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Greek alphabet

Type Object Region Greece Time c. -800

The Greek alphabet was a phonetic writing system adapted from the Phoenician alphabet in the Aegean Greek world around the 8th century BCE.

Timeline

  1. c. -800–-750Ionia · IoniaGreek merchants, colonists, and artisans adapted Phoenician consonant signs and added new vowel letters, forming a phonetic system capable of recording Greek dialects; inscriptions began appearing on pottery, steles, and metal objects.
  2. c. -750–-600Greek world · GreeceCity-states developed different alphabetic variants, with two major traditions coexisting: the Eastern (blue letters) and Western (red letters); Athens ultimately adopted the Eastern variant, which became the basis of the later standard Greek alphabet.
  3. c. -600–-500Athens · AtticaAs Athens' cultural influence grew, its letter forms became standardized in public inscriptions, literary and philosophical texts, and spread to the Italian Peninsula and beyond through colonization, trade, and Mediterranean cultural exchange.

Sources