Homer and the Origin of the Greek Alphabet

What caused the invention of the Greek alphabet? Who did it, and why? The purpose of this challenging book is to inquire systematically into the historical causes that underlay the radical shift from earlier and less efficient writing systems to the use of alphabetic writing. The author declares his conclusion to be a possibly surprising one-that a single man, perhaps from the island of Euboea, invented the Greek alphabet specifically in order to record the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer. The Purpose Of This Challenging Book Is To Inquire Systematically Into The Historical Causes That Underlay The Radical Shift From Earlier And Less Efficient Writing-systems To The Use Of Alphabetic Writing. In Brief: What Caused The Invention Of The Greek Alphabet? Who Did It, And Why? The Author Declares His Conclusion To Be A Possibly Surprising One - That A Single Man, Perhaps From The Island Of Euboea, Invented The Greek Alphabet Specifically In Order To Record The Iliad And The Odyssey Of Homer. The Predominant View Among Scholars Is That The Greek Alphabet Was Invented For Mundane Purposes, Such As The Keeping Of Business Accounts, And Was Only Subsequently Applied To The Recording Of Literary Documents. Others Have Advocated That The Alphabet Was Invented To Record Literature, But This Book Is The First To Connect The Invention Of The Alphabet With The Writing-down Of Homer. Beginning With A Critical Review Of Previous Scholarship On The Origins Of The Alphabet And A Presentation Of His Own Evaluation Of The Evidence, The Author Then Places The Greek Alphabet In Its Context In The History Of Writing. From A Review Of The Early Surviving Examples Of Greek Alphabetic Writing He Draws Some Conclusions About What The Alphabet Was First Used For And The Social Environment In Which It First Appeared. After A Section Attempting To Place Homer Accurately In Time, The Concluding Chapter Draws Together All The Strands Of The Inquiry And Suggests An Answer To The Opening Questions. 1. Review Of Criticism: What We Know About The Origin Of The Greek Alphabet -- 2. Argument From The History Of Writing: How Writing Worked Before The Greek Alphabet -- 3. Argument From The Material Remains: Greek Inscriptions From The Beginning To C. 650 Bc -- 4. Argument From Coincidence: Dating Greece's Earliest Poet -- 5. Conclusions From Probability: How The Iliad And Odyssey Were Written Down. Barry B. Powell. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 254-276) And Index. AND CONCLUSIONS2 Argument from the history of writing: How writing worked before the Greek alphabet; ELEMENTS IN THE ART OF WRITING; The history of writing; The terminology and theoretical functioning of lexigraphic writing; Two divisions of phonography: syllabography and alphabetic writing; Auxiliary marks, signs, devices; HOW LOGO-SYLLABIC WRITING WORKS: EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHIC; An Egyptian word; Lexigraphic ambiguity in Egyptian writing: a connected text of average complexity29; Observations; HOW SYLLABIC WRITING WORKS: THE CYPRIOTE SYLLABARY "What caused the invention of the Greek alphabet? Who did it, and why? The purpose of this challenging book is to inquire systematically into the historical causes that underlay the radical shift from earlier and less efficient writing-systems to the use of alphabetic writing. The author declares his conclusion to be a possibly surprising one--that a single man, perhaps from the island of Euboea, invented the Greek alphabet specifically in order to record the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer. Book jacket."--Jacket Who invented the Greek alphabet and why? The purpose of this challenging book is to inquire systematically into the historical causes that underlay the radical shift from earlier and less efficient writing systems to the use of alphabetic writing. The author reaches the conclusion that a single man, perhaps from the island of Euboea, invented the Greek alphabet specifically in order to record the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer About the ancestry of the shapes and the order of names of the signs used in the first Greek alphabet there is no serious question.