Research project
From Aleph to Alpha: The spread and development of alphabetic writing across the Mediterranean
When and how was alphabetic writing introduced to Greece and the wider Mediterranean region?
- Duration
- 2026 - 2031
- Contact
- Willemijn Waal
- Funding
- NWO Vici
According to prevailing opinion, the alphabet – the origins of which can be traced back to the beginning of the second millennium BCE in Egypt – was introduced to Greece via the Phoenicians in or shortly before the 8th century BCE. The introduction of this script to Greece meant the re-introduction of writing to the Aegean after an illiterate Dark Age of some 300-400 years (the preceding syllabic Linear B script had been in use till ca. 1200 BCE). In this view, the Greeks adjusted the Phoenician script, most importantly by adding vowel signs, and the resulting Greek alphabet was the mother of related scripts such as the Anatolian and Italian alphabets. This model, which was advocated by Rhys Carpenter in 1933, has found such general acceptance within the field of classical studies that it has become a factoid.
The emergence of new data, however, shows that this paradigm is in need of revision. The first certain Greek inscriptions stem from the so-called Late Geometric period, which is traditionally dated from ca. 760-700 BCE. However, recent 14C data suggest that this period started at least a century earlier. This redating has serious repercussions for the date of the introduction of the alphabet. It means that that the first Greek inscriptions may also be at least a century older, and thus that the alphabet must have been introduced earlier, in or before the 9th century BCE.
These redatings are not the only reason to revisit the generally accepted narrative about the introduction of the alphabet to Greece. The current paradigm presents numerous problems, and from early onwards there have been voices, mostly of Semitists, arguing for an earlier transmission date. This research project will challenge the current model and explore the possibility that the alphabet was already introduced to the Aegean long before the 8th century BCE and first written in perishable materials. If this hypothesis is proven to be correct, the historical repercussions will be significant, as it will fundamentally change our perception of literacy in the Aegean and the history of the alphabet.