italic (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script)
Italic is the name for the language family to which Latin also belongs. The different languages or dialects are written in several variants of an alphabetic script derived from Greek (with Etruscan also playing a role). The various languages are not distinguished in Trismegistos (except for Latin, which is not included in this group).
Trismegistos should have all Italic texts, on the basis of Crawford et al., Imagines Italicae.
On 24 September 2015 there were 1,938 Italic texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Latin (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script)
Latin does not need much introduction as the main language and script of the ancient world.
Trismegistos will have almost all Latin manuscripts and papyri up to the year AD 800, and is currently working towards a full coverage of inscriptions on stone and other hard materials.
On 24 November 2014 there were 209,738 Latin texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Lepontic (Wikipedia language)
Lepontic is the name for a Celtic language closely related to Gaulic, and normally written in the North Italic ('Lepontic') alphabet.
Trismegistos should have almost all Lepontic texts, on the basis of the Lexicon Leponticum (LexLep).
On 24 November 2014 there were 335 Lepontic texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Libyan (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script)
Libyan (or Numidian) is the name given to the language attested in inscriptions written in the geometric 'Libyco-Berber' script, living on in current Tifinagh.
Trismegistos currently only has some inscriptions. Those of the Canarian islands and some form Morocco will soon be added, however, on the basis of the Libyco-Berber Inscriptions Online Database (LBI).
On 24 November 2014 there were 24 Libyan texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Ligurian (Wikipedia language)
Ligurian is the name of a language of which the precise affiliation is under discussion. It is almost exclusively attested as a substrate, although there may be short inscriptions.
On 24 November 2014 there was 1 Ligurian text in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Lycian (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script)
Lycian is a Indo-European language, written in its own script with the same name.
On 24 November 2014 there were no Lycian texts in the Trismegistos Texts database, but we plan to enter the basic corpus of Neumann, Neufunde lykischer Inschriften seit 1901. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Lydian (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script)
Lydian is a Indo-European language, written in its own script with the same name.
On 17 March 2016 there were no Lydian texts in the Trismegistos Texts database, but we plan to enter the basic corpus of Gusmani, Lydisches Wörterbuch and and Ergänzungsband (LW). Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Meroitic (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script)
Meroitic is the name of a language that has been tentatively placed in the Eastern Sudanic Nilo-Saharan family, and that was written in either a cursive alphabet inspired by Egyptian Demotic or an iconic monumental alphabet based on hieroglyphic.
Trismegistos should have almost all Meroitic inscriptions based on Leclant, Répertoire d'épigraphie méroïtique (2000).
On 24 November 2014 there were 945 Meroitic texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Messapic (Wikipedia language)
Messapic is the name of an Indo-European, possibly Illyrian language written in Greek script.
Trismegistos should have almost all Messapic inscriptions, based on de Simone & Marchesini, Monumenta linguae Messapicae (2002).
On 24 November 2014 there were 593 Messapic texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Middle Persian (Pehlevi) (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script)
Middle Persian is the name for the stage of the Persian (Southwestern Iranian) language associated with the Sassanid dynasty, normally written in the Pehlevi (or Pahlavi) script.
Trismegistos only has the papyrological attestations, mainly from Egypt.
On 24 November 2014 there were 34 Middle Persian texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Nabataean (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script)
Nabataean is the name of an Aramaic dialect with its own particular cursive script.
Trismegistos has some bilingual papyri from the Near East and a good deal of inscriptions from the Eastern desert in Egypt, but coverage is by no means complete.
On 24 September 2015 there were 97 Nabataean texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
North Picene (Wikipedia language)
North Picene is the name of a language isolate written in a variant of the Italic script, sometimes given the same name.
Trismegistos should have all of the very rare North Picene inscriptions.
On 24 November 2014 there were 4 North Picene texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Old Nubian (Wikipedia language and script)
Old Nubian is the name of the (East Sudanic) Nubian language written in a variant of the Coptic script, with some extra letters borrowed from Meroitic signs.
Trismegistos should have most Old Nubian texts, based on a cooperation with the Database of Medieval Nubian Texts (DBMNT).
On 24 November 2014 there were 345 Old Nubian texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Palmyrene (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script)
Palmyrene is the name for a dialect of Aramaic associated with the city of Palmyra and written in the cursive form of Aramaic with the same name.
Trismegistos has only a few, mostly bilingual texts.
On 24 November 2014 there were 4 Palmyrene texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Parthian (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script)
Parthian is the name for the Northwestern Iranian language associated with the Parthian dynasty, again normally written in Pehlevi (Pahlevi) script.
Trismegistos only has very few, papyrological examples.
On 24 November 2014 there were 2 Parthian texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Phoenician (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script)
Phoenician is a Northwest Semitic language written with a script with the same name.
Trismegistos should have all Phoenician texts from Egypt through Aramaic Texts from Egypt (ATE), but otherwise almost nothing. Eventually we hope to work together with Corpus Inscriptionum Phoenicarum necnon Poenicarum (CIP).
On 24 November 2014 there were 173 Phoenician texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Phrygian (Wikipedia language)
Phrygian is a Indo-European language, originally written in its own script with the same name, but in a second stage using the Greek script (Neo-Phrygian).
On 24 November 2014 there were no Phrygian texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Pisidian (Wikipedia language)
Pisidian is a Indo-European language, written in its own script with the same name.
On 24 November 2014 there were no Phrygian texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Punic (Wikipedia language)
Punic is the name for a variant of the Phoenician language which gradually developed in Carthago, a Phoenician colony. The script was also called Punic, although later stages which follow slightly different orthographic rules, are normally called Neo-Punic.
The coverage of Trismegistos for Punic is only symbolic, with a few, mainly bilingual texts. In the future we hope to work together with Corpus Inscriptionum Phoenicarum necnon Poenicarum (CIP).
On 24 November 2014 there were 47 Punic texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Raetic (Wikipedia language)
Raetic is the name of a language of unclear affiliation (non-IE ?) normally written in Etruscan script.
Trismegistos should have most Raetic inscriptions on the basis of Schumacher, Corpus inscriptionum Raeticarum completum et emendatum (1992).
On 24 November 2014 there were 202 Raetic texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Runic (Wikipedia script)
Runic is the name for the script variants of disputed origin that were used in Northern Europe to write down Germanic languages.
Trismegistos only has the older inscriptions in the Elder Futhark variant of the script, based on the online Runenprojekt Kiel.
On 24 November 2014 there were 433 Runic texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Sidetic (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script)
Sidetic is in all likelihood a Indo-European language, written in its own script with the same name.
On 24 November 2014 there were no Sidetic texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Syriac (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script)
Syriac is the name of a form of Aramaic written in a script with the same name (ancient texts often in the Estrangela variant).
Apart from a few third century documents, Trismegistos almost exclusively contains the literary manuscripts in Syriac pre-dating the eighth century AD.
On 24 November 2014 there were 808 Syriac texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Thamudic (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script)
Thamudic is the blanket name of some languages or dialects which are forms of pre-Islamic Arabic (Ancient North Arabian), written in script variants derived from South Arabian.
On 24 November 2014 there was 1 Thamudic texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Thracian (Wikipedia language)
Thracian is a Indo-European language, only attested in a handful of inscriptions in the Greek script.
On 24 November 2014 there were no Thracian texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.
Venetic (Wikipedia language and Wikipedia script)
Venetic is the name of a Indo-European language related to the Italic family and perhaps Illyrian. It is normally written in a variant of the Old Italic script.
Trismegistos should have most Venetic inscriptions based on Pellegrini / Prosdocimi, La lingua venetica (1962).
On 24 November 2014 there were 295 Venetic texts in the Trismegistos Texts database. Click here for the current figure and a full list.