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Numismatic Greek 101

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EmpressCollector:
There seems to be a desire for some sort of numismatic Greek language course on this board.  I have taken up the challenge to teach it.  This course will teach you how to read the inscriptions on Greek and Roman provincial coins.  It will not teach you how to read anything else.

LESSON 1

The first place of course to begin is with the Greek alphabet.  Knowledge of the alphabet is the sine qua non of Greek study.  If you don't know this you cannot proceed.

All Greek inscriptions on coins are in an uncial (capital letter) script.  There are many variations across geographical regions and time frames.  Here is a chart of Greek alphabets used on coins which comes from the Numismatica font project: http://parthia.com/fonts/font_standard.htm

I encourage everyone to explore this helpful resource.



Memorize the basic forms on this chart.  A quiz on the alphabet will follow.

Jochen:
Hi EC!

Please, what are the numbers 02 to 15 standing for?

Jochen

esnible:
Greek letters looked different in different times and different places.  The numbers 2-15 are just how Chris Hopkins lists each letter, so he can say "the 3rd form of Alpha".

I use the same numbers on my web page on the Greek alphabet.  Many of the letters on the full chart are very rare.  On my page I tried to only show the forms of the letters I could actually find, looking at coins on WildWinds.

http://www.snible.org/coins/alphabet.html

EmpressCollector:
Here is how the letters are pronounced.  I will be following the Erasmian pronunciation system.  It is different than modern Greek.

A is pronounced like the a in father.
B is pronounced like b in bet.
G is pronounced like the g in get, but is a nasal sound when it comes directly before a guttural, such as G, where it sounds like ng in finger, K, where it sounds like the nk in ink, C, where in sounds like nch, as in Anchises, or X, where it sounds like nx as in lynx.  It is transliterated as an n in this situation.
D is pronounced like the d in debt.
E is pronounced like the e in bet.
F (the digamma) is not used in classical or Hellenistic Greek, but was pronounced like the w in water
Z is pronounced like a combination of d and z, like in adds.
H is pronounced like the long A sound in whey or they. It is transliterated as an e.
Q is pronounced like the unvoiced th sound in thin, not the voiced th sound like in then.
I is pronounced like the i in hit.
K is pronounced like the k in kiss. It is usually transliterated as a c.
L is pronounced like the l in lip.
M is pronounced like the m in met.
N is pronounced like the n in net.
X is pronounced like the x in fox.
O is pronounced like the short o in hop.
P is pronounced like the p in pet.
P is pronounced like the r in red.
S or C is pronounced like the s in set.
T is pronounced like the t in ten.
Y is pronounced like the u in glue or the oo in boot.  It is transliterated as a y, except if it appears in a diphthong, when it is transliterated as a u.
F is pronounced like the f in fat.  It is transliterated as ph, as in phone.
C is pronounced like the ch in the German word ich.  It is softer and spoken more toward the front of the mouth than the Scottish, loch.  It is transliterated as ch as in chlamys.
Y is pronounced as a combination of p and s as in pepsi.  It is transliterated as ps as in psychology.
W is pronounced as a long o as in hope. It is transliterated as an o.

Diphthongs.

Diphthongs are combinations of vowel sounds that are spoken together as one sound.  The diphthongs in Greek are:

AI is pronounced as ai in aisle. It is transliterated as ae as in encyclopaedia or Aeschylus.
AY is pronounced as the au in sauerkraut, or ow as in howl. It is transliterated au as in Pausanius.
EI is pronounced as the ei in eight or veil.
EY is pronounced like the eu in feud. It is transliterated as eu, too.
HY is also pronounced like the eu in feud, but is a little longer, like the ew in a teenaged girl's "eeww, gross".  It is also transliterated as eu.
OI is pronounced like the oi in oil. It is transliterated as oe as in amoeba or foetus.
OY is pronounced like the ou in soup. It is transliterated as ou.
YI is pronounced like "we" as in the ui in suite.  It is transliterated as ui.

EmpressCollector:

--- Quote from: esnible on March 14, 2004, 12:01:58 pm ---I use the same numbers on my web page on the Greek alphabet.  Many of the letters on the full chart are very rare.  On my page I tried to only show the forms of the letters I could actually find, looking at coins on WildWinds.
--- End quote ---

Thank you, Ed, yours was an important contribution.  Please feel free to clarify or explain anything I write in these lessons. :)

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