Jean-Pierre Vernant

French historian and anthropologist (1914–2007)

Jean Pierre Vernant (vɛʁnɑ̃; January 4, 1914 – January 9, 2007) was a French historian and anthropologist, specialist in ancient Greece. Influenced by Claude Lévi Strauss, Vernant developed a structuralist approach to Greek myth, tragedy, and society which would itself be influential among classical scholars. He was an honorary professor at the Collège de France.

Born in Provins, France, Vernant at first studied philosophy, receiving his agrégation in this field in 1937. A member of the Young Communists (Jeunes Communistes), Vernant joined the French Resistance during World War II and was a member of Libération sud (founded by Emmanuel d'Astier). He later commanded the French Forces of the Interior (FFI) in Haute Garonne under the pseudonym of "Colonel Berthier." He was a Companion of the Liberation. After the war, he remained a member of the French Communist Party until 1969. He entered the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) in 1948 and, under the influence of Louis Gernet, turned to the study of ancient Greek anthropology. Ten years later, he became director of studies at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS). In 1971 he was professor in the University of São Paulo. This visit was also an act of protest that he made with François Châtelet against the brazilian military government (dictatorship). He was a member of the French sponsorship committee for the Decade for the Promotion of a Culture of Peace and Non Violence for the Children of the World. He supported the funding organisation Non Violence XXI. He was awarded the CNRS gold medal in 1984. In 2002, he received an honorary doctorate at the University of Crete. Vernant died a few days after his 93rd birthday in Sèvres. After his death, his name was given to a French highschool in Sèvres, le "Lycée Jean Pierre Vernant".

The structuralist approach pioneered by Vernant has been influential on a wide range of classical scholars. More specifically, Vernant's reading of the myth of Prometheus was an important influence on philosopher Bernard Stiegler's book, Technics and Time, 1: The Fault of Epimetheus.

Vernant's approach has been heavily criticized, particularly among Italian philologists, even by those of Marxist tendencies. He has been accused of a fundamentally ahistorical approach, allegedly going as far as to manipulate his sources by describing them in categories which do not apply (polysemy and ambiguity).