¹ The symbols T and A will be used from time to time in the argument that follows to represent, respectively, any consonant and any vowel. They may also be used in conjunction with letters; e.g. Ta = a syllable consisting of any consonant plus the vowel a.

² Mr. Ventris uses the obelisk-sign to mark ‘suggested spellings, meanings, and compounds which are not paralleled in classical Greek, or implicit in the accepted etymology’. He uses a question-mark ‘where serious difficulties stand in the way of the meaning or spelling proposed’.

³ Mr. Ventris says: ‘coincidence seems insufficient to account for … e-te-wo-ke-re-we-i-jo, which on values and orthography determined beforehand (and out of 200 billion possible permutations of syllables in an eight-sign word) so exactly yields the patronymic ’. But given 200 billion variations, anything may happen. Those who take the trouble to decipher the rest of the tablet Sn. 01 will find the context far less impressive than Mr. Ventris indicates.

⁴ The ideogram bears only a superficial resemblance to a footstool in Mycenaean art. The words accompanying ta-ra-nu are turned by Mr. Ventris into fanciful descriptions of foot stools, which do not endure close scrutiny. The series of texts in which ta-ra-nu occurs contains several ideograms of vessels, none of furniture.

⁵ The three offending words are ka-ra-ko for qa-ra-ko (βληχών, γληχών), ka-da-mi-ta for ka-ra-mi-ta (καλαμίνθη), and ma-ra-tu-wo for ma-ra-to (μάραθος). These amount to a third of the list, and are sufficient to discredit the rest. Also in this text are the expressions ka-na-ko e-ru-ta-ra and ka-na-ko re-u-ka, sc. and κ. λευκά. These have been identified with the κνῆκος, Carthamus tinctorius, and κ. ἀγρία, C. leucocaulos, of post-classical Greek. Note, however, (i) that the epithets ἐρυθρά, λευκή are not applied to κνῆκος by Greek authors; (ii) that C. tinctorius has yellow or yellow-brown flowers, and C. leucocaulos yellow (not white) flowers in a hood or cup of whitish sepals; (iii) that C. tinctorius produces by a complicated process a red dye, C. leucocaulos produces no dye at all; and (iv) that neither they nor any other Carthamus can be reckoned as condiment or medicament.

⁶ Although Mr. Ventris has concentrated attention on the ti-ri-, qe-to-ro elements, and on the -Towe ending, it is well consider also the following table of words. There is an apparent relationship between these words in Linear B, but it does not correspond to anything, real or apparent, in Greek.

⁷ The tragic death of Mr. Ventris in a motoring accident was announced as the Journal was going to press. The author and editors wish to express their sorrow at this grievous loss to scholarship, and their hope that the new enthusiasm for Minoan studies his work has aroused will continue to bear fruit.