The best known Minoan inscription is the Phaistos Disc.
It is commonly accepted that this can be read spirally, i.e., from the rim inwards. The disk’s sides bear a total of 242 signs which can be divided into 61 groups.
Scientists have been trying to decipher the mysterious 4000-year-old Phaistos Disc since it was discovered on the Greek Island of Crete.
It goes without saying that the language of the Disk is unknown, and thus the text remains beyond our reach. Nevertheless, this has not deterred many potential decipherers from offering their own interpretations.
If you have read a bit about the famous Phaistos Disc or if you have become curious and would like to know more, click and play the quiz.
We are looking forward for your scores and comments below.
Enjoy!
Created by Cretan Transfer Services.
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Question of
1. Phaistos Disc was discovered in the palace of
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Knossos
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Phaistos
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Question of
The Disc of Phaistos is thought to date back to
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1700 BC
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1600 BC
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Question of
The material from which the disc is made is
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Fired Clay
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Iron
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Question of
The diameter of Phaistos Disc is
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15 cm (5.9 in)
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35 cm (14 in.)
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Question of
The Phaistos Disc is covered with a spiral of stamped symbols
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On the front side
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On both sides
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Question of
Phaistos Disc was discovered in the Minoan Palace Site of Phaistos
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In July 1908
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In June 1928
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Question of
According to Gareth Owens of the Technological Educational Institute of Crete (TEI), the message on the disc is a
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A document in an archaic form of Greek
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Prayer to Mother, goddess of fertility
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Question of
There are many different signs on the disc, too many to constitute an alphabet and too few for them to constitue an ideographic script. How many signs are depicted on the disc?
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45
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54
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Question of
The Disc of Phaistos is exhibited at:
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The Historical Museum of Crete
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The Archaeological Museum in Heraklion
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Very good and difficult quiz … for me 4/9
Thank you very much lado, appreciate it!
I got 6 correct answers. Nice quiz…
Thank you very much Janine, appreciate it!
You’re welcome, @CretanTransfer.?
Nice post keep it up
Thank you for your kind comment 🙂
I got 5 correct out of 9
Thank you wasimahmed, nice score well done!
Well I got 5 out of 9 right – not too bad 🙂
While I’m no expert in the field, I’m a bit surprised that 45 symbols would be seen as “too many” for an alphabet, as there are a number of existing alphabets with more, such as Khmer (Cambodian) which has over 70 🙂
Thank you Norman! Sorry for not replying earlier, just saw your comment.
It is considered to be too many, compared to the 24-26 that the alphabets usually have.
You got 5 out of 9 right!
Not so bad
Actually very good, the quiz was difficult!!
You got 4 out of 9 right!I honestly expected some faithful answers.
Thank you Elenca! May I ask what you mean by faithful answers? Could you please give me an example? : )
Only 4/9. Hopefully, I’ve learnt something new. 🙂
Thank you very much for participating and for commenting!