Age collapse). The Homeric picture of the Mycenaean age betrays extremely little awareness of writing, possibly reflecting the loss during the Dark Age of the earlier Linear B script. Indeed, the only Homeric reference to writing was in the phrase "σήματα λυγρά", sēmata lugra, literally "baneful signs", when referring to the Bellerophontic letter. Linear B tablets have been found in abundance at Thebes, which might lead one to speculate that the legend of Cadmus as bringer of the alphabet could reflect earlier traditions about the origins of Linear B writing in Greece (as Frederick Ahl speculated in 1967). However, in modern-day Lebanon, Cadmus is still revered and celebrated as the "carrier of the letter" to the world. According to Greek myth, Cadmus's descendants ruled at Thebes on and off for several generations, including the time of the Trojan War. Etymology The etymology of Cadmus' name remains uncertain. According to one view, the name originates from Phoenician, from the Semitic root qdm, which signifies "the east", the equation of Kadmos with the Semitic qdm was traced to a publication of 1646 by R. B. Edwards. According to another view, the name is of Greek origin, ultimately from the word kekasmenos. (, ). Possible connected words include the Semitic triliteral root qdm () which signifies "east" in Ugaritic, in Arabic, words derived from the root "qdm" include the verb "qdm" meaning "to come" as well as words meaning "primeval" and "forth" as well as "foot", names derived from it are "Qadim", which means "he who advances" and "of antiquity", ─ in Hebrew, qedem means "front", "east" and "ancient times"; the verb qadam () means "to be in front", and the Greek kekasmai (<*kekadmai) "to shine". Therefore, the complete meaning of the name might be: "He who excels" or "from the east". Wanderings Travel to Samothrace After his sister Europa had been carried off by Zeus from the shores of Phoenicia, Cadmus was sent out by his father to find her, and enjoined not to return without her. Unsuccessful in his search—or unwilling to go against Zeus—he came to Samothrace, the island sacred to the "Great Gods" or the Kabeiroi, whose mysteries would be celebrated also at Thebes. Cadmus did not journey alone to Samothrace; he appeared with his mother Telephassa in the company of his nephew (or brother) Thasus, son of Cilix, who gave his name to the island of Thasos nearby.