History: Early Greece

Our journey starts in 334BCE, when the Greeks first began to realize that writing was as important as democratic values. To them, it had become an art form, something beautiful and important. It would be around 1000BCE when the Greeks would use the Cypriot system of writing. It would then be replaced, and influence for yet another system of writing. In approximately 1400BCE, It was replaced when the Greeks began to use the Syllabic system of writing. It was during this period, known as the Hellenic Period, when the first instance of writing on Papyrus was found. This system was not widely used, as the only found writings only revealed business transactions. This system was later replaced by a a phonetic system, adapted to the sounds of the Greek language. It is theorized that it was created in the area known as Cyprus. This new system seemed to also have been influenced by the Roman and Etruscan alphabets. It is because of this, by the 9th century Sillibic was no longer used by the Greeks. The new phonetic script had become very popular among the Greeks, soon splitting into two variants; The eastern Ionic alphabet and the western Ionic alphabet. The eastern alphabet would become the "standard," while the western variant would gain popularity on the island of Euboea. The standard alphabet has been proven to show that perhaps, the Greeks had taken influence from the Romans and the Etruscans. As the Greek letters for F, S,and L look strikingly similar to the Romans and the Etruscan letters. Delta, however, took a new look, it sat sitting up. The Greeks used the standard alphabet to carve inscriptions into their art, or to paint calligraphy onto pots. Brushes were made of reed and hair, while chisels were used to engrave the writing. By the 10th century, the Greek alphabet influenced the Italians, as that was when the first found instance of their alphabet was found there.

Clayton, E. (2014). Roman Foundations. The golden thread: The story of writing
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