The table indicates the Classical Greek numerals. In 403 bce, however, Athens officially adopted the Ionic alphabet as written in Miletus, and in the next 50 years almost all local Greek alphabets, including the Chalcidian, were replaced by the Ionic script, which thus became the Classical Greek alphabet.Īpproximate Classical Attic pronunciation The Chalcidian alphabet probably gave rise to the Etruscan alphabet of Italy in the 8th century bce and hence indirectly to the other Italic alphabets, including the Latin alphabet, which is now used for most European languages. Differences between the two branches were minor. The addition of symbols for the vowel sounds greatly increased the accuracy and legibility of the writing system for non-Semitic languages.īefore the 5th century bce the Greek alphabet could be divided into two principal branches: the Ionic (eastern) and the Chalcidian (western). Most important, some of the symbols of the Semitic alphabet, which represented only consonants, were made to represent vowels: the Semitic consonants ʾalef, he, yod, ʿayin, and vav became the Greek letters alpha, epsilon, iota, omicron, and upsilon, representing the vowels a, e, i, o, and u, respectively. Derived from the North Semitic alphabet via that of the Phoenicians, the Greek alphabet was modified to make it more efficient and accurate for writing a non-Semitic language by the addition of several new letters and the modification or dropping of several others. It is the direct or indirect ancestor of all modern European alphabets. Greek alphabet, writing system that was developed in Greece about 1000 bce. Most important, some of the symbols of the Semitic alphabet, which represented only consonants, were made to represent vowels. It did so through the addition of several new letters and the modification or dropping of several others. The Greek alphabet was a significant development because it was a more efficient and accurate way to write a non-Semitic language.
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