Greek alphabet

Writing system used in Ancient and Modern Greek

The Greek alphabet with diacritics.

The Greek alphabet is a set of twenty-four letters that has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early 8th century BC. It is the ancestor of the Latin alphabet and the Cyrillic script, among others. The Greek alphabet was the first to include vowels, which were absent in its predecessor, the Phoenician alphabet.

History

The Phoenician letter Aleph, from which the Greek Alpha is derived.

The Greek alphabet developed from the Phoenician alphabet, which was a consonantal alphabet or abjad. The Greeks adapted the Phoenician script by adding vowels, which were necessary for the Greek language. This adaptation made the Greek alphabet the first true alphabet, in which vowels were given equal status with consonants.

The earliest known inscriptions in the Greek alphabet date back to the late 9th century BC. One of the oldest examples is the Dipylon Inscription, found on a pottery vessel in Athens, dating to around 740 BC.

The Dipylon Inscription, one of the earliest known examples of the Greek alphabet.

Development

The Greek alphabet underwent several changes over the centuries. Initially, there were many local variants of the alphabet, but by the 4th century BC, the Ionic alphabet of Miletus became the standard across the Greek-speaking world.

The Greek alphabet has been used continuously since its creation, evolving over time. In the Byzantine Empire, it was used to write Medieval Greek, and it continues to be used for Modern Greek.

Letters

The Greek alphabet consists of 24 letters, each with an uppercase and lowercase form. The letters are:

• Α α (Alpha)
• Β β (Beta)
• Γ γ (Gamma)
• Δ δ (Delta)
• Ε ε (Epsilon)
• Ζ ζ (Zeta)
• Η η (Eta)
• Θ θ (Theta)
• Ι ι (Iota)
• Κ κ (Kappa)
• Λ λ (Lambda)
• Μ μ (Mu)
• Ν ν (Nu)
• Ξ ξ (Xi)
• Ο ο (Omicron)
• Π π (Pi)
• Ρ ρ (Rho)
• Σ σ/ς (Sigma)
• Τ τ (Tau)
• Υ υ (Upsilon)
• Φ φ (Phi)
• Χ χ (Chi)
• Ψ ψ (Psi)
• Ω ω (Omega)

Influence

The Nestor Cup, an early example of Greek writing.

The Greek alphabet has had a profound influence on other writing systems. The Latin alphabet, used for many modern languages, was derived from the Greek alphabet via the Etruscan alphabet. The Cyrillic script, used for many Slavic languages, was also based on the Greek alphabet.

Related pages

• Greek language
• Latin alphabet
• Cyrillic script
• Phoenician alphabet
• History of the Greek alphabet

A depiction of the Greek alphabet.