The Linear B e-qe-ta: A Mycenaean ephebe

Abstract

The word e-qe-ta is one of the most well-known Linear B words. It is transcribed as / h ekw etas/ (in alphabetic Greek ἑπέτας ‘follower’). It has been regarded as a title of important and powerful persons of ‘the royal court’ charged with military, religious and other functions. However, there are still unanswered questions about the morphology and the semantics of the word, permitting new interpretations. Here, the hypothesis is put forward that e-qe-ta can be transcribed as /h ēgw étas/ (in alphabetic Greek *ἡβέτας ‘ephebe’) and the one and only identity that must be attributed to him is that of a young soldier in the Mycenaean army, comparable in roles to the ephebe of Classical Greece.