Homer and the origin of the Greek alphabet

Homer and the origin of the Greek alphabet

Darry B. Powel! pror�j�or or Classics Uniyt'rsity of Wist.:onsin-Mad;500n

"CAMBRIDGE :::

UNIVERSITY PRESS

by the Press Syndicate o( th. University o( Cambridge Pill Building, Trumpingron Street, Cambriclge CIl2 I RP 40 Wes r 20 ,h Street, New York, NY iOOII-421I, USA 10 S,am(ord Road, Onkleigh, Melbourne )166, Australi.

Published The

© Cambridge

University Press

Fi", published Printed in Amony Row.

/J,.itiJh

Ltd,

GreRt

1991

1991

Bri,nin by

Chippenhom,

Li6,.1II'Y "alnloKltillg ill

Wiltshi,.

plI6/irntiolJ dnla

Powell, Barry B. Homer and the origin I.

Greek

of the

Greek nlph.bet.

language. AlphabetS. Innllence

I. Tide

o( Homer

481'.1 Li6rary of COllgmJ ratalogllillg ill

Homer and

Powell, B a r ry B. the Greek alphabet/Barry

the origi n o(

p.

I. Homer -

pltblirntioIJ da/a 13. Powel!.

cm.

Include. bibliogrnphicnl references. ISBN 0 nl 37D7 0 hmgll age , 2, Greek l a nguag e - Alphabet. I, PA4177.A48P69 1990 883',dl-OC20 89·22186 CIP ISBN 0 �21

3 71 � 7 0 hardlmk

UP

Title

JOE FONTENROSE .

.

/11 memortam

We must always reckon in the case of all great cultural achievements with the decisive intervention of men of genius

who were able either to break away from sacred tradition or

to

transfer into practical form something On which others could only speculate. Unfortunately, we cia not know any of the geniuses who were responsible for the most important reforms in the history of writing.

(I. J.

Gclb,

1963: 199)

Among the facts of early Greek history the rise of the Greek

Epic, and in particular of the Iliad, has a place of evident

importance. !.ltH to the historian's question" how exactly did

it happen?" no quite confident answer has yet been given.

(H. T. Wade-Gery, 19P: I)

... once I saw a man [ram Plav who had such interest to learn' a song when some singer sang it that he wrote it down and took it and read

it to

them in Pbv.

(Salih Ugljanin, a Yugoslav 1953: 383)

guslar, in Parry-Lord-Bynum, eds.,

CONTENTS

page xiii

Lis t

oJfigures

List

oJ tables

xiv

Ac/wowledgemenlS

xv

Abbreyiatiolls

xvi

A note

xix

011

terms and plwnetic transcriptiolls

Cllronological charts

xxii

Maps Foreword: Why was the G reek alphabet invented?

Heview of criticism: W hat we know about the origin of the G r eek alphabet Phoenician origins Single introduction by a single man The place of adaptation The date of transmission The moment of transmission The names of the signs The sounds of the signs The vowels The problem of the sibilants

The problem of the supplementals 'I' X 'l' The adapter's system Summary and conclusions

1

xx

A rgum ent from the history of w ri t i ng : How w riting worked before the G reek alphabet Elements in the an of wri ling

xii

CONTENTS

How logo-syllabic wri ting works: Egyptian hieroglyphic How syllabic writing works: the Cypriote sylIabary

76 89

How syllabic writing works: Phoenician

101

Summary and conclusions

IOS

Argument from the m a teri a l remains: Greek inscriptions from the beginning to c. 650 B.C.

1 19

The lack of semantic devices in early Greek writing I.

Short" Greek inscriptions from the beginning to c. 610 B.C., .. Long" Greek inscriptions from the beginning to c. 610 B.C.

11 .

Conclusions

4

119

..

Argument from coincidence: Dating Greece's earliest poet

Il:> 118 181 187

What dates does archaeology give for objects, practices, and social realilies mentioned in Homer? 11. Is there anything about the language of the Iliad and the Odyssey that c.1n be dated?

207

Ill.

What are the earliest outside references to Homer?

Homer's date in ancient tradition

208

IV.

I.

217

Conclusions: tbe date of Homer Conclusions from probability: how the Iliad and

219

Odyssey

were written down

W riling and Irad itional song in Homer's day Conclusions A P PEN D I X I:

111 1.1.1 231

Gelb's t h eo ry of the syllabic n a t u re of West

Semitic writing APPENDIX ll:

190

238 Homeric references in poels of Ihe seventb ce n t u ry

246

Definitions

249

Bihliograpll)'

254

Index

277

FIGURES

t

page

An eighteenth-century child's primer

1 The expeetecl derivation of Greek sibilants from Phoenician

The actual derivation of G reek sibilants from Phoenician 4 Jcffery's reconstruction of the shuffle of the sibilants I Historical stemma of 'I' X '+' 6 The phonetic clevelopmcnt of 'I' X '+' 7 Hypothetical reconstruction of a Homeric text in the aclapter's hancl

8 Drawing of the first side of the Iclalion tablet 9 The first sentence of the Idalion inscription rewritten from left to right, with interlinear transliteration

to Cypriote and alphabetic writing compared tt

From the Yehomilk inscription (sixth-fourth centuries

a.e.)

11

46 47 47 19 61

TABLES

11 /11 IV V

VI

The place of early G reek letter forms in the development of Phoenician letter fo rm s page 7 8 The Greek and Phoenician s ignari es jO T hree early abecedaria jI Selected epichoric variation in the re nd ering of certain sounds Selected cpichoric v aria ti on in the values assign ed to Mla, x.i, qoppa, and the supplementals p T heoret ica l reconstruction of the sign ary of the C yprio tc syllabary (Koine ve rs ion) 93

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Many have given generously of their time and wisdom in the writing of this book. E. L. Bennell, J r, advised me from the beginning about the structure of my argument and about critical issues in the history of writing. He read the first and last drafts and big chunks in between. John Bennet gave me good advice at critical junctures. Richard Janko, who read the book for Cambridge University Press, has freely shared of his learning

and

insight.

Hcrbert

Howe,

David

Jordan,

and

John

Scarborough have also read complete versions and saved me from many indiscretions. Andrew Sihler helped me with the linguistic portions. Alan DoegellOld, Charles Murgia, Leslie Threatte, and Steven Tracy kindly read early portions. Warren Moon advised me on the art-historical portion. Michael Fox reacl over the section dealing with Semitic scripts and languages. My assistant Jeffery Pinkham has worked indefatigably to verify the references. Susan Moore at CUP has admirably edited

a

desperate typescript. To none of these can any fault in this book be ascribed, but many of its virtues. Finally, I would like to thank the Wisconsin Alumni

Research Foundation for their generolls financial support, which enabled me to

travel to Greece several times and allowed me time 011' in which to do much of the writing. All drawings are my own.

ABBREVIATIONS

For full citation of bibliographic entries in leXI, see Bibliography. AA

Ardiiologiuher An{eiger

AJA

American Journal of Arc/truology. TAe Joufllal of ti,t Archaeological

h,stitUIe of America A/'{1

Mitleilungetl des Del/tJchen Archiiologischen In!liutIJ, AtheniscAe

Ahteilung AllalOr AO

A,talecla Orientalia

Archiv Oriellldllli

Arch Cl

Arc/ltologia Classica

Arc/If/om

F. Matz and H. G. Buchhol7., eds., Archaeologia Homerica

(Gottingen, t96r ) ASAtene

Amwario della SCllola Archeologica di Aune e delle Missioni Italiane

in Oriente AZ

ArcAiiologische Zeitullg

BASOR BCH

Bullelin of tile Americall Schools of Oriental Res,arc;'

Bldl,till de co",spom/ance kelUnique

BOllIIJbh

BOllner Jalzrhiicher des Rh,iniscAen LandesmuJtums in BO/m Utld des

Vereill.' VOIl AlterlUmsfreulldell im Rlzeinlande BP W BSA CA CAH ClE

CIS

CP

CQ

CR

eRA I

Berliner philologiscAe Wochensckrifi TAe Annual of th, British School at Athens Classical Alltiquity Camhridge Ancient History Corpus ltlscriptiollltm Etruscafllm Corpus Inscrip,ionum Semiticarum

(Leipzig,

1893-

(Paris, 188.- )

Classical Philology Classical Quart.,1y Clas.,ical Review Compus rendus des siances de

I' Acadimie des Inscriptions et Belles­

lellres

IJGE

E. Schwyzer, ed., DialeClorum Graecarum exempla epigraphica potiora3

(Delectus inscriptionum Graecarum propter clialeclum memorabilium)

(Lcip7,ig, '923 j reprinted Hildcsheim, '960)

ABBREVIATIONS

xvii

DR Donner, H., and W. Riillig, Kanaaniiische ulld aramaische blschriften (Wiesbaden, 1961-4) EG I M. Guarducci, Epigrafia Greea ( (Romc, 1967) FGrHist F. Jacoby, Fragmente der griechisehen HisloriKer (Berlin, 1926-18; rcprinted and augmented Lciden, (957) FHG K. MUller, Fragmtllta Hislorieorum Graecorum (Frankfmt-am-Main, 1971; rCI>rint of 1841-1938 editions) GRBS

GreeK, Roman, and BYralllille Sludies

E. Schwyzer, Criechisch. GrammaliK 14, in Handhuch der Alleftumswisse1IschaJt (ed. W. Otto), 1.1.1 (Munich, 1968) fiSC P Harvard Studi.. ill Classical Philology GrGr

{Cr

lCS

IlIscriptioncs cretieae

O. Masson, Les tilscriptiollS ehypriotes syllahiques: Reeueil critique et (Paris, 1961)

eommellle IG

IlIscriptiolles graeeae

jAOS jdl

journal of the Americall Oriemal Society

jahrhueh cles deutseh", Arehaologischen InstilUlS

j EA

jOllfJIal of Egyptiall Archaeology

jHS

joumal of Hellellie Studies

j N ES

joumal of Near Eastern Studies

LSAG L. H. Jeffery, Tl!e Local Scripts of Arehaic Gmce (Oxford, 1961) LSJ 11. G. Liddel1, R. Scott, H. S. Jones, A Greek-ElIglish Lexicon (Oxford, 1968) MemLi,le

l"'femorie. Alii dell' Accademia Na{iollale dei Lillcei, Clas" di

sciw{c morali, storiehe e filolagiche MusS

Musee Beige

MusHelv Njhh

IvIlIseum Helvetieum

[Nelle] jahrh'k/,er for Philo/�gie IIl1d PiidagogiK; Neue jahrhiichu for

das Klassische Alurtum; Neue jahrhiicher fur WissensehaJt und jugendhildulIg

(the thrce being a continuous series) n.d. no date of publication given n.s. new series no. number OjA PP

Oxford jOllrn"I of Archaeology La Parola del Passato

npCXKT'�Cx Tiis ;v 'A6�vcx,s 'ApxCXtOhoyt�iis 'ETatp.ias

PraKt. RA

Revue arcMologique

RBPhil

ReI'lIe helge de philologie et tlhistoi"

RE

Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encyclopadie cler Klassiseh", AltertumslVissenschaJt REA ReI·ue cl" etudes anciennes

RendL,i" Rh M

Alli delf /JccaJemia Narionale dei Lineei. Rmdicollli

RI"i"ise"" Musellnl fur Philologie

Riv{stAtch

Ri"iSla delf Istillao /'Ia{iollale

t! Archeologia e slOtia delf Arte

xviii

ABBREVIATIONS

RivStor 1 t RPhil SEC

Suppl.mentum epigraphicl/m graemm

SlC3 SMEA StEtr

W. Dittenberger, Sylloge lnscriptiorlllm Graecarum3 (Leipzig, J9IS-24) Studi micenei ed egeo-anatolici Studi etruschi

TAP A

WS

YCS

Transactions of the American Philological Association

Wi.lI" Studien Yale Classical Swdits

ZDMG Z PE

Rivisrn storica ita liall a

Revue de rMlologie, de liltirature et "histoire allciennes

Z.ilSchrifl der Deutschen Morgenli:indischen Cesellschafr

Z.irschrifl for Papyrologie

Md Ep igrapMlr.

A NOTE ON TERMS AND PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTIONS

A c lassicis t whose interests arc primar ily l iterary or historical is likely to find discussions of l ing u is tic data perplexing. Ter minology applied to

w r iting can also be confu s i n g. In • D e fi ni t i o n s ' at the e nd of the book, after Appendix

It,

I give definitions of terms that my own experiellce shows

need them. I have not hesitated to repeat definitions there that are given in the text.

Although there is a standard l anguage for describing language and, to a l es s degree, writing, there is no s tanda rd system of phonetic transcription. The International

Phonetic Al p ha bet (IPA) is often advocated as a

desirable s t and ard , but different traditions of langua ge stu d y have evolved their own traditional symbol systems, which are not e a sily abandoned. For ex ampl e , in Semitic studies the glottal stop is represented by th e sign ")" wh ereas Egy ptol o gist s represent the same phoneme as .. I." In c l ass i cal studies, phonetic transcriptions, as of Linear !l or Cypriote writ in g, are g ive n in Roman characters that represent" standard " Engli sh , e qu iva l ent to southern !lritish English. Reduction of all phonetic representations in the interests of consistency to the signs favored by IPA v io l ates the claims of different traditions and clarity within each of them .

There is no good solution to this dile mma . In this book I a d o pt, in the trad i ti o na l systems of symbolic transcription - Semitic,

general,

Egyptological, classical - that one might expect to find with i n each

separate field. I will define my usage as I go. I will enclose symbols that refer to phonemes (sounds that determine meaning within a single language) within slashes / /; symbols that refer to phonetic sounds (the universal sounds of human lang u ages) I will enc lo se within brackets [ ]. a sOllnd symbol J will indicate by italics. On the whole I follow the usual co nve n t i o ns in transliterating from the Greek, a l th ough , because of the topic, I have been more conservative than

Any other use of

many.

CHRONOLOGICAL CHARTS

-I I I I I '100 -I I I I I qoo -I I I I I 1)00 -I I

"Soo

I

1100

1100

I I -i I I

LATE IIELLADIC PERIOD

IIA

M

110

Y

IIIAI

C

IIIAl

E

- Palac� at Knossos deslroyed

N A IIID

� A

!IIC

I I -i I I

-Greek dynulY at KnossO!i

I I lOCO -1 I I I I 900-1 I I I I 800 -I I I I' I 700 -I

N

-TroY VI devaslale-cl by earthquake

-TreJsury of A,,,us buil,

- Final destruclion or Tnehts -Sock of Troy VIIA - Deva5tarion 3( Mykenai and Tir)'ns - Pylos desuoyed

- f'.t'1 of Myk
J

(\.

LjLJ

vv'

t

"1

0

1 Lj

z.�

T-r

Ll

"1

�

�

1 �

::j

Greek

PHOENICIAN

KilamuvJ Dipylon Lefkandi, Limassol (ZinPithekoussai (Cyprus) cirli) . (Adlcns) c. no -1s (=DR C·740 No. )') No. '.) C·710"-11 c.811

I

.J 'I � '1

°

1

M

Cl c,3}

,--r

Karalepe

Ipssambul

(=DR

C·190

'6)

No.

C·71O

'9

.p <j

Ll.

�

-f:

I

F!

�

l

� L 'I

'7 ;p 0

r

'I

-1

>f-'f'

alpha

1 '1

gamma

� �

ei

[wau]

13\3. PlMH @

1-2'11 l.-

1/ffI

71

t

')7 7 7 -F I� �"!

"1'fJ"1 0

:J

rv

cp q:I. =t J

@ 0

I

�

)

)

>

M

)

T T

'1

'"? .) j1 Jl

d l!

w

h,e

k I

q r

S

t

ph ks , kh ps , kh

0

shape

Greek

9 "T Il

B

04Jo. T Il EiI E IjI , Jo.ov

l>

A

y6� �1l y 4�� 1l

faO

{ "TIl

( �r!2m sade7 )

';liT 11

OnTO lOT a

J:: 6:TTrTa

M�POIl vO

ts t

n. t

a&v

( from :tal 7 ) 96T(tTll ' pO

a tYUIl

( from semk7)

TaG �

E

-

- I z:

H I

K

"

M H

� ;r 0 n

-

C Fi q p �

T

y

ht

t

x�t



L

u

8-9 are developments of Lhe first sign ( = [)a]) and

and [)u] res p ectively. Sign ) 0 ( = Is]) may have been added for record i n g the H u rrian (see G o rcion, 1 9 5 0 ; Albright, 1 9 5 0 a : 1 2 - ' 4 ; G e l b, '1 9 5 8 : 6-7). For principles that might govern the order of signs i n the West Semitic sig n ary , see Driver, 1 976 : 1 8 1 - 5 ' signify

Pi]

language

THE ORIGIN OF THE GREEK ALPHABET

22

the adapter learned it i n just the same way.65 Dionysios o f Halikarnassos (Demosthenes 5 2) writes, ab o u t 30 D.C. :

npGlTOV IJEV Ta QVOIJCXTO TWV UTOIXEiwv Tiis CjlwviiS 6:VOAOIJ�6:VOIJEV, 0: KOAElTat yp6:IJIlOTO' E1TEITO < TOUS) Ttl1TOVS TE OUTWV Koi Bvv6:IJEIS.

First we learn the names of the elements [UTOIXEio] of the sound [ i . e., of the language], which are called letters [yp6:IJIJOTO]. Then we learn their shapes and their phonetic values [Bvv6:IlE1S66].

The Roman educator Quintilian, younger contemporary of Dionysios (born A.D. 30), complains of the harm brought to his students by this manner of learning the alphabet ( I . 1 .24-5 ) : neque enim mihi i llud saltem placet, quod fieri in plurimis video, ut litterarum nomina et contextum prius quam formas parvuli d iscant. obstat hoc agnitioni earum non intendentibus mox ani mum ad ipsos ductus, dum antecedentem memoria m sequuntur. quae causa est praecipientibus, ut etiam, cum satis affixisse eas pueris recto illo, quo primum scribi solent contextu, videntur, retroagant rursus et varia permutatione turbent, don�c litteras qui instituuntur facie norint non ordine. quapropter optime sicut hominum pariter et habitus et nomina . cdocebuntur. I am by no means pleased by the ord inary practice of teaching to small children tlte names of the letters and their order before teaching the shapes. This practice prevents the child ren from recognizing the letters, since they do not pay any attention to their actual shapes, but simply repeat the memorized series of sounds. This is the reason why, when teachers think that they have sufficiently drilled the student on the correct order in which to write the letters, they reverse that order, then create every manner of sequential permutation, until the student can recognize the letters from shape alone and not from their place in a certain order. It will be a great i mprovement, I think, to teach both the appearance of the letters and their names at the same time, just as we associate individual names with individual men.

The Semitic term higgayon, perhaps from a root meaning " to hum continuously, " to designate the signary suggests that the Semite learned his ABCs in the same way.6 7 This manner of learning how to read and write must underlie the use of G reek avaYlyvwcrKElv, t o figure out, " and Latin legere " to pick out, " to mean " to read. " I f in fact this procedure goes back to the invention of the West Semitic signary, Quintilian is complaining about a practice that is already 1 , 500 years old ! "

0,

60 07

c f. LSAC 2;-6. Also, CrCr 1 40 ; Yzeren, 191 1 ; Nilsson, 1 9 5 2 : 1 O}2-}. For this meaning of 5UV6:�II S , see L5] s.v., I I l b. Sec Driver, 1976 : 90 ; LSAC 26. But the meaning of Illggayoll is highly uncertain.

THE MOMENT OF TRAN SMISSION

23

I n spite of Quintilian's complaints, the original function of the series of names was to facilitate instruction. A spoken series of names, like a metrical line, is perceived as an articulate unit having its own integrity. The. structure of the series, i ts memorized beginning, sequence, and end made evident any omission. If someone is presented with a series of 24 different signs, forbidden to verbalize them, and required to list them by writing, he will have difficulty recreating the list. He will need to count the signs to be sure they are all there, and he will need to check that none have been repeated. By associating the shapes in a written series with an orclered series of names, the student is assured of completeness. American school children are familiar with a similar mnemonic, pedagogic device in the " ABC song. " The naming system was analogous in function to that used by the American army code-breakers in the Second World War, who eliminated ambiguity in aural communication by naming the letters Able, Baker, Cast, Dog, Easy, Fox, George and so forth. Another example is the Japanese " poem " called Iroha after its first three syllables, really a clever organization of the sounds of the J apanese syllabary into an approximately denotative structure. Created by a Buddhist priest named Kobodaishi sometime in the ninth century A.D., the Iroha reads, in transliteration : 68

Ira ha nihoheto cbirinuru wo ! waka yo tare so tsune naramu ? ui no okunama kefu koyete asake yume mishi wehi mo sesu

and means something like : Color, though fragrant, is a passing thing. Who in this world will remain unchanged ? If tod � 'J l> x l X c x b xb x) xk x n x)

As he writes each sign, the informant first says the name of the sign, then he gives the pronunciation of the sign, adding the correct vocalization. For the sake of i ll ustration, we might imagine that he says " )alf)a " (name­ sound) as he writes 1>' ; " niin-n() " as he writes 'J ; Kafk() " as he writes �, and so forth. He reads out the whole : "

)anek ) A b ibaCel I (am) Abibaal =

THE MOM ENT OF TRANSM ISSION

except of course we cannot k now how it sounded. Through repeated examples the informant eventually commllnicated, in a practical way, how the system works : ( I ) The written sign corresponds to a ' spoken name.

( 2 ) The first sign in the written name of the sign is normally the sign to which the name corresponds. (3) The written sign also corresponds to a sound - a certain consonant plus some vowel or other. (4) One sound of the sign is contained in the name of the sign. (s) When I show you a sign, you should be able to give both the name of the sign and a syllable containing the sound of the sign. (6) When I say the name of the sign, you should be able to write the sign, and give a sound syllable. (7) If I speak a sound syllable, you should be able to write the sign, or speak the name of the sign. (8) I f I show you a series of signs composing a word, you should be able to say the names and come up with a series of sounds contained in the ' spoken word .

At some point the adapter asks the , informant to write something in G reek - his own name, for example. The Phoenician writes and while writing says : '1

�

im eh

w phei, X Hei, 'f psei.

T H E O RI G I N O F TH E G R E E K A L P H A B ET

The shapes of the letters 7 3 The letters . . . are p ictures of invisible sounds, and have, like sounds, the sequence of earlier to late r ; they have p roperly speaking no up and down or right and left. CB. Einarson) 74

Before remarking on those G reek shapes which we can take to be closest to the adapter's version, it is necessary to say a word about the evident variety of archaic G reek letter forms in general, such as those presented in Table II, column d . 75 I will not be concerned with the details of these variations, which have even been used to support theories of multiple creation, except to note that they arose in circumstances of restricted literacy. As long as the adapter and his first students or imitators were in a community of their own, in which variations arose and were tolerated, generally adopted , or abandoned, we have what we can call the " very early " stage of the G reek alphabet. As soon as one or two of the adapter's followers settled in another communi ty, control by consensus s topped and there arose the diversification of letter forms that characterizes the local scripts of archaic G reece, a diversification fostered by the provincialism of the eighth and seventh centuries and the geographical isolation of early literate groups. By contrast, the ecumenisll} of Greek society in the fourth century B.C., and the influence of Athenian l iterature, sponsored the Greek Koine language and tile widespread adoption of the Ionian script. In conditions of restricted li teracy, a single man's alteration of his model, through error or some other reason, will be accepted by his students and passed on .as canonical. I f my teacher writes 2 for " S " or V1 for " N, " I will do the same, and so will my pupils in their turn. This sort of error is so easily mad� that the appearance of the same backward form in another place doe's not imply a d irect connection. 7 6 I n a similar haphazard way five-stroked 'm ii lost a stroke, an extra stroke was added to four-stroked sigma, or (h)eta with three cross bars added a fourth bar, or lost a bar. Such formal' v,ariations are common in archaic G reek inscriptions and it is hard to 'be sure, in view of our highly limi ted sample, what evolutionary significance they have, if any. O ther variations in letter: shapes arose to avoid confusion, just as in continental Europe tod ay. 7 is written for 7 in order to distinguish it from I , which in the Europeah s t-y le is written with an exaggerated upstroke on the left (1). Yet some All}ericans and B ri tish will wri te 1 too, because they '3 e r. Larfcld, 1 9 1 4 : 2 1 1 ':64, para�, 1 47/ 2 ; LSAG 2 1 '-42 ;

H

,ij

Einarson, 1 967 : 5, er. LSAG 1 4.

'·5

K lafIenbach , 1 966 : 37-43, Culled from the ta bl e at t he back of LSAG,

THE M OMENT OF TRANSM I S S I O N

have seen the European form and affect it, although i n America and Britain the numeral one is ordinarily written in cursive as a simple vertical stroke I. In the archaic Greek alphabet sometimes rho (�) acquired a leg (�), perhaps to d istinguish it from delta. In Corinth, epsilon when it has the value '11 , acquired the same shape that beta has elsewhere (S), perhaps a rounded form of closed (h)eta (8).77 Four-stroked crooked iota (n, so like sigma (�), became a straight vertical line ( I ). When forms close to the corresponding Phoenician forms appear in archaic inscriptions, we can take these as the original G reek forms. When we observe that the G reek forms are always without exception different in some way from the Phoenician, we ought to suspect that variation away from the Phoenician model has taken place very soon, at the hands either of the adapter or of a very early transmitter. For example, sigma (n from Phoenician fin ( ) always appears with a vertical orientation, although the Phoenician form is invariably horizontal. Inasmuch as the G reek vertical orientation has no advantage, and even causes difficulty from its similarity to crooked iota 0 , �), we should conclude that the change in orientation took place at the time of the transmission itself o'r shortly thereafter. ' Let us now compare the shapes � f the Greek letters with those of their Phoenician predecessors in order that we may arrive at some general conclusions on the changes that have taken place in letter forms between Phoenician and G reek. The G reek letter shapes fall into three rough categories : ( I ) shapes in essence identical to the Phoenician model ; ( 2 ) shapes which have been rotated around a central axis ; (3) and shapes with an unclear relation to the Phoenician original (for the following, cf. Tables I, I 1 ) . ( I ) More than half of the archaic G reek signary, fi fteen letters, are essentially identical to their Phoenician counterparts : w

gamma delta epsilon zeta (11) eta theta kappa mu nu xel

(1 < 1) (, OAEq>

l311 e

YI�A, YI�OA, yl�EA

)alf bet gaml (geml)

,. , ,1

)alep. be! gimel

9 1 ef. Ra hlfs, n.d . : 7 5 6, note 10 Lam. I ; Ra hlfs, 1 979 : 287-303. See Berliner, n.d . : ' 5- 1 6. 93 Noldeke, 1904 : 1 34. I h ave, h owever, ad ded t he sign for " gl olla l SlO p " C) b efore Nol d eke's a/f N LSA G : 2 1 -3 5 . Je tTery apparentl y lOok these forms from th e second ed ition ( 1 9 1 4) o f G. R. Driver, Semir;c Writing from Pictograph to Alphahet. 92

34

T H E O R I G I N O F T H E G R E E K A L P H A B ET

5EA