Linear B Symbol B022

It is the goat ideogram, and also an unresolved syllabic sign.

In Linear B, the writing system used for Mycenaean Greek records, 𐁒 is the goat ideogram B107: a sign marking the animal rather than spelling a spoken word. The same shape also appears among syllabic spellings under the label *22, but no pronunciation for that use is secure. Goat is the firm reading; *22 is a scholarly label, not a sound.

Palace bookkeeping is why this distinction matters: ideograms marked categories in lists of animals and goods. The oldest surviving Linear B records at Knossos date to around the transition from the 15th to 14th century BCE. Linear B grew from the earlier script Linear A, and its records tracked livestock, workers, goods, and other administration.

Is 𐁒 a goat sign or a syllable?

Both uses are attested, but only the goat reading is secure.

As an ideogram, it belongs with signs for livestock such as sheep, pigs, cattle, and horses. In syllabic use, *22 occurs at Knossos and Thebes, and on inscribed Cretan stirrup jars; it appears in personal names, a place name, and related forms.

Placement offers clues, not a pronunciation: *22 often appears beside the transcribed syllable -i or at the start of forms written j-. Linear A AB22 is an earlier-script counterpart associated with this goat sign. Its glyph, 𐘒, is a separate character, not another spelling of 𐁒.

Why does 𐁒 show as a box?

The text can be intact when the font lacks Linear B.

A 2022 typesetting guide says very few fonts support Linear B and recommends a dedicated Linear B font. If 𐁒 appears as a box in a message or document, another app or font may display it; the encoded character itself has not changed.

In a modern message, a short caption can make clear whether you mean the goat or the writing system.