English architect and self-taught philologist who deciphered the Linear B script in 1952, demonstrating that it recorded an early form of Greek, now called Mycenaean Greek, centuries older than any previously known Greek text. He announced his preliminary decipherment on BBC radio on 1 July 1952, then collaborated with classicist John Chadwick to confirm and publish it in a series of joint papers between 1953 and 1956, overturning the assumption that Mycenaean-era Crete and mainland Greece spoke a non-Greek language.
Facts
RoleArchitect and Philologist, Decipherer of Linear B 1 Michael Ventris
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Deciphered Linear B in 1952, demonstrating it recorded Mycenaean Greek.
Source Wikipedia: Michael Ventris
Influenced By
Kober 1940s grid analysis of recurring sign patterns in Linear B supplied the syllabic grammar Ventris used to complete the 1952 decipherment.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Michael Ventris
Wikimedia Foundation- Decipherment of Linear B section
Nationality, Michael Ventris entity page
English architect and self-taught philologist who deciphered the Linear B script in 1952, demonstrating that it recorded an early form of Greek, now called Mycenaean Greek, centuries older than any previously known Greek text.
- Associated With: Linear B
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