The Zagora Cryptograph

Abstract

A unique lead seal from the well-known eighth century B.C. settlement of Zagora on the island of Andros dramatically confirms and expands our knowledge of the town planning identified at the site and constituting the earliest example of an orthogonal grid plan in the Greek world.

The seal in question is decorated with a symbolic design that constitutes a rare representation of the Dioskouroi as part of the constellation Gemini. This design appears to have acted as a cryptograph enciphering the basic mathematical and astronomical principles behind the planning of Zagora. Besides offering us new insights into early Greek settlement planning, the cryptograph seems to reveal an advanced practical competence in mathematics and celestial observation, which was hitherto unsuspected for such an early period.

The Zagora cryptograph also suggests that astronomy and mathematics played a crucial role in the strengthening of the ruling elite's power at Zagora in the framework of the rising city-state orpolis. The tight interweaving of astronomical, mathematical, architectural and social considerations in the planning of Zagora is an entirely new discovery for Greece, whose implications are far-reaching.