It is usually assumed that the Greeks adjusted the Phoenician script, most importantly by adding vowel signs. Within the Greek world (which at that time encompassed much more than modern-day Greece, and included large swathes of western Anatolia and southern Italy, including Sicily) the new way of writing quickly gained currency, sparking the development of various regional variants -each tailored to convey the sounds of their respective dialects. Because of the extensive trading contacts between the Greeks and the rest of the Mediterranean, or so the narrative goes, this new way of writing was adopted by communities across the rest of the Mediterranean world, spawning various local scripts –such as 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.

New data and reconsideration of older evidence, however, suggest that this paradigm is in need of revision. The first certain Greek inscriptions stem from the so-called Late Geometric period, which was traditionally dated from ca. 760-700 BCE. However, recent 14C data suggest that inception of that period is at least a century earlier. If confirmed -and there now is a growing body of evidence to support it- this redating has serious repercussions for the date of the introduction of the alphabet, and strongly suggests that alphabetic writing had already evolved in Greece by the 9th century BCE. There are various additional arguments to doubt the veracity of Rhys Carpenter’s model (including the point that the earliest examples of Greek alphabetic writing seem decidedly more archaic than the contemporary Phoenician from which it supposedly evolved), but the disciplinary divides often meant that such doubts were not heard, let alone addressed. 

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 that the earliest use of the script was likely confined to perishable materials, such as papyrus, wax and wooden writing boards, or leather / parchement. 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 in general.

2026: Norbruis S., Pappa E., Suchard B., Waal W. & Kelder J.M. (2026), A Revolution in Writing: The Spread of the Alphabet, Ancient History Magazine 60: 34-41.

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