We are delighted to announce a Phrygian reading group, which will be running every Tuesday this term at 11.30-13.00, in the Schwarzman Centre, room 30.444, led by Emanuele Alleva and Nicholas Romanos. Phrygian is an Indo-European language closely related to Greek, attested in a series of fascinating, if often fragmentary inscriptions, that bear witness to a cultural and linguistic environment connected to both Greece and Anatolia.

In the first two weeks we will offer a brief introduction to what is known of the Phrygian language (its grammar, developments from Indo-European, changes from Old to New Phrygian), provide some basic contextual information about the surviving Phrygian inscriptions, and read a few of the best-understood texts. Following this, the plan is to discuss collaboratively some of the more obscure inscriptions, working together towards a better understanding of the language and contents of these often highly obscure texts.

Our focus will be largely linguistic and philological, but when dealing with such difficult texts context is crucial to interpretation, so the contribution of any historians, archaeologists, epigraphists, and Hellenists with an interest in ancient Anatolia will also be welcome and valued.