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452
THE ALPHABET extreme views, that which assigns the invention of the Greek alphabet to the fifteenth century B.C. and that which places it in the seventh or eighth century B.C., each century has its own advocates. Until recently, the date usually preferred was the ninth century; nowadays either the latter or an earlier date, such as the eleventh century, is commonly accepted.
The best evidence for the earlier origin of the Greek alphabet is provided by (1) the earliest Greek inscriptions, those found on Thera
WARTA
ira BANTALONS
NAVNO Phi
Artur
বিতার্তিক
»XSELA OLOSAIKELO - PATA13130AMOYAYAN RADIADYMENDEME ATMOOJASVA A113
Fig. 198 1-3, Early Greek inscriptions in houstrophedon
style of writing. 1 Stele from Lemnos (sixth century B.C.). 2, The earliest treaty in Greek language (sixth-fifth century B.C.). 3Archaic inscription from Corinth. 4. Early Greckinscription written from right to left: Sacred law from the peninsula
of Magnesia
and at Athens belonging to the first half of the eighth or even to the late ninth century B.C. (Fig. 196, col. 1-3, and 197); (2) the Etruscan alphabet (see next Chapter), which, as mentioned above, was descended from the Greek and was probably already in existence in the eighth or ninth century. On the whole, all the evidence points to the conclusion that the alphabet was probably taken over by the Greeks from the Phoenicians in the eleventh century B.C.
