WHAT DID A ‘CARPET’ LOOK LIKE? MYCENAEAN TE-PA AND ITS REPRESENTATIONS
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 2020-11-20

The Mycenaean term te-pa has been tentatively linked to alphabetic Greek τάπης ‘carpet’. Texts like Homer’s poems seem to show that τάπης referred to a broad range of items, such as a cushion (Il. IX 200), a pillow (Od. X 12), or a blanket (Il. XVI 224). Thus, τάπης seems to have a much weider range of meanings than its translation as ‘carpet’ would suggest. Linear B tablets attest the term te-pa by means of a ligature (TELA+TE) made up of the textile logogram TELA and the acrophonic abbreviation TE. Given that on Mycenaean documents logograms and ligatures are expressed by means of drawings and that this ligature in particular shows the actual graphic representation of the item recorded, this piece of evidence provides us with both textual and iconographic information related to
the same item at the same time. The aim of this paper is to analyse Mycenaean tablets recording te-pa, TE, and TELA+TE both from a textual and an iconographic point of view. Moreover, te-pa has been connected to the religious sphere, and this alleged usage will also be taken into account. In the light of this examination, the current interpretations of te-pa will be reviewed and, eventually, some arguments will be put forward for a different, perhaps more convincing, reading of the term.


Author(s): Pierini, Rachele (University of Bologna)