i-iv -- Contents -- Preface -- Introduction -- 1. Iconography, symbolism and writing at the dawn of civilization – Old Europe from the seventh to the fourth millennia B.C. -- 2. The organizing principles of Old European writing – Motivated and arbitrary symbols and their affinity with the mythical symbolism -- 3. Writing from Old Europe to ancient Crete – A case of cultural continuity -- 4. Literacy in ancient Crete – On the social functions of linear and hieroglyphic writing -- 5. The Cretan legacy in the East: Writing systems in the multilingual society of ancient Cyprus -- 6. The spread of European writing beyond ancient Cyprus – The influence of Aegean and Cypriot literacy in Asia Minor and the Near East -- 7. On the three ways of writing the oldest literary language in the world: Greek -- 8. The impact of Aegean culture on the western periphery – The case of the Lipari script and the role of Etruscan writing in Italy -- Conclusion: Giving profile to a new paradigm for research into antiquity -- Bibliography -- Illustrations, figures, tables and maps -- Index