Greek Gods

Greek words in the Greek language are derived in syllables and not just letters. There are only 24 ‘letters’ in the Greek alphabet instead of the 26 we are accustomed to. These 24 letters or symbols are used to write the Greek language. These letters have been used since the late ninth century B.C. or the early eighth century B.C.. Each symbol represents a vowel and consonant. It appears to be the oldest alphabet or language known and still in use today. The letters were not only used as letters, but they were also used to represent the Greek numbers. This action began in the second century B.C.. The Greek alphabet came from the Phoenician alphabet. Linear B was the earlier writing system of the Greek. Other alphabets have came from the Greek language and used in other countries in Europe and the Middle East. This also includes the Latin alphabet.

The Greek language was originally derived from Linear B. Linear B is a script which was used to write Mycenaean. Mycenaean was an early form of Greek. It was used for several centuries before the Greek alphabet was developed. Linear B seemed to have faded out with the fall of the Mycenaean civilization. In between these periods was known as the Greek Dark Ages, and there was no evidence of writing of any sort.

Linear B script appears to be related to the Linear A script which was an undeciphered script which was used for writing the Minoan language. The script is partly syllabic and partly logographic and this made it difficult to decipher it. It is said to resemble the modern Japanese writing in graphemic structure. It is believed that the Linear B script was only used by professional scribes whose native language was Minoan, and not Greek. Some of the logogram abbreviations used in Linear B texts sometimes could not be deciphered with known Greek words but were clearly identified with the Linear B texts. This seemed to be a very confusing time for the scribes.

Linear B has been proven to be the oldest surviving record of Greek dialect known as Mycenaen. It was named after Mycenae where Agamemnon ruled. This script was believed to have been used from about 1500 B.C. to 1200 B.C.. It covered the island of Crete and the southern part of the Greek mainland. This script was discovered by archeologist, Sir Arthur Evans, during excavations in Crete and on the Greek mainland. The findings of the archeologists was clay tablets on which Linear B appeared. They found from these many logograms, syllabic signs, and a 10 number system. Michael Ventris, an architect, and John Chadwick deciphered the Linear B scripts.