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The '''Greek alphabet''' is a set of [[alphabet|letters]] used to represent the written [[Greek language]]. Originating around the 9th century BC, it was based upon the Phoenician consonantal alphabet<ref name="physlink">http://www.physlink.com/reference/GreekAlphabet.cfm</ref> (which also gave rise to the [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew]] and Arabic alphabets). The Greek alphabet was the first true alphabet, representing both consonants and vowels, each with their own individual symbol.<ref name="physlink" /> The [[Latin alphabet|Latin]] and [[Cyrillic alphabet]]s are largely based on Greek with some modifications.<ref name="physlink" />
The '''Greek alphabet''' is a set of [[alphabet|letters]] used to represent the written [[Greek language]]. Originating around the 9th century BC, it was based upon the Phoenician consonantal alphabet<ref name="physlink">http://www.physlink.com/reference/GreekAlphabet.cfm</ref> (which also gave rise to the [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew]] and Arabic alphabets). The Greek alphabet was the first true alphabet, representing both consonants and vowels, each with their own individual symbol.<ref name="physlink" /> The [[Latin alphabet|Latin]] and [[Cyrillic alphabet]]s are largely based on Greek with some modifications.<ref name="physlink" />
The modern Greek alphabet is as follows:
The modern Greek alphabet is as follows:
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In many cases, the modern phonetic values of the letters match with the initial letters of their names in English. However, since some letters have shifted in pronunciation, this is not always the case. For example, in Ancient Greek the letter beta was pronounced like the Latin letter B, whereas in Modern Greek it is pronounced like the Latin letter V.<ref>http://www.omniglot.com/writing/greek.htm</ref>
Originally Greek was only written with what are today considered capital letters. The lowercase letters are based on handwritten forms developed during the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine period]] of [[Greece|Greek]] history.<ref>http://biblaridion.blogspot.com/2005/08/greek-miniscule-script.html</ref> In the case of sigma, the lowercase form varies depending on whether it occurs at the end of the word (ς).
In many cases, the modern phonetic values of the letters match the pronunciation of the initial letters of their names in English. However, since some letters have shifted in pronunciation since ancient times, this is not always the case. For example, in Ancient Greek, the letter beta was pronounced like the Latin letter B, whereas in Modern Greek it is pronounced like the Latin letter V.<ref>http://www.omniglot.com/writing/greek.htm</ref>
The original Greek alphabet also included the letters digamma<ref>Earlier known as "wau" (ϝαυ)</ref> (Ϝϝ), san (Ϻϻ), and qoppa (Ϙϙ).<ref>http://www.tlg.uci.edu/~opoudjis/unicode/nonattic.html</ref> Digamma was dropped due to the loss of the sound it represented in Greek (/w/), and san and qoppa were dropped in favor of sigma and kappa. Qoppa was preserved in certain Eastern dialects, and eventually evolved into the Latin letter Q. It is still used occasionally as a Greek numeral, albeit in a different form (Ϟϟ).
The original Greek alphabet also included the letters digamma<ref>Earlier known as "wau" (ϝαυ)</ref> (Ϝϝ), san (Ϻϻ), and qoppa (Ϙϙ).<ref>http://www.tlg.uci.edu/~opoudjis/unicode/nonattic.html</ref> Digamma was dropped due to the loss of the sound it represented in Greek (/w/), and san and qoppa were dropped in favor of sigma and kappa. Qoppa was preserved in certain Eastern dialects, and eventually evolved into the Latin letter Q. It is still used occasionally as a Greek numeral, albeit in a different form (Ϟϟ).