The Greek alphabet is used for all languages of the small Greek group. Notable for being one of the oldest known alphabets. In addition, signs appeared in it for the first time to designate not only consonants, but also vowels. The word “alphabet” itself comes from the names of the first letters of the Greek alphabet: “alpha” and “vita”. The number of letters in the Greek alphabet is 24.
Ancient Greek and Roman historians and thinkers attributed the invention of the alphabet to various mythical characters: Prometheus, Palamedes, Orpheus, Cecrops, and also to historical figures: the poet Simonides, the comedian Epicharmes. But most often the appearance of the alphabet among the Greeks is associated with the name of the mythical son of the Phoenician king Agenor. According to one version, it was he who brought the Phoenician alphabet to Greece. On the other hand, he is credited with introducing the first 16 letters.
Modern scholars are also of the opinion that the letters of the Greek alphabet are partially borrowed from the Phoenician letter, which is characterized by the designation of only consonants.
Proponents of this hypothesis make the following arguments:
1. The shape of most of the early Greek letters speaks of a Semitic origin.
2. The order of the letters in the Greek alphabet is similar to the sequence of the Semitic letters.
3. The names of the letters of the Greek alphabet do not mean anything in Greek. And the Semitic letter names that coincide with them are Semitic words.
A number of symbols denoting consonants in Phoenician writing were used in Greek to write vowels. So for the first time in history, an alphabet arose, which consisted of signs to designate vowels and consonants. The Phoenician letters in the Greek alphabet have changed their shape and names. Previously, each of them was called a word that began with this letter. For example, the alphabet began with the letter Aleph, which meant “bull.” Then came the letters bet – “house” and gimel – “camel”. In Greek they were changed to alpha, beta, gamma. These names were consistent with Greek phonology, but at the same time they lost their original meaning.
The timing of the creation of the Greek alphabet remains controversial. Researchers make various assumptions. Most of the supporters are of the point of view that the alphabet arose at the end of the 9th century or the beginning of the 8th century BC. NS. The most ancient Greek inscriptions found are dated to this period. They were found in Athens and on the island of Fera. In addition, the Etruscan alphabet, derived from the Greek, probably existed in the 9th-8th centuries BC. NS.
Like all Semitic scripts, ancient Greek writing had a direction from right to left. Then he was replaced by bustrofedon. With this method of writing, the direction depends on the parity of the line. If in the first line the letters are written from right to left, then in the next – in reverse order, and so on. In some sources, there is also a letter with a vertical direction, from bottom to top. Written monuments that date back to after 500 BC. e., have a single direction, adopted today: from left to right and from top to bottom.
The Greek alphabet became the basis for other alphabets used in the Middle East and Europe. Among them are Latin and Cyrillic. In addition, the letters of the Greek alphabet are used as international symbols in various scientific fields, for example, in mathematics, physics, astronomy.