Linear B
Quick Summary
Linear B was a syllabic script used by Aegean civilizations in the 2nd millennium BC. It was an adapted form of Linear A, borrowed by Mycenaean Greeks from the Minoans around 1600 BC.1
Linear B is primarily known from clay tablets found in Mycenaean palaces, dating from approximately 1400 to 1200 BC. The script was used exclusively for the economic administration of these palaces.1
Key characteristics of Linear B:
* It is a syllabic script, meaning each symbol represents a syllable.
* It generally expresses open syllables (ending in a vowel) and struggles to clearly represent consonant clusters or final consonants.1
* The language written in Linear B is the Mycenaean Greek dialect, representing the oldest known form of Greek.12
Linear B was deciphered in 1952 by Michael Ventris, providing crucial insights into Greek linguistics and the history of the Greek language.1
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- Mycenaean language
…a syllabic script known as Linear B, it has been found mostly on clay tablets discovered at Knossos and Chania in Crete and at Pylos, Mycenae, Tiryns, and Thebes on the mainland, as well as in inscriptions on pots and jars from Thebes, Mycenae, and other cities that imported these…
Read More…a syllabic script known as Linear B, it has been found mostly on clay tablets discovered at Knossos and Chania in Crete and at Pylos, Mycenae, Tiryns, and Thebes on the mainland, as well as in inscriptions on pots and jars from Thebes, Mycenae, and other cities that imported these…
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languageMessages and codesThe decipherment of the Linear B script in the 1950s and its recognition as Mycenaean Greek, an early Greek dialect written in a form of orthography quite distinct from the later classical Greek alphabet, was first achieved by the application of cryptographic “code cracking” methods (see also cryptology).
Read MoreThe decipherment of the Linear B script in the 1950s and its recognition as Mycenaean Greek, an early Greek dialect written in a form of orthography quite distinct from the later classical Greek alphabet, was first achieved by the application of cryptographic “code cracking” methods (see also cryptology).
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Indo-European languagesGreekThe earliest texts are the Linear B tablets, some of which may date from as far back as 1400 bce (the date is disputed) and some of which certainly date to 1200 bce. This material, very sparse and difficult to interpret, was not identified as Greek until 1952. The Homeric…
Read MoreThe earliest texts are the Linear B tablets, some of which may date from as far back as 1400 bce (the date is disputed) and some of which certainly date to 1200 bce. This material, very sparse and difficult to interpret, was not identified as Greek until 1952. The Homeric…
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Greek mythologyArchaeological discoveries…architecture and monuments, because the Linear B script (an ancient form of Greek found in both Crete and Greece) was mainly used to record inventories.
Read More…architecture and monuments, because the Linear B script (an ancient form of Greek found in both Crete and Greece) was mainly used to record inventories.
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epigraphyCrete and Mycenaean Greece…Minoan linear scripts, the so-called Linear B, by British cryptologist Michael Ventris in 1953, is a major example of the dramatic impact epigraphic discovery can have on the most varied antiquarian disciplines. It supplied incontrovertible proof that the Mycenaeans on the Greek mainland during the 2nd millennium bce were Greek…
Read More…Minoan linear scripts, the so-called Linear B, by British cryptologist Michael Ventris in 1953, is a major example of the dramatic impact epigraphic discovery can have on the most varied antiquarian disciplines. It supplied incontrovertible proof that the Mycenaeans on the Greek mainland during the 2nd millennium bce were Greek…
Read More- Michael Ventris
…in 1952 deciphered the Minoan Linear B script and showed it to be Greek in its oldest known form, dating from about 1400 to 1200 bc, roughly the period of the events narrated in the Homeric epics.
Read More…in 1952 deciphered the Minoan Linear B script and showed it to be Greek in its oldest known form, dating from about 1400 to 1200 bc, roughly the period of the events narrated in the Homeric epics.
Read More - classical scholarshipClassical scholarship in the 20th century
…the language of the so-called Linear B syllabic script on clay tablets found at Mycenae and other places is Greek, thus throwing light on a far earlier stage of the language than had previously been known.
Read More…the language of the so-called Linear B syllabic script on clay tablets found at Mycenae and other places is Greek, thus throwing light on a far earlier stage of the language than had previously been known.
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Sir Arthur Evans…form of Mycenaean writing, the Linear B script. Evans hoped to decipher this as well as the other forms, the Linear A and the pictorial. He failed, but a lecture he delivered in 1936 inspired British architect and amateur linguist Michael Ventris to work on the script. (Ventris—with the aid…
Read More…form of Mycenaean writing, the Linear B script. Evans hoped to decipher this as well as the other forms, the Linear A and the pictorial. He failed, but a lecture he delivered in 1936 inspired British architect and amateur linguist Michael Ventris to work on the script. (Ventris—with the aid…
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Knossos…was replaced by another script, Linear B, which is identical to that used at Mycenae and is most generally deemed the prototype of Greek. Detailed administrative records in Linear B found at Knossos indicate that at this time the city’s Mycenaean rulers controlled much of central and western Crete.
Read More…was replaced by another script, Linear B, which is identical to that used at Mycenae and is most generally deemed the prototype of Greek. Detailed administrative records in Linear B found at Knossos indicate that at this time the city’s Mycenaean rulers controlled much of central and western Crete.
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Pylos…are inscribed in the so-called Linear B script found earlier in the palace at Knossos (Knosós) in Crete (Kríti), as well as those discovered after 1952 in excavations at Mycenae (Mykínes).
Read More…are inscribed in the so-called Linear B script found earlier in the palace at Knossos (Knosós) in Crete (Kríti), as well as those discovered after 1952 in excavations at Mycenae (Mykínes).
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