The Geographical Names in the Linear B Texts from Thebes

The Linear B texts from Thebes contain several geographical terms. Many of these have been gathered, analysed and briefly commented upon in 2001 by V. Aravantinos, L. Godart and A. Sacconi in their editio princeps of the Pelopidou Street tablets. This paper offers some further observations on the same data and extends the analysis to the toponyms and the ethnics which are attested on a number of inscriptions published by the same authors since 2002. To this end, all the geographical terms are linguistically investigated and their contexts interpreted. When possible, they are also compared with place names and ethnics which are attested in the Greek alphabetic sources and tentatively identified with archaeological sites which have yielded Late Helladic III materials. Finally, on the basis of this analysis, a number of general comments are made on the geography of the Mycenaean kingdom of Thebes as well as on the contacts that may have existed between Mycenaean Boeotia and the other regions of the Aegean world.