Greek Letters on Ancient Greek and Roman CoinsAlso see: Greek LettersThis table lists the Greek letters, their names, equivalent English letters, and tips for pronouncing those letters which are pronounced differently from the equivalent English letters.1 Sigma (σ, ς): There are two forms for the letter Sigma. When written at the end of a word, it is written like this: ς. If it occurs anywhere else, it is written like this: σ. Archaic Greek Lettersdigamma wheta e san zs(?) koppa k sampi ss tsan ts Greek PronunciationUpsilon (υ): In the above table, we suggest that you pronounce this letter like "u" in "put". The preferred pronunciation is actually more like the German "ü" as in "Brücke", or like the French "u" as in "tu". If you do not speak German or French, don't worry about it, just pronounce it the way the table suggests. Chi (χ): This is the same sound as "ch" in "Bach", which does not sound like "ch" in "chair". The same sound occurs in the Scottish "Loch", as in "Loch Lomond", or the German "ach!". Diphthongs When two vowels combine to make one sound, it is called a diphthong. There are seven diphthongs in Greek: The "ευ" combination is probably the hardest to learn for most people. It may help to take the "ow" sound and say it slowly: if you notice, there are actually two sounds in "ow" - it starts out with "ah", then glides to an "oo" sound, "ah-oo". Try doing the same with "e" (as in "Edward") and "oo" - "e-oo". This is a little like the "e-w" in Edward, if you remove the "d". How to |Type| Greek Letters Using The Symbol Font
HTML Codes for Greek Letters
How to write Greek lettersThe arrows show you where to start when you write Greek letters.1 How to Read Greek Letter Dates and Officina Numbers
Date numerals are often preceded by ΕΤΟΥΣ (year in Greek), frequently written or abbreviated ETOYC, ET, or E. L was also a symbol for "year." It probably originated in Egypt and may have been derived from a hieroglyph. Example: LΓΞΡ = Year 163 Greek dates are also sometimes written out or abbreviated. Some examples follow: ΤΡΙΤΟΥ = year 3ΤΕΤΑΡΤΟΥ = year 4 ΕΚΑΤΟΥ = year 5 ΕΝΑΤΟΥ, ΕΤΕΝΑΤ = year 9 ∆ΕΚΑΤΟΥ, Λ∆Ε= year 10 ΕΝ∆ΕΚΑΤΟΥ = year 11 ∆Ω∆ΕΚΑΤ = year 12 ∆Ω∆ΕΚ = year 12 ΤΡΙCΚΑΙ∆ΕΚΑ, ΤΡΙCΚΑΙ = year 13 ΕΝΝΕΑΚ∆ = year 19 ΕΝΝΕΑΚΚ∆ = year 19 The dates as written above may not be "proper" Greek. They are sample dates as actually used on Roman provincial coins minted in Alexandria and other cities. To date a coin, you need to know the start date for the era. For most Roman coins it is the start of the emperor's reign. Some other era start dates are listed below:
If the era started in before the common era, to determine the common era (AD or CE) date, subtract the era start year from the date on the coin. If the result is less than zero, determine the date before the common era (BC or BCE) by subtracting the date on the coin from the era start year and then adding one. If the era started in the common era (AD or CE), add the start year to the date and then subtract one to determine the common era date. Common Greek Titles for Roman Emperors and Their Wives (with some abbreviations)ΑΥΓΟΥCΤΑ = Augusta 1. Source: http://www.ibiblio.org (A Public Domain Website) From Historia Numorum | Greek Letters on Ancient Greek and Roman CoinsAlso see: Greek LettersThis table lists the Greek letters, their names, equivalent English letters, and tips for pronouncing those letters which are pronounced differently from the equivalent English letters.1 Sigma (σ, ς): There are two forms for the letter Sigma. When written at the end of a word, it is written like this: ς. If it occurs anywhere else, it is written like this: σ. Archaic Greek Lettersdigamma wheta e san zs(?) koppa k sampi ss tsan ts Greek PronunciationUpsilon (υ): In the above table, we suggest that you pronounce this letter like "u" in "put". The preferred pronunciation is actually more like the German "ü" as in "Brücke", or like the French "u" as in "tu". If you do not speak German or French, don't worry about it, just pronounce it the way the table suggests. Chi (χ): This is the same sound as "ch" in "Bach", which does not sound like "ch" in "chair". The same sound occurs in the Scottish "Loch", as in "Loch Lomond", or the German "ach!". Diphthongs When two vowels combine to make one sound, it is called a diphthong. There are seven diphthongs in Greek: The "ευ" combination is probably the hardest to learn for most people. It may help to take the "ow" sound and say it slowly: if you notice, there are actually two sounds in "ow" - it starts out with "ah", then glides to an "oo" sound, "ah-oo". Try doing the same with "e" (as in "Edward") and "oo" - "e-oo". This is a little like the "e-w" in Edward, if you remove the "d". How to |Type| Greek Letters Using The Symbol Font
HTML Codes for Greek Letters
How to write Greek lettersThe arrows show you where to start when you write Greek letters.1 How to Read Greek Letter Dates and Officina Numbers
Date numerals are often preceded by ΕΤΟΥΣ (year in Greek), frequently written or abbreviated ETOYC, ET, or E. L was also a symbol for "year." It probably originated in Egypt and may have been derived from a hieroglyph. Example: LΓΞΡ = Year 163 Greek dates are also sometimes written out or abbreviated. Some examples follow: ΤΡΙΤΟΥ = year 3ΤΕΤΑΡΤΟΥ = year 4 ΕΚΑΤΟΥ = year 5 ΕΝΑΤΟΥ, ΕΤΕΝΑΤ = year 9 ∆ΕΚΑΤΟΥ, Λ∆Ε= year 10 ΕΝ∆ΕΚΑΤΟΥ = year 11 ∆Ω∆ΕΚΑΤ = year 12 ∆Ω∆ΕΚ = year 12 ΤΡΙCΚΑΙ∆ΕΚΑ, ΤΡΙCΚΑΙ = year 13 ΕΝΝΕΑΚ∆ = year 19 ΕΝΝΕΑΚΚ∆ = year 19 The dates as written above may not be "proper" Greek. They are sample dates as actually used on Roman provincial coins minted in Alexandria and other cities. To date a coin, you need to know the start date for the era. For most Roman coins it is the start of the emperor's reign. Some other era start dates are listed below:
If the era started in before the common era, to determine the common era (AD or CE) date, subtract the era start year from the date on the coin. If the result is less than zero, determine the date before the common era (BC or BCE) by subtracting the date on the coin from the era start year and then adding one. If the era started in the common era (AD or CE), add the start year to the date and then subtract one to determine the common era date. Common Greek Titles for Roman Emperors and Their Wives (with some abbreviations)AUGOUCTA = Augusta From Historia Numorum |