Letters

The Greek alphabet has twenty-four letters.

a. Sigma (not capital) at the end of a word is written ς, elsewhere ς. Thus, σεισμός earthquake.

b. The names in parentheses, from which are derived those in current use, were given at a late period, some as late as the Middle Ages. Thus, epsilon means ‘simple e,’ upsilon ‘simple u,’ to distinguish these letters from αι, οι, which were sounded like ε and υ.

c. Labda is a better attested ancient name than lambda.

Gender of Sexless Objects.—The gender of most nouns denoting sexless objects has to be learned by the endings (211, 228, 255) and by observation. The following general rules should be noted.

a. Masculine are the names of winds, months, and most rivers. Thus, ὁ Βορέᾱς the North Wind, ὁ Ἑκατομβαιών Hecatombaeon, ὁ Κηφισσός Cephissus.

N.—The gender of these proper names is made to correspond to ὁ ἄνεμος wind, ὁ μήν month, ὁ ποταμός river. In the case of winds and rivers the gender may be due in part to personification.

b. Feminine are the names of almost all countries, islands, cities, trees, and plants. Thus, ἡ Ἀττική Attica, ἡ Δῆλος Delos, ἡ Κόρινθος Corinth, ἡ πίτυς pine, ἡ ἄμπελος vine. The gender here follows that of ἡ γῆ or ἡ χώρᾱ land, country, ἡ νῆσος island, ἡ πόλις city, ἡ δρῦς, originally tree in general, but later oak (τὸ δένδρον is the ordinary word for tree).

c. Feminine are most abstract words, that is, words denoting a quality or a condition. Thus, ἡ ἀρετή virtue, ἡ εὔνοια good-will, ἡ ταχύτης swiftness, ἡ ἐλπίς hope.

d. Neuter are diminutives (197 b), words and expressions quoted, letters of the alphabet, infinitives, and indeclinable nouns. Thus, τὸ ῡ̔μεῖς the word ‘you,’ τὸ γνῶθι σεαυτόν the saying ‘learn to know thyself,’ τὸ ἄλφα alpha, τὸ παιδεύειν to educate, τὸ χρεών necessity.

N.—But some names of women end in -ιον (197 b): ἡ Γλυκέριον Glycerium.

The numeral adjectives and corresponding adverbs are as follows:

N.—Above 10,000: δύο μῡριάδες 20,000, etc., μῡριάκις μῡ́ριοι, i.e. 10,000 x 10,000.

Notation.—The system of alphabetic notation came into use after the second century B.C. The first nine letters stand for units, the second nine for tens, the third nine for hundreds (27 letters). In addition to the 24 letters of the alphabet, three obsolete signs are employed: ϛ, a form identical with the late abbreviation for στ, in place of the lost ϝ (3), once used for 6; ϙ (koppa), in the same order as Lat. q, for 90; for 900, ϡ sampi, probably for san, an old form of sigma, + pi. From 1 to 999 a stroke stands above the letter, for 1000's the same signs are used but with the stroke below the letter (αʹ = 1, ͵α = 1000). Only the last letter in any given series has the stroke above: ρνζʹ 157, υαʹ 401, ͵αϡιʹ 1910. α̈ is sometimes used for 10,000; β̈ for 20,000, etc.

a. In the classical period the following system was used according to the inscriptions: Ι = 1, ΙΙΙΙ = 4, Γ (πέντε) = 5, ΓΙ = 6, Δ (δέκα) = 10, ΔΔ = 20, Η (ἑκατόν) = 100, ΗΗ = 200, Χ = 1000, Μ = 10,000, Ι (πεντάκις δέκα) = 50, ΓχΧ (πεντάκις χῑ́λιοι + χῑ́λιοι) = 6000.

b. For the numbers from 1 to 24 the letters, used in continuous succession, are frequently used to designate the books of the Iliad (Α, Β, Γ, etc.) and of the Odyssey (α, β, γ, etc.).