summer haiku d’été – while in the inn = là dans l’auberge

summer haiku d’été – while in the inn = là dans l’auberge  

while in the inn
sipping jasmine tee 
the scent of roses



là dans l’auberge
l’on boit du thé au jasmin
le parfum des roses

Richard Vallance

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Origin of the saffron crocus traced back to Greece

Origin of the saffron crocus traced back to Greece: 



Since ancient times, saffron has been giving dishes a golden-yellow hue and an aromatic flavour. The use of the stigmas of the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus) is depicted in frescos from Crete and Santorini, which are as old as 3600 years. Nowadays, the valuable plant is mainly cultivated in Iran accounting for more than 90% of the saffron production.

For the remainder of this informative article, click on the logo image above.

Saffron:



Map of Ancient Greece illustrating the distribution of saffron:

summer haiku d’été – baboon sniffing spruce = babouin et sapin

summer haiku d’été – baboon sniffing spruce = babouin et sapin

baboon sniffing spruce,
its musky perfume
blows his mind



babouin et sapin –
quel parfum musqué ! 
la tête lui tourne 

Richard Vallance

summer haiku d’hiver – the rain has passed = la pluie disparue

summer haiku d’hiver – the rain has passed = la pluie disparue

the rain has passed,
ozone perfumes the air –
blabbling waterfall



la pluie disparue,
l’ozone parfume l’air –
chute d’eau qui chuchote

Richard Vallance   

summer haiku d’ été – a spotted frog = une grenouille maculée

summer haiku d’ été –  a spotted frog = une grenouille maculée

a spotted frog
on a lotus blossom – 
his perfumed world



sur une fleur de lotus
une grenouille maculée –
son monde parfumé

Richard Vallance

The third example of Cretan ideograms/logograms, Malia label Mu MA/M Hf, possibly decipherable

The third example of Cretan ideograms/logograms, Malia label Mu MA/M Hf, possibly decipherable:

Click on the label, FRAGRANTICA, for more information about saffron as an ancient aromatic.

This is the third example of Cretan ideograms/logograms, Malia label Mu MA/M Hf. Surprising as it is, this label may be largely decipherable. It is subdivided into 3 sections. The first S1 is blank. The second, S2, appears to spill over from the first side to the second, while the third, S3, is found on the second side alone. The first ideogram in S2 (section 2) is probably the one for “saffron”, while the second is still indecipherable. The third is clearly some sort of representation of a woman. The X, which is indecipherable, is followed by the number 100. S2 continues on side 2, which begins with what is clearly the ideogram for “textiles/cloth”, followed by what appear to be 3 ideograms for “sword(s)”. If these 3 ideograms in fact designate “swords”, they are practically identical to those for “swords” in Linear B. Section 3 (S3) begins with what appears to be an ideogram for “garment(s)”, followed once again by textiles, and followed in turn by an indecipherable ideogram, which might possibly relate to cutting, S3 ending with the number 100.

A partial decipherment might read: aromatic saffron + ? + a weaver or weavers (all weavers were women) weaving 100 rolls of cloth, 3 of which serve to wrap 3 swords in + 100 garments of some kind of (cut) textiles (saffron dyed?).

Linear A tablet HT 87 (Haghia Triada), apparently in Mycenaean derived Greek

Linear A tablet HT 87 (Haghia Triada), apparently in Mycenaean derived Greek:



Linear A tablet HT 87 (Haghia Triada) is apparently inscribed in Mycenaean derived Greek. The literal translation and the free translation derived from it do make sense if we interpret the text as being Mycenaean derived Greek. The only word which is indecipherable is sa?supu -or- ni?supu. I cannot determine what the word is, since the syllabogram on the far left is left-truncated. It may be either ni or sa. On thing is certain: Prof. John G. Younger got it wrong. But it is probably an archaic proto-Greek word, which may mean something along the lines of “perfumed”, resulting in a translation “perfumed unguent”, of which 1 part is saffron. This makes sense in context. 
 

Linear A tablet HT 123+124, kitai = scented olive oil? + saru = large olives + datu = small olives

Linear A tablet HT 123+124, kitai = scented olive oil? + saru = large olives + datu = small olives:



I have had to give a great deal of thought to the decipherment of this tablet, the contents of which have frustrated and eluded me for weeks. Finally, the light came on. Eureka! I figured it out. Well, almost... The first word I struggled to decipher on this tablet was kitai, which was and remains a stickler.  I have settled for “scented olive oil”, which seems to make sense in the context, although I really have no choice but to assign it a scalar value of < 50%. On the other hand, the next two words, saru & datu, seem much clearer. It makes a lot of sense to list different sizes of olive oil on a tablet, and it makes  just as much sense to list the large(r) ones before the small(er) ones. Hence, to my mind, saru = large olives and datu = small olives. These two terms can be assigned a scalar value of 60-75% (a reasonable degree of accuracy). The word kuro was one of the very first words I deciphered, and it has a perfect scalar value of 100%. It means what it says and says what it means.

Here is Andras Zeke’s restored version of HT 123+124 on the Minoan Language Blog:



These three (3) new terms constitute items 82-84 in my Glossary of Minoan Linear A words.