The Greek alphabet
Background
Greeks began experimenting with alphabetic writing in the eighth century BCE when they became familiar with the alphabets used to write Semitic languages like Phoenician and Aramaic. Several adaptations of these Semitic models were used in different parts of the Greek world, with different numbers of letters, and different sounds for some of the letters in each alphabet. In 403 BCE, Athens officially adopted the form of the alphabet used in Ionia. Over the next century, this script soon became the standard form throughout the Greek world, and is the ancestor of what we think of as “the” Greek alphabet.
The alphabetic system defined sounds for each symbol. Another important feature was that it defined a sequence for the letters, just as we have maintained in our descendant of the Greek alphabet: it begins with “a”, and is followed by “b”, “c” etc. You must learn the order of the letters in the Greek alphabet as well as their pronunciation so that you can use a dictionary and other reference works that are organized alphabetically.
The classical Greeks always read aloud. You should do the same. As soon as you begin learning the letters of the Greek alphabet, practice reading aloud to become comfortable pronouncing Greek words you have not seen before. As you progress, continue reading aloud to gain ease in doing so.
The basic letters
The following table presents the 24 letters of the classical Greek as they are normally printed in modern editions with an “upper case” and “lower case” form.
| letter | name | pronunciation guide | practice Greek word |
|---|---|---|---|
| Α α | alpha | drama (long, short) | ἀνήρ (“man”) |
| Β β | beta | book | βιβλίον (“book”) |
| Γ γ | gamma | good (“hard g”) | γυνή (“woman”) |
| Δ δ | delta | day | δῶρον (“gift”) |
| Ε ε | epsilon | bet | ἔργον (“work, deed”) |
| Ζ ζ | zeta | wisdom | ζῷον (“animal”) |
| Η η | eta | ate; wait | ἡμέρα (“day”) |
| Θ θ | theta | thick | θεός (“god”) |
| Ι ι | iota | hit (short); machine (long) | ἰχθύς (“fish”) |
| Κ κ | kappa | kind | καρπός (“fruit”) |
| Λ λ | lambda | language | λόγος (“word”) |
| Μ μ | mu | mother | μήτηρ (“mother”) |
| Ν ν | nu | night | νόμος (“law, custom”) |
| Ξ ξ | xi | hex (= ‘ks’) | ξένος (“guest, host, stranger”) |
| Ο ο | omicron | pot | ὄνομα (“name”) |
| Π π | pi | person | πατήρ (“father”) |
| Ρ ρ | rho | rose | ῥήτωρ (“orator”) |
| Σ σ, ς | sigma | say | σῶμα (“body”) |
| Τ τ | tau | take | τέκνον (“child”) |
| Υ υ | upsilon | put (short); cute (long) | ὕπνος (“sleep”) |
| Φ φ | phi | photo | φωνή (“voice”) |
| Χ χ | chi | chorus | χάρις (“grace, thanks, favor”) |
| Ψ ψ | psi | upset | ψυχή (“spirit, soul, life”) |
| Ω ω | omega | bone | ὥρα (“season, hour”) |
Note: lower case sigma has two forms: σ is used at the beginning or within a word; ς is used at the end of a word but is not pronounced differently.
Vowel length
Vowels can be long or short. As in a modern language like German, the long version of the vowel was literally held for a longer time than the short version. η and ω are always long; they correspond to the short vowels ε and ο respectively. Long and short versions of α, ι and υ were not distinguished in writing, but were pronounced differently.
Breathings
In addition to the letters listed above, if a word begins with a vowel or diphthong, a breathing mark is added to the initial vowel or diphthong (defined in the next section). There are two kinds of breathing marks:
- smooth breathing looks like this ’ and adds no sound to the vowel
- rough breathing looks like this ‘ and adds an ‘h’ sound to the vowel (words beginning with a rho also have a rough breathing, making it an ‘rh’ sound)
Diphthongs
Diphthongs are combinations of two vowels that result in one syllable. English has them, too. In Greek, diphthongs are combinations of iota or upsilon with other vowels.
| diphthong | pronunciation guide | model Greek word |
|---|---|---|
| αι | aisle | αἰδώς (“sense of shame, respect”) |
| αυ | house, plow | αὔριον (“tomorrow”) |
| ει | weigh | εἰρήνη (“peace”) |
| ευ | ε + υ | εὖ (“well,” the adverb of “good”) |
| οι | coin | οἰκία (“house, home”) |
| ου | soup, boot | οὐρανός (“sky”) |
| υι | wit | υἱός (“son”) |
Accents and breathing marks are written over the second vowel of a diphthong.
Iota subscript
When iota combines with long alpha, eta, or omega, one modern convention is to write the iota beneath the vowel as an iota subscript, which looks like this: ᾳ, ῃ, ῳ.
Iota subscript became an alternate way of spelling a final iota when the final iota began to be dropped in pronounciation. Some guides suggest pronouncing such combinations as a diphthong; in practice, modern scholars commonly pronounce these identically to ᾱ, η, and ω. But in writing, the iota subscript is essential and cannot be ignored.
Tips for reading
- read out loud (as the ancient Greeks did!) to practice recognizing and putting together letter forms and sounds.
- we can’t precisely recover ancient pronounciation, but try to distinguish sounds that are spelled differently (e.g., ο/ω ε/η ), and include accent in your pronounciation. Hear the difference between ἀστραπηβόλος, “one who throws lightning” (an adjective describing Zeus) and ἀστραπήβολος “one struck by lightning”. It makes a difference! English similarly distinguishes otherwise identical words based on (stress) accent. How does the way you pronounce the following English words change their meaning? cóntent/contént, présent/presént, óbject/objéct, ínsult/insúlt, pérmit/permít