Michael Ventris was 14 when he first saw the Linear B script of Minoan Crete. He was on a school trip to the Royal Academy of Arts in 1936. That day, Sir Arthur Evans, who had found the script, was also there. Michael asked Sir Arthur if anyone had translated the script, and Evans replied, “Sadly not.” This started a lifelong obsession.
When he succeeded, Michael was not a university professor or classicist; he was a young British architect who loved codes and had studied Greek and Latin classics. It is the classic story of an everyday man who beat the academics through sheer enthusiasm and hard work.
