Is the Greek Alphabet Older Than Once Thought?

LEIDEN, THE NETHERLANDS—The Greek alphabet might be centuries older than once thought, according to a statement released by the University of Leiden. Scholars theorize that the script emerged around the eighth century b.c., after the ancient Greeks adapted the older Phoenician alphabet—which was composed of only consonants and no vowels—to fit their own needs. This period in Greek history was the purported time of the poet Homer, who composed the Iliad and the Odyssey. However, University of Leiden classicist Willemijn Waal has recently suggested the Greek written language appears on pottery earlier than that, and likely dates back to the ninth or even tenth century b.c. Alphabetic scripts written on perishable material such as wood or papyrus may be even older, but have failed to survive in the archaeological record. If the Greek alphabet did exist at this early date, it means that there was no 400-year-long ‘Dark Age’ without alphabetic writing, as some archaeologists currently believe. “The idea that both the Greek alphabet and Homer date from the eighth century b.c. has been around for almost a hundred years and is widely accepted,” Waal said. “I am now questioning this knowledge, and that will undoubtedly meet with some resistance. But new insights are also precisely what makes science fun; you never stop learning.” To read about symbols that one scholar believes may be the oldest alphabetic writing, go to "Primordial Alphabet Soup."