Phrygian

Phrygian 

the language of the Phrygians. Phrygian is attested by inscriptions from Asia Minor that correspond to two separate time periods and by glosses from the works of Greek and Roman authors. Old Phrygian texts, represented by 78 inscriptions, occur on temples and pottery (graffiti) and date from the eighth to fifth centuries B.C. New Phrygian texts, which number more than 100, are formulaic curses terminating Greek epitaphs; they date from the second and third centuries A.D. Because the texts are fragmentary and stereotypical, it has proved difficult to establish the historical relation of Phrygian to other languages: some specialists believe that Phrygian is related to Armenian, and others consider it a Greek language.

REFERENCES

D’iakonov, I. M. Predystoriia armianskogo naroda. Yerevan, 1968.
Neroznak, V. P. “K izucheriiu frigiiskogo iazyka: Problemy i rezul’taty.” In the collection Drevnii Vostok, fasc. 2. Yerevan, 1976.
Gusmani, R. Studi sull’antico frigio. Milan, 1958. (Rendiconti dell’-lstituto Lombardo di scierne e lettere, vol. 92.)
Gusmani, R. II frigio e le altre lingue indoeuropee, Milan, 1959. (Ibid., vol 93.)
Haas, O. Die phrygischen Sprachdenkmäler. Sofia, 1966.
Young, R. S. “Old Phrygian Inscriptions from Gordion.” Hesperia, 1969, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 252–96.

V. P. NEROZNAK