Emmett Leslie Bennett Jr. (July 18, 1918 – December 15, 2011) was an American

classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

and

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

whose systematic catalog of its symbols led to the solution of reading

Linear B Linear B is a syllabary, syllabic script that was used for writing in Mycenaean Greek, the earliest Attested language, attested form of the Greek language. The script predates the Greek alphabet by several centuries, the earliest known examp ...

, a 3,300-year-old

syllabary In the Linguistics, linguistic study of Written language, written languages, a syllabary is a set of grapheme, written symbols that represent the syllables or (more frequently) mora (linguistics), morae which make up words. A symbol in a syllaba ...

used for writing

Mycenaean Greek Mycenaean Greek is the earliest attested form of the Greek language. It was spoken on the Greek mainland and Crete in Mycenaean Greece (16th to 12th centuries BC). The language is preserved in inscriptions in Linear B, a script first atteste ...

hundreds of years before the

Greek alphabet The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early 8th century BC. It was derived from the earlier Phoenician alphabet, and is the earliest known alphabetic script to systematically write vowels as wel ...

was developed. Archaeologist

Arthur Evans Sir Arthur John Evans (8 July 1851 – 11 July 1941) was a British archaeologist and pioneer in the study of Aegean civilization in the Bronze Age. The first excavations at the Minoan palace of Knossos on the List of islands of Greece, Gree ...

had discovered Linear B in 1900 during his excavations at

Knossos Knossos (; , ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is a Bronze Age archaeological site in Crete. The site was a major centre of the Minoan civilization and is known for its association with the Greek myth of Theseus and the minotaur. It is located on th ...

on the Greek island of

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

and spent decades trying to comprehend its writings until his death in 1941. Bennett and

Alice Kober Alice Elizabeth Kober (December 23, 1906 – May 16, 1950) was an American classicist best known for her work on the decipherment of Linear B. Educated at Hunter College and Columbia University, Kober taught classics at Brooklyn College from ...

cataloged the 80 symbols used in the script in his 1951 work ''The Pylos Tablets'', which provided linguist

John Chadwick John Chadwick, (21 May 1920 – 24 November 1998) was an English linguist and classical scholar who was most notable for the decipherment, with Michael Ventris, of Linear B. Early life, education and wartime service John Chadwick was born at ...

and amateur scholar

Michael Ventris Michael George Francis Ventris, (; 12 July 1922 – 6 September 1956) was an English architect, classics, classicist and philology, philologist who deciphered Linear B, the ancient Mycenaean Greek script. A student of languages, Ventris had ...

with the vital clues needed to finally decipher Linear B in 1952.Papers of Emmett L. Bennett Jr.

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

Program in Aegean Scripts and Prehistory. Accessed January 1, 2012. Bennett was born on July 18, 1918, in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

and attended the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

, where he studied the classics, earning bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees, and was a student of the American archaeologist

Carl Blegen Carl William Blegen (January 27, 1887 – August 24, 1971) was an American archaeologist who worked at the site of Pylos in Greece and Troy in modern-day Turkey. He directed the University of Cincinnati excavations of the mound of Hisarlik, th ...

, who had uncovered a series of tablets inscribed in Linear B during excavations he had conducted at

Pylos Pylos (, ; ), historically also known as Navarino, is a town and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part of ...

in 1939. Fox, Margalit
"Emmett L. Bennett Jr., Ancient Script Expert, Dies at 93"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', December 31, 2011. Accessed January 1, 2011. Bennett worked as a

cryptanalyst Cryptanalysis (from the Greek ''kryptós'', "hidden", and ''analýein'', "to analyze") refers to the process of analyzing information systems in order to understand hidden aspects of the systems. Cryptanalysis is used to breach cryptographic se ...

on the American effort decoding Japanese ciphers during World War II, despite not knowing any Japanese. After beginning his academic career at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and the

, Bennett spent almost three decades on the faculty of the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

before he retired in 1988. Bennett's papers were acquired and have been cataloged and organized by the Program in Aegean Scripts and Prehistory at the University of Texas. Bennett was awarded the

Gold Medal of the Archaeological Institute of America The Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Archaeological Achievement is awarded by the Archaeological Institute of America in "recognition of a scholar who has made distinguished contributions to archaeology through his or her fieldwork, publications ...

in 2001 in recognition of "outstanding contributions to the field of archaeology" for his role in cataloging Linear B texts and the development of the field of Mycenaean studies.Wilkie, Nancy C
"From the President: Mycenae Gets the Gold"
, ''

Archaeology (magazine) ''Archaeology'' is a bimonthly magazine for the general public, published by the Archaeological Institute of America The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) is North America, North America's oldest learned society and largest organizati ...

'', Volume 54 Number 2, March/April 2001. Accessed January 1, 2012. Bennett died in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

at the age of 93. He was survived by two daughters, three sons and four grandchildren.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Emmett L. Jr. 1918 births 2011 deaths American classical scholars American philologists Hellenic epigraphers People from Minneapolis Scholars of Mycenaean Greek University of Cincinnati alumni Classical scholars of the University of Texas at Austin Classical scholars of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Classical scholars of Yale University American classical philologists