An Alternative History for the Alphabet

Joannes Richter

Inventor Theonyms
Alphabets → alphabets Time stamp Name Pentagram Name Pentagram
→ Egyptian hieroglyphs 32nd c. BCE Thoth ḎḤWTJ
Phoenician → Greek 8th c. BCE Cadmus ΚΆΔΜΟΣ Thieu(s) ΘΙΕΥ(s)
Runic 2nd c. CE *Wōdinaz *WŌĐINAZ Tiwaz TĪWÆZ
Ogham 4th c. CE Palladius ? Tieu TIΕU
Table 1 The inventors and theonyms of the alphabets

Abstract
The history of the alphabet goes back to the consonantal writing system used for Semitic languages
in the Levant in the 2nd millennium BCE.
A historical documentation is missing for most of the early alphabets. However some of the details,
especially the inheritance or alphabetical evolution (in the pedigree), the numbers of letters (in
additions and the deletions) and the phonetic categories (which represent 5 or 6 human Places of
articulation), may have been documented in the legends.
Some of the theonyms (T-I-A-U-Ṭ or D-Ī-Ā-Ū-Ḍ) may correlate or match with the inventors of the
alphabets, such as ThOT or Theuth (Θεύθ) or Κάδμος / Kádmos.
This paper concentrates on the theonyms and the number of categories, which may be unveiled in a
numbers in the legends.
The names ΘΏΘ THṒTH and Egyptian ḎḤWTJ correlate with the theonyms (T-I-A-U-Ṭ and D-Ī-
Ā-Ū-Ḍ).
The legend of the five surviving Spartoi may be interpreted as the categorization of the places of
articulation. The names of these 5 survivors Echion, Hyperenor, Chthonius, Pelorus, Udaeus have
been documented in various sources (Apollodorus 3.22, Pausanias 9.5.3, Hyginus Fabulae 178,
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius 3.1179). In the legend these 5 names represent the letters as
phonetic sources linguals, palatals, gutturals, labials, dentals.
A simple transformation allows us to convert a linear alphabet or signary into a two-dimensional
array, which displays a unique theonym of a sky-god on one of the rows. These included theonyms
for the sky-gods are 5-letter words (named pentagrams) such as ÞIΕVS in a Latin alphabet,
TIWÆS or TIÆWS in the Elder Futhark, respectively TIEU(X) for the Ogham signaries.
The (abbreviated) Pedigree of the Alphabets
The interpretation of the inventions of the alphabets will be analyzed for the following samples:
Inventor Theonyms
Alphabets → alphabets Time stamp Name Pentagram Name Pentagram
→ Egyptian hieroglyphs 32nd c. BCE Thoth ḎḤWTJ
Phoenician → Greek 8th c. BCE Cadmus ΚΆΔΜΟΣ Thieu(s) ΘΙΕΥ(s)
Runic 2nd c. CE *Wōdinaz *WŌĐINAZ Tiwaz TĪWÆZ
Ogham 4th c. CE Palladius ? Tieu TIΕU
Table 2 The inventors and theonyms of the alphabets
The following table titled “Pedigree of the Alphabets” is an abbreviated version of the overview in
the Wikipedia page “History of the alphabet”. The relevant stages for the inheritances are Egyptian
hieroglyphs (32nd c. BCE), Ugaritic (15th c. BCE), Phoenician 12th c. BCE , Aramaic 8th c.
BCE), Devanagari (10th c. CE ), (Hebrew 3rd c. BCE), Greek (8th c. BCE), Etruscan (8th c.
BCE), Latin (7th c. BCE), Runic 2nd c. CE and Ogham (origin uncertain) 4th c. CE.
Egyptian hieroglyphs 32nd c. BCE
• Hieratic 32nd c. BCE → Demotic 7th c. BCE → Meroitic 3rd c. BCE
• Proto-Sinaitic 19th c. BCE
• Ugaritic 15th c. BCE
• Epigraphic South Arabian 9th c. BCE → Geʽez 5–6th c. BCE
• Phoenician 12th c. BCE
• Paleo-Hebrew 10th c. BCE → Samaritan 6th c. BCE
• Aramaic 8th c. BCE
• Brahmi 3rd c. BCE
• Brahmic family (see)
• Devanagari 10th c. CE → Canadian syllabics 1840
• Hebrew 3rd c. BCE → Square Aramaic Alphabet 2007
• Greek 8th c. BCE
• Etruscan 8th c. BCE
• Latin 7th c. BCE
• Runic 2nd c. CE
• Ogham (origin uncertain) 4th c. CE
• Coptic 3rd c. CE
• Gothic 3rd c. CE
• Georgian (origin uncertain) c. 430 CE
• Glagolitic 862 CE
• Cyrillic c. 940 CE → Old Permic 1372 CE

The (abbreviated) Pedigree of the alphabets (source: History of the alphabet )

Color codes : before 19th c. BCE, → 10th c. BCE → 7th c. BCE → after 0 BC

Table 3 The (abbreviated) Pedigree of the alphabets (source: History of the alphabet )
(Extract from the complete Pedigree of the alphabets in the appendix I)
Egypt: The hieroglyphs

Thoth
Thoth (Θώθ Thṓth, ΘΏΘ THṒTH), borrowed from Coptic: Ⲑⲱⲟⲩⲧ ThŌOUT, Egyptian ḎḤWTJ, the
reflex of Ancient Egyptian: ḏḥwtj "[He] is like the Ibis") is an ancient Egyptian deity.
The names ΘΏΘ THṒTH and Egyptian ḎḤWTJ correlate with the theonyms (T-I-A-U-Ṭ and D-Ī-
Ā-Ū-Ḍ).
In art, he was often depicted as a man with the head of an ibis or a baboon, animals sacred to him.
His feminine counterpart was Seshat, and his wife was Ma'at.[1] He was the god of the moon,
wisdom, writing, hieroglyphs, science, magic, art, and judgment. His Greek equivalent is Hermes.
Other forms of the name ḏḥwty using older transcriptions include Jehuti, Jehuty, Tahuti, Tehuti,
Zehuti, Techu, or Tetu.
Plato mentions Thoth in his dialogue, Phaedrus. He uses the myth of Thoth to demonstrate that
writing leads to laziness and forgetfulness. In the story, Thoth remarks to King Thamus of Egypt
that writing is a wonderful substitute for memory.
The architecture of the Hellenic alphabet

Cadmus
According to the legends Cadmus was a Phoenician prince, son of king Agenor of Tyre. He was sent
by his royal parents to seek and return his sister Europa after being abducted from Phoenicia by
Zeus. In the end he did not find his sister, but was credited with founding Greek city of Thebes and
inventing Greek alphabet.
The foundation of Thebes and the invention of the Greek alphabet may be synchronized. Cadmus
killed the dragon, and by the advice of Athena sowed its teeth.
Archaeological excavations in and around Thebes have revealed cist graves dated to
Mycenaean times containing weapons, ivory, and tablets written in Linear B. Its attested
name forms and relevant terms on tablets found locally or elsewhere include te-qa-i,[n
1] understood to be read as *Tʰēgʷaii s (Ancient Greek: Θήβαις, Thēbais, i.e. "at Thebes",
Thebes in the dative-locative case), te-qa-de,[n 2] for *Tʰēgʷasde (Θήβασδε, Thēbasde,
i.e. "to Thebes"),[2][6] and te-qa-ja,[n 3] for *Tʰēgʷaja (Θηβαία, Thēbaia, i.e. "Theban
woman").[2] 1

The foundation of Thebes

The location for the foundation of Thebes was determined by the location where a cow sank down
where is now the city of Thebes. The legend is located in a spring near Thebes. The spring is named
spring of Ares:
Cadmus was ordered to give up his quest and follow a special cow, with a half moon on
her flank, which would meet him, and to build a town (Thebes) on the spot where she
should lie down exhausted.[25][26]

Intending to sacrifice the cow to Athena, Cadmus sent some of his companions,
Deioleon and Seriphus to the nearby Ismenian spring for water.[27][28] They were slain
by the spring's guardian water-dragon (compare the Lernaean Hydra), which was in turn
destroyed by Cadmus, the duty of a culture hero of the new order.

Wishing to sacrifice the cow to Athena, he sent some of his companions to draw water
from the spring of Ares. But a dragon, which some said was the offspring of Ares,
guarded the spring and destroyed most of those that were sent. 2

The marshes of Lake Kopaïs

The spring may be located near the marshes of Lake Kopaïs near Orchomenos. Rivers feeding the
lake included the Cephissus, Termessus and Triton.
A massive hydraulic undertaking drained the marshes of Lake Kopaïs, making it a rich
agricultural area.[2] Like many sites around the Aegean Sea, Orchomenos was burned
and its palace destroyed in c. 1200 BC during the Bronze Age Collapse.

Before this the lake drained into the sea by numerous subterranean channels. Some of
these channels were artificial, as the 1st century geographer Strabo recorded.[4] Modern

1 Thebes (Greece)
2 Cadmus
 excavation has found enormous channels dug in the 14th century BC which drained
water into the sea to the northeast;[5] Strabo mentions work being done on these
channels by an engineer named Crates of Chalcis in the time of Alexander the Great.

The Copais lake was probably drained first during the bronze age by the Mycenaeans,
creating one of the most sophisticated agricultural water management systems in the
ancient Aegean.[6] 3

In the Bronze Age, during the fourteenth and thirteenth centuries BCE, Orchomenos became a rich
and important centre of civilisation in Mycenaean Greece and a rival to Thebes.
As to the dragon-guarded spring at Thebes, see Eur. Ph. 930ff.; Paus. 9.10.5, with my
note. It is a common superstition that springs are guarded by dragons or serpents.
Compare The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings, ii.155ff.

The furrows may be interpreted in the alphabets as the rows for the letters in the 2-dimensional
tables, for instance for the Greek alphabet4. In furrow 2 we identify the Hellenic theonym (ΘΙΕΥs):
Index 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Transcription
Ugaritic 30 ʾa b g ḫ d h w z ḥ ṭ y k š l m ḏ n ẓ s ʿ p ṣ q r s ġ t ʾi ʾu s2
alphabet
Index for
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Hebrew
Hebrew 22 ‫ג ב א‬ ‫ו ה ד‬ ‫כ י ט ח ז‬ ‫מ ל‬ ‫נ‬ ‫ש ר ק צ פ ע ס‬ ‫ת‬
Old-Greek 21 A B Γ Δ Ε Υ Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ο Π s q Ρ Σ Τ
Classic Greek 21 A B Γ Δ Ε Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ο Π Ρ Σ Τ Y X Ω

Table 4 Various Hellenic alphabets (in Greek capital letters)

linguals palatals gutturals labials dentals #

Furrow 5 Τ22 Σ21 2
Furrow 4 Ν14 Q19 Ο16 Π17 Ρ20 5
Furrow 3 Λ12 Κ11 Η8 Μ13 (Ts18) 5
Furrow 2 Θ9 Ι10 Ε5 Υ6 (s15) 5
Furrow 1 Δ4 Γ3 Α1 Β2 Ζ7 5
# 5 4 4 4 5 22
Table 5 Displaying the Hellenic theonym (ΘΙΕΥs) in one of the Hellenic alphabets
(in Greek capital letters)

3 Source: Drainage
4 Source: The Architecture and History of the Eurasian Alphabets
The interpretation of the “furrows”
In the following quotations the “furrows” (in a field or an acre) may represent the “rows”, from
where the soldiers sprang up:
According to the Bibliotheca, the dragon was sacred to Ares. Athena gave Cadmus half of
the dragon's teeth, advising him to sow them. When he did, fierce armed men sprang up
from the furrows. Cadmus threw a (precious 5) stone among them because he feared them,
and they, thinking that the “jewel” had been thrown by one of the others, fought each other
until only five of them remained6:
1. Echion (Ἐχῑῑων, ἘΧῙῑΩΝ, the father of Pentheus), derivative of ἔχις echis "viper"[1]7),
2. Udaeus (Ουδαιος8, father of Everes9, Theban father, by the nymph Chariclo, of Tiresias.10,
(which seems to be ... ειβω 'to fall in drops' plus ουδος 'threshold' or ουδαιος 'on the
ground'.
3. Chthonius (Χθόνιος, god of the nether world11),
4. Hyperenor (Ὺπερήνωρ), Ancient Greek: Ὺπερήνωρ means 'man who comes up'12
5. and Pelorus (Πέλωρος), πέλωρος monstrous, enormous, prodigious ... 5, 3. Thuc. 4, 2513) 14.

The battle of the armed men symbolizes the variants of the local alphabets and their categories.
After the victory the standardized Greek alphabet was based on 5 places of articulation (tongue,
palate, lips, thoath, teeth).
In the end the number of “rows” or “furrows” was reduced to 5, which is the number of the phonetic
categories: linguals, palatals, labials, gutturals, dentals. These rows or columns suggest to interpret
the alphabet as a 2-dimensional acre with 5 furrows.

5 Source: Dragon's_teeth_(mythology) → footnote [1]. In other sources the stones are missing the “precious” attribute
6 Apollod. 3.4.1.
7 Robert Graves. The Greek Myths (1960)
8 Sparti (Spartoi) - Earth-Born Warriors of Thebes in Greek Mythology
9 Apollodorus, 3.6.7
10 Udaeus (Gr. M.), einer der von Cadmus Gesäeten, welche sich bis auf fünf gegenseitig ermordeten; er war des
Tiresias Ahnherr.
11 χθόνιος - Ancient Greek (LSJ)
12 Scholia on Apollonius Rhodius, 3.1179 = 1186; Apollodorus, 3.4.1; Hyginus, Fabulae 178; Pausanias, 9.5.3
13 πέλωρ - Dictionary of Greek
14 Pelorus (Πέλωρος), an ancient Greek name for, probably, the modern-day Aragvi; see Artoces of Iberia
Cadmus and Jason
The name Κάδμος is of Pre-Greek origin, possibly Semitic (often thought to be Phoenician for “man
from the east”), from Proto-Semitic *q-d-m (“to precede, come before”). Additionally the terminal
letter Σ may be inserted to concatenate the 4 consonants: Q-D-M-(Σ), in which one or two vowels
may be integrated to form a pentagram: Q-A-D-M-(Σ) respectively Q-A-D-M-O-(Σ).
Also Jason, who sowed the other half of the dragon's teeth may be interpreted as a pentagram:
The other half of the dragon's teeth were planted by Jason at Colchis. Aeetes, the king of
Colchis, had been given the teeth by Athena, and he forced Jason to sow them in order
to win the golden fleece. Like Cadmus, Jason threw a stone among the Spartoi to
confuse them. The Spartoi then began to fight each other over the stone. None survived
the battle.

Latin Greek Categories

names names
- Cadmus Κάδμος ΚΆΔΜΟΣ root "*q-d-m" (“to precede, come before”), Q-D-M-(Σ)
- Jason Ἰάσων ἸΆΣΩΝ from ἰάομαι (iáomai, “I heal”).
Table 6 The pentagrams in the names Cadmus (Κάδμος) and Jason (Ἰάσων)

The interpretation of the five surviving Spartoi

The legend of the five surviving Spartoi may be interpreted as the categorization of the places of
articulation. The names of these 5 survivors have been documented in various sources (Apollodorus
3.22, Pausanias 9.5.3, Hyginus Fabulae 178, Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius 3.1179).
Greek Name Transliteration Latin Spelling Translation Detail
1 Εχιων Ekhiôn Echion Of the Viper The most important warrior
2 Ουδαιος Oudaios Udaeus Of the Earth
3 Χθονιος Khthonios Chthonius Of the Earth
4 Ὑπερηνωρ Hyperênôr Hyperenor Overbearing
5 Πελωρος Pelôros Pelorus Huge, Gigantic
Table 7 Names and translations for the 5 Sparti (Spartoi)
1. The most important surviving warrior was Echion, principally known for skill in battle and
bravery;[4] 15 The name is translated as “Of the Viper”. Of all places of articulation the
tongue is the most important phonetic sources (tongue, lips, throat, palate and the teeth).
With the shape of a serpent the tongue also may be interpreted as the most flexible place of
articulation.
2. The title “Overbearing” (Hyperenor) may be interpreted as the Palate (“Roof of the mouth”).
3. In Hellenic philosophy the teeth are interpreted as a “threshold” Udaeus.
4. The gutturals ('of the throat') may seem to be hidden in the human body. Therefore the throat
which may be interpreted as “from the underground”.
5. The Lips are the last of the places of articulation, which are left for the name Pelorus.

15 "it was Echion who, for his great valor, was preferred by Cadmus to be his son-in-law":[5] Echion was father of
Pentheus …. [6]
These names may be interpreted as references to the following places of articulation and the
phonetic categories for the alphabetic letter-symbols (linguals, palatals, labials, gutturals, dentals).
I remember the Hellenic proverbs for “Herkos odonton” as the treshold or barrier of teeth, which
i.e. helps us to keep a thought secret.

Latin names Greek names Categories Comments and details Place of Category Sample
articulation
1 Echion Ἐχῑῑων ἘΧῙῑΩΝ "viper" Tongue linguals D
2 Hyperenor Ὺπερήνωρ ῪΠΕΡΉΝΩΡ 'man who comes up' Palate palatals I
3 Chthonius Χθόνιος ΧΘΌΝΙΟΣ “Underground” throat gutturals A
4 Pelorus Πέλωρος ΠΈΛΩΡΟΣ Monstrous, prodigious Lips labials U
5 Udaeus Ουδαιος ΟΥΔΑΙΟΣ ουδος 'threshold' or Teeth dentals S
ουδαιος 'on the ground'.

Table 8 references to the following places of articulation and the phonetic categories for the
alphabetic letter-symbols
The legend of the five surviving Spartoi may be interpreted as the categorization of the places of
articulation. The names of these 5 survivors Echion, Hyperenor, Chthonius, Pelorus, Udaeus have
been documented in various sources (Apollodorus 3.22, Pausanias 9.5.3, Hyginus Fabulae 178,
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius 3.1179). In the legend these 5 names represent the letters as
phonetic sources linguals, palatals, gutturals, labials, dentals.

The phases in the composition of the Greek alphabet

The first surviving soldiers may have symbolized the places of articulation. The 5 heroes were
In his indignation Cadmus killed the dragon, and by the advice of Athena sowed its
teeth. When they were sown there rose from the ground armed men whom they called
Sparti.2 These slew each other, some in a chance brawl, and some in ignorance. But
Pherecydes says that when Cadmus saw armed men growing up out of the ground, he
flung stones at them, and they, supposing that they were being pelted by each other,
came to blows. However, five of them survived, Echion, Udaeus, Chthonius, Hyperenor,
and Pelorus.3 16

The names of the five survivors are well documented in various sources:

The of the five survivors of the Sparti are similarly reported by Paus. 9.5.3; the
Scholiast onnames Ap. Rhod., Argon. iii.1179; and Hyginus, Fab. 179. From the
Scholiast on Ap. Rhod., Argon. iii.1179, we learn that their names were given in like
manner by Pherecydes as indeed we might have inferred from Apollodorus's reference
to that author in the present passage. Ov. Met. 3.126 mentions that five survived, but he
names only one (Echion). (Source: Footnote in Apollod. 3.4.1. Apollodorus, Library
Sir James George Frazer, Ed.)

16 Source: Apollod. 3.4.1.

In the end the number of “rows” or “furrows” was reduced to 5, which is the number of the phonetic
categories: linguals, palatals, labials, gutturals, dentals. These rows or columns suggest to interpret
the alphabet as a 2-dimensional acre with 5 furrows.
These five helped Cadmus to found the city of Thebes, but Cadmus was forced to be a
slave to Ares for eight years to atone for killing the dragon. At the end of the year, he
was given Harmonia, the daughter of Aphrodite and Ares, to be his wife.[2] 17

The number “8” of years does not seem to be precise and may be interpreted as “eternal”:

[2] But Cadmus, to atone for the slaughter, served Ares for an eternal 18 year; and the
year was then equivalent to eight years of our reckoning.1

These five helped Cadmus to found the city of Thebes, but Cadmus was forced to be a slave to Ares
for eight years to atone for killing the dragon. At the end of the year, he was given Harmonia, the
daughter of Aphrodite and Ares, to be his wife.[2] 19

The dragon had been sacred to Ares, so the god made Cadmus do penance for eight
years by serving him. According to Theban tellings, it was at the expiration of this
period that the gods gave him Harmonia ("harmony", literally "putting or assembling
together", "good assembly", or "good composition") as wife.[5] At Thebes, Cadmus and
Harmonia began a dynasty with a son Polydorus, and four daughters, Agave, Autonoë,
Ino and Semele.[25] In rare account, the couple instead had six daughters which are
called the Cadmiades: Ino, Agaue, Semele, Eurynome, Kleantho and Eurydike.[29]20

The architecture of the legend

The legends which describe the introduction of Cadmus' alphabet do not intend to describe the
truth. Obviously the legend describes the introduction of a 2-dimensional structure which is
identified by furrows or rows. The structure also contains teeth, which are turned into armed
soldiers. These men are killing each other until 5 warriors who helped the sower Cadmus to build a
city. One of the 5 survivors, called the serpent “Echion” and probably and image of the serpent,
played the principal role. All five survivors are described as strange images such as “underground”,
“threshold” and “monstrous”, which may be relevant to the introduction of Cadmus' alphabet.
The only architectural structures, which are based on rows and 5 different structural parameters is a
language, which is based on the 5 places of articulation linguals, palatals, labials, gutturals, dentals.
Therefore the legend of Cadmus' introduction of the Greek alphabet may be a genuine proof that the
early Greek language was based on the 5 places of articulation. The runic and the Ogham alphabets
are based on the same basic principle to display a theonym in one of the rows.

17 Spartoi (Mythology)
18 1 The “eternal year” probably refers to the old eight years' cycle, as to which and the period of a homicide's
banishment, see the note on Apollod. 2.5.11.
19 Spartoi (Mythology)
20 Cadmus
The development of the alphabet
Hyginus, Fabulae, section 277 recounts the following legends about the development of the
alphabet.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Parcae A B H I T Y
Palamedes Γ Δ Θ Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Ρ Σ Χ
Simonides Ε Ζ Φ Ω
Epicharmus of Sicily Π Ψ
Greek alphabet Α Β Γ Δ Ε Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Π Ρ Τ Υ Φ Χ Ψ Ω
α β γ δ ε ζ η θ ι κ λ μ ν ξ ο π ρ Σ τ
σ υ φ χ ψ ω
Tabelle 9 Composition of the Greek alphabet, according to Hyginus, Fabulae, section 277
1Parcae, Clotho Lachesis Atropos, invenerunt litteras Graecas septem, Α Β Η Τ Ι Υ . . ; alii
dicunt Mercurium ex gruum volatu, quae cum volant litteras exprimunt; Palamedes autem
Nauplii filius invenit aeque litteras undecim . . . . , Simonides litteras aeque quattuor, Ω Ε Ζ
Φ, Epicharmus Siculus litteras duas, Π et Ψ.
2Has autem [Graecas] Mercurius in Aegyptum primus detulisse dicitur, ex Aegypto Cadmus
in Graeciam, quas Euandrus profugus ex Arcadia in Italiam transtulit, quas mater eius
Carmenta in Latinas commutavit numero XV. Apollo in cithara ceteras adiecit.
3Idem Mercurius et palaestram mortales primus docuit.
4 Ceres [fruges serere] boves domare et alumno suo Triptolemo fruges serere demonstravit;
qui cum sevisset et sus, id est porcus, quod severat effodisset, suem comprehendit et duxit ad
aram Cereris, et frugibus super caput eius positis eidem Cereri immolavit. Inde primum
inventum est super hostiam molam salsam imponere.
5Uelificia primum invenit Isis, nam dum quaerit Harpocratem filium suum rate velificavit.
Minerva prima navem biproram Danao aedificavit, in qua Aegyptum fratrem profugit.21
In an overview the stages may be listed as follows:

• First of all the three Fates (Clotho Lachesis Atropos) created the first vowels A, H, I, Y of
the alphabet and the letters B and T22.
• It is said that Palamedes, son of Nauplius invented the remaining eleven consonants: Γ, Δ, Θ,
Κ, Λ, Μ, Ν, Ξ, Ο, Ρ, Σ, Χ .
• The distinction between Eta and Epsilon and between Omega and Omicron, adopted in the
Ionian standard, was traditionally attributed to Simonides of Ceos (556-469), who
introduced Ε Ζ Φ Ω. 23
This was the Pelasgian alphabet, which Cadmus had later brought to Boeotia, then Evander of
Arcadia, a Pelasgian, introduced into Italy, where his mother, Carmenta, formed the familiar fifteen
characters of the Latin alphabet. Other consonants have since been added to the Greek alphabet
[10]24

21 Hyginus, Fabulae, section 277

22 The Fates, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropo, created seven Greek letters: Α Β Η Τ Ι Υ.
23 History_of_the_Greek_alphabet
24 Hyginus. Fabulae, 277.
The gutturals
Phoenician, like other Semitic scripts, has a range of consonants, commonly called
gutturals, that did not exist in Greek: ʼāleph [ʔ], hē [h, e, a], ḥēth [ħ], and ʽayin [ʕ]. Of
these, only ḥēth was retained in Greek as a consonant, eta, representing the [h] sound in
those dialects that had an [h], while the consonants ʼāleph, hē and ʽayin became the
vowels alpha [a], e [e] and o [o], respectively.[a]

Supplementary letters
Plutarch and other ancient Greek writers credited the legendary Palamedes of Nauplion
on Euboea with the invention of the supplementary letters not found in the original
Phoenician alphabet.[11]

The derivation from the Ugaritic alphabet

Comparing the phases in the composition of the Greek alphabet and the derivation from the Ugaritic
alphabet:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Parcae A B H I T Y
Palamedes Γ Δ Θ Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Ρ Σ Χ
Simonides Ε Ζ Φ Ω
Epicharmus of Sicily Π Ψ
Greek alphabet Α Β Γ Δ Ε Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Π Ρ Τ Υ Φ Χ Ψ Ω
α β γ δ ε ζ η θ ι κ λ μ ν ξ ο π ρ Σ τ
σ υ φ χ ψ ω
Table 10 Phases in the composition of the Greek alphabet,
according to Hyginus, Fabulae, section 277
The inserts to the original alphabet may be illustrated by the following derivation of the Ugaritic
alphabet:
Index 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Transcription
Ugaritic 30 ʾa b g ḫ d h w z ḥ ṭ y k š l m ḏ n ẓ s ʿ p ṣ q r s ġ t ʾi ʾu s2
alphabet
Index for
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Hebrew
Hebrew 22 ‫ג ב א‬ ‫ו ה ד‬ ‫כ י ט ח ז‬ ‫מ ל‬ ‫נ‬ ‫ש ר ק צ פ ע ס‬ ‫ת‬
Old-Greek 21 A B Γ Δ Ε Υ Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ο Π s q Ρ Σ Τ
Classic Greek 21 A B Γ Δ Ε Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ο Π Ρ Σ Τ Y X Ω
Index for Latin 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21-26
C Ϝ I V,U,W,
Latin 26 A B D E Z H Þ K L M N O P s Q R S T
G V J X,Y,Z

Table 11 Ugaritic abecedaria (1) of the "Northern Semitic order" (27-30 letters)
(Categorized according to the Hebrew standard of Rabbi Saadia Gaon's comments)
The role of the name Thebes
On a rainy study-trip in Greece our bus roared the highway along Lake_Copais the towards
Athens, which had been evolved into a fertile rural landscape. At the horizon of the
imaginary lake I identified the city of Thebes, which had been described by our guide. In
2019 these lights were the only traces of Thebes I had seen on this trip...
Around the foundation of the city of Thebes (1500 BCE) the fertile fields around the 250 km 2 large
Lake Copais delivered a copious harvest, which had to be registered in the complex language Linear
B. The administration must have been complex and clumsy. The time was ripe for a new scripture.
According to Herodot a prince Cadmus of Phoenicia was the legendary Phoenician founder of the
city Boeotian Thebes, Originally, he was sent by his royal parents to seek out and escort his sister
Europa back to Tyre after she was abducted from the shores of Phoenicia by Zeus.[4]
In the neighborhood of the river Cephissus_(Boeotia) Cadmus decided to create a new city, in
which he planned to establish a center for a new concept for scriptures based on 5 points of
articulation. Of course he ordered the Fates (the 3 Moirai) to compose the new city's name, ΤhΙΒΑ
of ΤhΙΒΑΥ, from the first 6 letters of the alphabet Α Β Η Τ Ι Υ, which represented 4 of the the 5
points of articulation. Eventually th city's name ΤhΙΒΑ(Σ) may have been given a trailing letter Σ, to
represent a fifth points of articulation. After all a proud city's name ΤhΙΒΑΣ would remember the
citizens how their alphabet represented the fundamentals of the new scripture and alphabet.
According to the author Hyginus the new alphabet was to be extended: by Palamedes eleven letters,
by Simonides_of_Ceos25 four letters and by Epicharmus_of_Kos two letters. Unfortunately the
accuracy of these extensions cannot be guaranteed.
The strange initial set of letters (Α Β Η Τ Ι Υ) is too few to cover a complete alphabet and allowed
only a restricted number of words, such as the names ΤhΙΒΑ of ΤhΙΒΑΥ.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

3 Moirai A B H I T Υ
Palamedes Γ Δ Θ Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Ρ Σ Χ
Simonides Ε Ζ Φ Ω
Epicharmus Π Ψ
The Greek Α Β Γ Δ Ε Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Π Ρ Σ Τ Υ Φ Χ Ψ Ω
alphabet α β γ δ ε ζ η θ ι κ λ μ ν ξ ο π ρ σ τ υ φ χ ψ ω

Table 12 The introduction of the Greek alphabet, according to Hyginus, Fabulae, section 277

Although the historical documentation seem to be unreliable this screenplay seems to describe a
more or less realistic introduction of the Greek alphabet based op a first phase with the letters “Τ H
Ι Β Α Υ”. In Greek language the city's name is ΘΗΗΒΑΙ, or ThÊBAI (f. pl.), in Latin ThEBAE and
the modern name Thiva (or ThIVA).

25 Obviously Simonides (ca. 556 - 468 BCE) may have invented 4 Greek letters (ω, η, ξ, ψ).[3] (→ David A.
Campbell, Greek Lyric Poetry, Bristol Classical Press (1982), pages 380-381)
The pentagrams in the royal pedigrees and the rivers' names
The number of registered pentagrams will have to be updated. The update of the royal names in the
Minoan civilization is quite impressive. The records of mythical royals in Thebes (Greece) lists a
few names “Lycus” (Old-Greek: Λύκος → LÚKOS). Eleven rivers named Λύκος / LÚKOS are
located in the neighborhood of the Mediterranean Sea.
Laius or Laios (ΛΆΪΟΣ) is the father of Oedipus). This name refers to the history of Thebes.
The royal name MINOS may be interpreted as a pentagram for the title “king” or for a name for a
Cretan king.

# Pentagram P Information Definition Language

L
1. LAIUS P Laius or Laios (ΛΆΪΟΣ), the father of Oedipus) Laius Greek
L
2. LÚKOS P Multiple (23) names from LÚKOS, "wolf"). Lycus Greek
The 11 names of rivers Lycus in the (mythology)
neighborhood of the Mediterranean Sea
L
3. LÚKOS P 3 royals, derived from LÚKOS, "wolf") Lykos (Thebes) Greek
Lykos (Λύκος Lýkos), king of Thebes,
Lykos, as a regent for the 1-year old Laios
M
4. MINOS P Minos - Royal Name at Crete Minos (royal) Linear A
(Cretan)
I
5. IÁSŌN P ἸΆΣΩΝ (IÁSŌN), son of AÍSŌN Jason (the healer) Greek
A
6. AÍSŌN P ΑἼΣΩΝ (AÍSŌN) Aeson Greek
Table 13 The Greek names Lycus, Laius and Minos, Jason and Aeson

The legends of the dragon's teeth

Did the legends of the dragon's teeth describe the composition of the Greek alphabet?
The names of Jason (ἸΆΣΩΝ) and his father Aeson (ΑἼΣΩΝ) are pentagrams, in which the first
couple of letters were switched. These names belong to the archaic mythical period of the Hellenic
history. The names LAIUS, IÁSŌN and AÍSŌN may have been composed as pentagrams around the
introduction of the Greek alphabet.
The first introduction of the alphabet's letters are described in the legend of Cadmus and the
foundation of Thebes, in which the dragon's teeth played a role in the categorization of the (5)
phonetic sources.
The second application of the dragon's teeth refers to the liguistic impact of the Greek colony
around Colchis at the modern Black Sea coast of Georgia. The language of the population around
this colony may have influenced the choice of the letters in the Greek alphabet. The Colchian
people spoke a number of Kartvelian languages, which deviated from the Greek dialects. The
Kartvelian influence may have put pressure for special letters at the introduction of the Greek
alphabet. This influence may have been described by a dragon's teeth-episode, in which the soldiers
killed each other. The elimination of these dragon's teeth symbolized the failing impact of the
Kartvelian languages on the Greek alphabet. This episode is detailed in the following chapter, which
is dominated with some pentagrams for the names of the heroes.
This chapter describes the role of the dragon's teeth in the legend of Cadmus and in the
Argonautica. In both cases the theeth may represent the phonetic sources of the languages.
Jason and Aeson
In Greek mythology, Aeson ([1] Ancient Greek: ΑἼΣΩΝ (AÍSŌN) ) was a king of Iolcus
in Thessaly. He was the father of the hero Jason.26

Jason (IÁSŌN) is the hero who as a captain sailed the ship Argo to find the golden fleece at Colchis.
The legend of the Argonauts describes the foundation of the Greek colony in Colchis. For this
foundation Jason had to perform three difficult tasks.
On this journey of the Argonauts the hero Jason received a number of teeth from Cadmus, in which
the dragon's teeth may have symbolized the evolution of the Greek alphabet. The golden fleece
symbolized the rich colony of Colchis. For this foundation Jason had to perform three difficult
tasks.
Jason arrived in Colchis (modern Black Sea coast of Georgia) to claim the fleece as his
own. It was owned by King Aeetes of Colchis.

The Khalkotauroi were bulls, which in analogy to the Cretan MINOtaur, who also was indicated by
the pentagram MINOS for the royal family at Crete.
The Khalkotauroi are two immense bulls with bronze hooves and bronze mouths
through which they breathe fire. In the Argonautica, Jason is promised the prized fleece
by King Aeetes if he can first yoke the Khalkotauroi and use them to plough a field. The
field is then to be sown with dragon's teeth.[1] The teeth sprouted into an army of
warriors (spartoi). Medea had previously warned Jason of this and told him how to
defeat this foe.[3] 27

The Khalkotauroi, the brazen-hooved bulls conquered by Jason in Colchis, which breathed fire from
their nostrils28, may refer to the nasal letters, probably M and N.
In Virgil's Georgics the bull's noses (and not the mouth) are specified:
Virgil says, haec loca non tauri spirantes naribus ignem/invertere satis immanis dentibus
hydri “Bulls breathing fire from their noses do not turn these places [i.e. plow Italy’s
land]/for the sowing of the teeth of a huge dragon-snake” (Verg. G. 2.140-1). These
lines reference a violent portion of the myth of Jason in which the hero tames fire-
breathing bulls to plow land and then sows dragon’s teeth, causing an army of full-
grown men to spring forth and fight against him to protect the Golden Fleece;229

In analogy to Cadmus' foundation of Thebes these dragon's teeth had to be sown and turned into
armed soldiers. In contrast to the foundation of Thebes these soldiers killed each other completely.
Did this legend tell us, that the there were two letters, which represented the “breathing firing” nasal
letters of the Colchian bulls?
The Colchians are generally thought to have been an early Kartvelian-speaking tribe
ancestral to the contemporary western Georgians, namely Svans and Zans. According to
David Marshall Lang: "one of the most important elements in the modern Georgian
nation, the Colchians were probably established in the Caucasus by the Middle Bronze
Age."[15][16][17][18]

26 Aeson
27Jason
28 Origin: The chapter in Mythological origins in Fire-breathing_monster, (Sources are: Pindar Pyth. 4.225;
Apollodorus 1.9.23; Apollonius Rhodius 3.1302-5; Ovid Metam. 7.104-5: Vergil Georgics 2.140;)
29 Source: On the Hidden Meanings in the Laudes Italiae of Virgil’s Georgics Book 2 - Brown Classical Journal 26
2014, pp. 83-92, Lena Barsky (quoted from: Vergil Georgics 2.140)
The Kartvelian family has no known relation to any other language family, making it one of the
world's primary language families.[4] Therefore the Greek alphabet may have to be modified to
serve the Kartvelian family. The most widely spoken of these languages is Georgian. The earliest
literary source in any Kartvelian language is the Old Georgian Bir el Qutt inscriptions, written in
ancient Georgian Asomtavruli script at the once-existing Georgian monastery near Bethlehem,[5]
dated to c. 430 AD.[6] The Georgian script is used to write all Kartvelian languages.
The Colchian culture is named after the ancient geographic region of Colchis (Later Lazica), which
covered a large area along the Black Sea coast. Colchians are the ancestors of the most notably
Zans/Chans (ჭანები) - Megrelians and the Laz people, as well as Svans of the northern region of
Svaneti in Georgia.
The letters of the alphabet may more or less be represented by the standard Asomtavruli alphabet.
The letters Ⴡ (HE), Ⴢ (HIE), Ⴣ (WE), Ⴤ (HAR), Ⴥ (HOE) are obsolete30. I tried to identify the 5
obsolete letters and highlighted the symbols, but their naming convention is rather insecure:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 16 17 18
Ⴀ Ⴁ Ⴂ Ⴃ Ⴄ Ⴅ Ⴆ Ⴡ Ⴇ Ⴈ Ⴉ Ⴊ Ⴋ Ⴌ Ⴢ Ⴍ Ⴎ Ⴏ Ⴐ
ani bani gani doni eni vini zeni he tani ini kʼani lasi mani nari hie oni pʼari zhani rae
ႭჃ
Ⴑ Ⴒ Ⴣ Ⴔ Ⴕ Ⴖ Ⴗ Ⴘ Ⴙ Ⴚ Ⴛ Ⴜ Ⴝ Ⴞ Ⴤ Ⴟ Ⴠ Ⴥ
Ⴓ
sani tʼari vie pari kani ghani qʼari shini chini tsani dzili ts'ili ch'ari khani qari jani hae hoe
uni

Table 14 Asomtavruli alphabet (Source: Georgian scripts - Wikipedia)

The nasals in the Bats-language

A notice to the usage of nasals is found in the specification of the nasalizing in the Bats-language31.
Maybe the nasalizing feature had to be discussed at the introduction of the Greek alphabet in the
foundation of the Greek colony. According to the Argonautica the adaptations of the Greek alphabet
for the nasalizing had been canceled. The adaptations may have been defined as the nasalized
allophones in Bats:
• ჼ (modifier nar) is used in Bats. It nasalizes the preceding vowel.[61] 32
Bats has a typical triangular five-vowel system with short–long contrast (except for u,
which has no long form). Bats also has a number of diphthongs, ei, ui, oi, ai, ou, and
au.[3]

All vowels and diphthongs have nasalized allophones that are the result of phonetic and
morphophonemic processes; this is represented by a superscript n, as in kʼnateⁿ boy-
GEN. 33

30 Source in the (Dutch) Wikipedia: Georgisch_alfabet

31 Bats (also Batsi, Batsbi, Batsb, Batsaw, Tsova-Tush) is the endangered language of the Bats people, a North
Caucasian minority group and is part of the Nakh family of Northeast Caucasian languages.
32 Source: Letters added to other alphabets (Mkhedruli ) In the Wikipedia-page: Georgian_scripts
33 Phonology (Vowels) (in the Wikipedia-page Bats_language)
The Georgian alphabet
The number of Georgian letters used in other Kartvelian languages varies. Georgian is the official
language of Georgia. The old Georgian script seems to have been derived from the Greek script,[7]
but this is not certain. The alphabetical order largely corresponds to the Greek alphabet, with the
exception of letters denoting uniquely Georgian sounds, which are grouped at the end.[3][4]
Originally consisting of 38 letters,[5] Georgian is presently written in a 33-letter alphabet, as five
letters are obsolete.
• Mingrelian uses 36: thirty-three that are current Georgian letters, one obsolete Georgian
letter, and two additional letters specific to Mingrelian and Svan.
• Laz uses the same 33 current Georgian letters as Mingrelian plus that same obsolete letter
and a letter borrowed from Greek for a total of 35.
• The fourth Kartvelian language, Svan, is not commonly written, but when it is, it uses
Georgian letters as utilized in Mingrelian, with an additional obsolete Georgian letter and
sometimes supplemented by diacritics for its many vowels.[2][6]
Recent historiography focuses on greater similarities with the Greek alphabet than in the other
Caucasian writing systems, most notably the order and numeric value of letters.[3][4] Some
scholars have also suggested certain pre-Christian Georgian cultural symbols or clan markers as a
possible inspiration for particular letters.[24]
Lycus (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Lycus or Lykos (Ancient Greek: Λύκος, Lúkos, lit. 'wolf') was a ruler of the
ancient city of Ancient Thebes (Boeotia).
Lycus (Ancient Greek: Λύκος Lúkos, "wolf") is the name of multiple people in Greek mythology34.
The number of names is 23:
1. LÚKOS, one of the Telchines[1] who fought under Dionysus in his Indian campaign.[2] He
is otherwise said to have erected a temple to Apollo Lycius on the banks of Xanthus river.[3]
2. LÚKOS, son of Prometheus and Celaeno, brother of Chimaerus. The brothers are said to
have had tombs in the Troad; they are otherwise unknown.[4]
3. LÚKOS of Athens, a wolf-shaped herο, whose shrine stood by the jurycourt, and the first
jurors were named after him.[5]
4. LÚKOS, an Egyptian prince as one of the sons of King Aegyptus. He suffered the same fate
as his other brothers, save Lynceus of Argos, when they were slain on their wedding night
by their wives who obeyed the command of their father King Danaus of Libya. Lycus was
the son of Aegyptus by Argyphia, a woman of royal blood and thus full brother of Lynceus,
Proteus, Enceladus, Busiris and Daiphron.[6] In some accounts, he could be a son of
Aegyptus either by Eurryroe, daughter of the river-god Nilus,[7] or Isaie, daughter of King
Agenor of Tyre.[8] Lycus married the Danaid Agave, daughter of Danaus and Europe.[6]
5. LÚKOS, son of Poseidon and Celaeno.[9]
6. LÚKOS, the "loudvoiced" satyr herald of Dionysus during the Indian War.[10] In secret
union, Hermes fathered him, Pherespondus and Pronomus, by Iphthime, daughter of Dorus.
[11] Eiraphiotes (i.e. Dionysus) entrusted to these three satyr brothers the dignity of 'the staff
of their wisdom-fostering father, the herald of heaven'.[12]
7. LÚKOS, son of Arrhetus and Laobie, who, together with his father and brothers, fought
under Deriades against Dionysus.[13]
8. LÚKOS, son of Pandion II and brother of King Aegeus of Athens.[14]
9. LÚKOS, son of Hyrieus and Clonia, and brother of Nycteus. He became the guardian of
Labdacus and Laius. Nycteus, unable to retrieve his daughter Antiope from Epopeus of
Sicyon, sent his brother Lycus to take her. He invaded Sicyon, killed Epopeus and gave
Antiope as a slave to his own wife, Dirce.[15]
10. LÚKOS, a descendant of the above Lycus, said to have usurped the power over Thebes.[16]
11. LÚKOS, son of Dascylus of Mysia or Mariandyne. He was hospitable towards the
Argonauts[17] and Heracles, who conquered the land of the Bebryces (Heraclea Pontica).
[18] He is apparently identical with the Lycus given as a son of Titias, brother of Priolaus
and eponym of a city.[19]
12. LÚKOS, same as Lycurgus (of Nemea).[20]
13. LÚKOS, the mortal lover of Coronis, mother of Asclepius.[21] He is otherwise commonly
known as Ischys, son of Elatus.
14. LÚKOS, a Thracian killed by Cycnus in single combat.[22]
15. LÚKOS, a centaur at the wedding of Pirithous and Hippodamia, was killed by Pirithous.[23]
16. LÚKOS, a defender of Thebes in the war of the Seven against Thebes.[24]
17. LÚKOS and Pernis are listed by Hyginus[25] as parents of Ascalaphus and Ialmenus, who
are otherwise known as sons of Ares and Astyoche.
18. LÚKOS, son of Ares and a Libyan king.[26]
19. LÚKOS, a Cretan princes as the son of King Idomeneus and Meda, probably the brother of
Orsilochus, Cleisithyra and Iphiclus. Together with the latter, they were slain by the usurper
Leucus.[27]
20. LÚKOS, one of the companions of Diomedes that were changed into birds in Italy[28]
21. LÚKOS, a lost companion of Aeneas[29]
34 Source: Lycus_(mythology)
 22. LÚKOS, another companion of Aeneas, killed by Turnus.[30]
23. LÚKOS and Termerus were two notorious brigands in Caria.[31]

Lykos in the river names35

1. LÚKOS Lykos (Kilikien), ein unidentifizierter Fluss zum Mittelmeer zwischen Pyramos
(Ceyhan) und Pinaros (Payas Çayı oder Deli Çayı) in Kilikien
2. LÚKOS Lykos (Phrygien), ein Nebenfluss des oberen Meandros (Großer Mäander), heute
Çürüksu Çayı, bei Laodikeia am Lykos
3. LÚKOS Lykos (Lydien), ein unidentifizierter Nebenfluss des Hyllus oder direkt des Hermos
(Gediz) in Lydien (İzmir/Manisa)
4. LÚKOS Lykos (Bithynien), ein unidentifizierter Fluss zum Pontus Euxeinos (Schwarzes
Meer) bei Heraclea Pontica
5. LÚKOS Lykos (Phrygien), ein Fluss in Phrygien, Nebenfluss des oberen Mäanders, heute
Çürüksu Çayı

35 Lykos_(Begriffsklärung)
Did the Name „Deus“ exist in the Archaic Alphabet? 36

Linear-B
According to the List of Mycenaean deities the names for Zeus & consort may be reconstructed:
The Linear-B spelling DI-WE or DI-WO seems to match an archaic PIE-root *DIEUS for the name
ZEUS:
Zeus - God of the sky (Linear B:, DI-WE, DI-WO)[14][72][73]

The consort goddess is Diwia:

DIWIA - possibly the female counterpart of Zeus, possibly Dione in later Greek (Linear
B: DI-U-JA, DI-WI-JA)[2][14][16][29] 37

The names DEWZ and DEUZ

The periodic tables indicate the standard linguistic structure of 5 phonetic categories, based on the
the 5 mechanisms to produce the human phonemes: the lips, the throat, the palate, the tongue and
the teeth. These 5 categories are named (1) labials , (2) gutturals, (3) palatals, (4) linguals, (5)
dentals. Some of the divine names (such as DYAUS) are composed by concatenating 5 letters as
representatives of the 5 categories.
The 4-letter word DEUZ may be found in the Hebrew, Phoenician and the early Etruscan alphabet.
A similar pattern DEWZ or DEUZ may be identified in the Periodic Table for the Ugaritic signary,
which seems to be represent a mold for the standard alphabetic ABC...-sequence.
Although the letter Z is found within the first 10 symbols of most archaic alphabets the Z usually
had been removed from the 7th respectively the 8th position and was to be relocated at the end of the
alphabet. Also the vowel interpretation (U, Y) and the consonant part (V, W) of the digamma W6
had to be removed from the 6th respectively 7th location and relocated at the end of the alphabet.
In the Latin alphabet most traces of the original location of these letters had been removed. Only the
digamma “F” inherited the labial location from the “waw”. The guttural location of the “Z” had
been transferred to the “G”.
Strange as it may seem the name DEVZ may be identified in a few alphabets:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 3
0 0
Ugaritic A B G Kh D E W Z H Θ Y K Ś L M Z N Ẓ S O Φ Ṣ Q R Θ Gh T Ƕ Ω S
Table 15 The word D5 – E6 – W7 – Z8 in the Ugaritic alphabet (transliterated in Latin letters)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Hebrew Æ B G D Ε V Z H T I Ch L M N S Gh Ph Ts K R S T

Table 16 The word D4 – E5 – V6 – Z7 in the Phoenician and Hebrew alphabets (transliterated in

Latin letters)

36 Did the Word „Deus“ Exist in the Archaic Alphabets (Scribd)

37 List of Mycenaean deities
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Etruscan A B C D ΕV ZH Θ I K L M N S O P Ś Q R S T U X Φ Χ

Table 17 The word D4 – E5 – V6 – Z7 in the early Etruscan alphabet at the Bucchero-Amphore of

Formello (from: Formello Alphabet.jpg) (transliterated in Latin letters)

The four letters D4,E5,U6,Z7

The early Phoenician and Hebrew alphabets contain four letters D4 – E5 – W6 – Z7. In the Ugaritic
alphabet this pattern is shifted from D4 – E5 – W6 – Z7 to D5 – E6 – W7 – Z8 .

The fourth letter D4

According to the Sefer Yetzirah the fourth letter D4 is categorized as a lingual letter38. In other
languages the D is often categorized as a dental letter.

The fifth letter E5 (resulting in the vowel E)

Phoenician had foreshadowed the development of vowel letters with a limited use of
matres lectionis, that is, consonants that pulled double duty as vowels, which for
historical reasons occurred mostly at the ends of words. For example, the two letters
wāw and yōdh stood for both the approximant consonants [w] and [j], and the long
vowels [u] and [i] in Phoenician.

The sixth letter U6 (Digamma)

Digamma, waw, or wau (uppercase: Ϝ, lowercase: ϝ, numeral: ϛ) is an archaic letter of
the Greek alphabet. It originally stood for the sound /w/ but it has remained in use
principally as a Greek numeral for 639.

The seventh letter Z7

Zeta has the numerical value 7 rather than 6 because the letter digamma (also called 'stigma' as a
Greek numeral) was originally in the sixth position in the alphabet40.
The seventh letter ζ may be interpreted as [zd] 41, respectively [dz]42:
Unlike the other Greek letters, this letter did not take its name from the Phoenician letter
from which it was derived; it was given a new name on the pattern of beta, eta and
theta.

The letter ζ represents the voiced alveolar fricative /z/ in Modern Greek. The sound
represented by zeta in Greek before 400 BCE is disputed. See Ancient Greek phonology
and Pronunciation of Ancient Greek in teaching.43

38 The Hierarchical Structure of the Hebrew Alphabet

39 digamma
40 Numeral
41 Arguments for [zd] : The transcriptions from Persian by Xenophon and testimony by grammarians support the
pronunciation [zd] in Classical Attic. [z(ː)] is attested from c. 350 BC in Attic inscriptions, and was the probable
value in Koine.
42 Arguments for [dz] : [dʒ] or [dz] may have existed in some other dialects in parallel.
43 For the special case of zeta, see Zeta (letter).
The runic signary (with Wodinaz and Tiwæz)

Wodinaz
Odin (from Old Norse: Óðinn) is a widely revered god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology,
the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death,
royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victory, sorcery, poetry, frenzy, and the runic alphabet,
and depicts him as the husband of the goddess Frigg. 44
In wider Germanic mythology and paganism, the god was also known in Old English as Wōden, in
Old Saxon as Uuôden, in Old Dutch as Wuodan, in Old Frisian as WÊDA, and in Old High
German as Wuotan, all ultimately stemming from the Proto-Germanic theonym *WŌĐINAZ,
meaning 'lord of frenzy', or 'leader of the possessed'.
The adjective *wōđaz ultimately stems from a Pre-Germanic form *uoh₂-tós, which is related to the
Proto-Celtic terms *wātis (WĀTIS), meaning 'seer, sooth-sayer' (cf. Gaulish WĀTEIS, Old Irish
fáith 'prophet') and *wātus, meaning 'prophesy, poetic inspiration' (cf. Old Irish fáth 'prophesic
wisdom, maxims', Old Welsh guaut 'prophetic verse, panegyric').[9][10][14]

Tiwæz
Tiwaz (or TĪWÆZ) is the theonym which is displayed in the third theonym of the 2-dimensional
Elder Futhark runic signary.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
ᚠ ᚢ ᚦ ᚨ ᚱ ᚲ ᚷ ᚹ ᚺ ᚾ ᛁ ᛃ ᛇ ᛈ ᛉ ᛊ ᛏ ᛒ ᛖ ᛗ ᛚ ᛜ ᛟ ᛞ
F U Þ AR K G W H N I J ÆP Z S T B E ML Ŋ O D
"Freyr's ætt" "Hagal's ætt" Tyr's ('Mars') ætt
Table 18 The categorization and order for the Elder Futhark signary (24 symbols)
The theonym TĪWÆZ may be displayed in the

# linguals palatals labials gutturals dentals

6 D M
5 Ŋ (NG) B O
4 L J P E
3 T I [W] Ï or Æ S
2 N G U H Z
1 Þ K [F] A R
Table 19 Two-dimensional table of the Kylver Stone's signary (with the theonym Tiwaz or TĪWÆZ)

44 Woden
Tiwaz, Tīwaʀ, Tīwaʀ, Teiws and Tívar
The *Tîwaz (TÎWAZ) or *Teiwaz is a reconstructed name for a rune named after Týr:
The t-rune ᛏ is named after Týr, and was identified with this god. The reconstructed
Proto-Germanic name is *Tîwaz (TÎWAZ) or *Teiwaz.45

The TIWAZ rune was an ideographic symbol for a spear.

The Kylver Stone (400 AD, Gotland) features 8 stacked TIWAZ runes at the end of an
Elder Futhark inscription46.

TĪWAƦ is a prototype for *TĪWAZ, meaning 'God'

The Old Norse theonym Týr stems from an earlier Proto-Norse form reconstructed as
*TĪWAƦ,[2] which derives – like its Germanic cognates TĪW (Old English) and *ZIU
(Old High German) – from the Proto-Germanic theonym *TĪWAZ, meaning 'God'.[3] 47

The Gothic deity is *TEIWS:

The name of a Gothic deity named *TEIWS (later *TĪUS) may also be reconstructed
based on the associated rune tyz (TYZ).[2][4] 48

TÍVAR is the Old Norse plural “the gods” for the singular týr:
In Old Norse poetry, the plural TÍVAR is used for 'the gods', and the singular týr,
meaning '(a) god', occurs in kennings for Odin and Thor.[5][6] 49

Vidar
Vidarr (anglicized: VIDAR) is the son of Odin:
In Norse mythology, VÍÐARR (Old Norse: possibly "wide ruler",[1] sometimes
anglicized as VIDAR /, VIThAR, Vidarr, and Vitharr) is a god among the Æsir
associated with vengeance.

Víðarr is described as the son of Odin and the jötunn Gríðr and is foretold to avenge his
father's death by killing the wolf Fenrir at Ragnarök, a conflict he is described as
surviving.

Víðarr is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier
traditional sources, the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, and
is interpreted as depicted with Fenrir on the Gosforth Cross.50

45 Tiwaz_(rune)
46 Tiwaz_(rune)
47 Týr
48 Týr
49 Etymology (Týr)
50 Vidarr
The Ogham signary51

Ogham
A simple transformation allows us to convert a linear alphabet or signary into a two-dimensional
array, which displays a unique theonym of a sky-god on one of the rows. These included theonyms
for the sky-gods are 5-letter words (named pentagrams) such as ÞIΕVS in a Latin alphabet,
TIWÆS or TIÆWS in the Elder Futhark, respectively TIEU(X) for the Ogham signaries.
A possible source for the ogham signaries may be found in the mission of the Frankish bishop
Palladius, who was consecrated by Pope Celestine I and sent to Ireland in 431 AD - "to the Scotti
believing in Christ". The same year Palladius traveled to Scotland. The missionaries may have
initiated the ogham signaries.
There is a standard order 52 (defined in Wikipedia), local orders (Goidelic and Pictish) and
chronological orders such as the medieval order. I decided to investigate the following 4 orders53:
Aicme Beithe Aicme hÚatha Aicme Muine Aicme Ailme
Goidelic order B L N F/V S H D T C Q M G NG SS R A O U Ε I
Pictish order B L V S N H D T K KH M G NG ST R A O U Ε I
Medieval order B L F S V H D T K Q M G NG DD R A O U Ε I
Standard order B L F S N H D T C Q M G NG Z R A O U Ε I
Table 20 3 chronological orders from Proto-Ogham (2008) and the “standard order”.
(and additionally the forfeda : CH, TH, P, Ph, X-SK, and/or EA, OI, UI, IA, AE.)

The standard order of the Ogham signary

4- the standard order; B, L, F, S, N, H, D, T, C, Q, M, G, NG, Z, R, A, O, U, Ε, I,
forfeda; EA, OI, UI, IA, AE. P,...54

linguals palatals gutturals labials dentals

5 NG
4 T I Ε U
3 D G O M R
2 N Q A F Z
1 L C H B S
Table 21 Displaying the theonym TIΕU in the Ogham signary (for the standard order)

51 Notes to the Origin of the Elder Futhark and Ogham runes (10.6.2021)
52 From www.ancientscripts.com/ogham.html
53 Source: The Arrays (and the Presumed Theonym TIEU) of the Ogham Signary (11.02.2021)
54 online source : www.ancientscripts.com/ogham.html
Summary
The history of the alphabet goes back to the consonantal writing system used for Semitic languages
in the Levant in the 2nd millennium BCE.
A historical documentation is missing for most of the early alphabets. However some of the details,
especially the inheritance or alphabetical evolution (in the pedigree), the numbers of letters (in
additions and the deletions) and the phonetic categories (which represent 5 or 6 human Places of
articulation), may have been documented in the legends.
Some of the theonyms (T-I-A-U-Ṭ or D-Ī-Ā-Ū-Ḍ) may correlate or match with the inventors of the
alphabets, such as ThOT or Theuth (Θεύθ) or Κάδμος / Kádmos.
This paper concentrates on the theonyms and the number of categories, which may be unveiled in a
numbers in the legends.
The names ΘΏΘ THṒTH and Egyptian ḎḤWTJ correlate with the theonyms (T-I-A-U-Ṭ and D-Ī-
Ā-Ū-Ḍ).
The legend of the five surviving Spartoi may be interpreted as the categorization of the places of
articulation. The names of these 5 survivors Echion, Hyperenor, Chthonius, Pelorus, Udaeus have
been documented in various sources (Apollodorus 3.22, Pausanias 9.5.3, Hyginus Fabulae 178,
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius 3.1179). In the legend these 5 names represent the letters as
phonetic sources linguals, palatals, gutturals, labials, dentals.
A simple transformation allows us to convert a linear alphabet or signary into a two-dimensional
array, which displays a unique theonym of a sky-god on one of the rows. These included theonyms
for the sky-gods are 5-letter words (named pentagrams) such as ÞIΕVS in a Latin alphabet,
TIWÆS or TIÆWS in the Elder Futhark, respectively TIEU(X) for the Ogham signaries.
The legends which describe the introduction of Cadmus' alphabet do not intend to describe the
truth. Obviously the legend describes the introduction of a 2-dimensional structure which is
identified by furrows or rows. The structure also contains teeth, which are turned into armed
soldiers. These men are killing each other until 5 warriors who helped the sower Cadmus to build a
city. One of the 5 survivors, called the serpent “Echion” and probably and image of the serpent,
played the principal role. All five survivors are described as strange images such as “underground”,
“threshold” and “monstrous”, which may be relevant to the introduction of Cadmus' alphabet.
The only architectural structures, which are based on rows and 5 different structural parameters is a
language, which is based on the 5 places of articulation linguals, palatals, labials, gutturals, dentals.
Therefore the legend of Cadmus' introduction of the Greek alphabet may be a genuine proof that the
early Greek language was based on the 5 places of articulation. The runic and the Ogham alphabets
are based on the same basic principle to display a theonym in one of the rows.
Contents
Abstract ................................................................................................................................................1
The (abbreviated) Pedigree of the Alphabets.......................................................................................2
Egypt: The hieroglyphs .......................................................................................................................3
Thoth................................................................................................................................................3
The architecture of the Hellenic alphabet.............................................................................................4
Cadmus ...........................................................................................................................................4
The foundation of Thebes................................................................................................................4
The marshes of Lake Kopaïs...........................................................................................................4
The interpretation of the “furrows”.................................................................................................6
Cadmus and Jason............................................................................................................................7
The interpretation of the five surviving Spartoi...............................................................................7
The phases in the composition of the Greek alphabet.....................................................................8
The architecture of the legend.........................................................................................................9
The development of the alphabet...................................................................................................10
The gutturals..................................................................................................................................11
Supplementary letters.....................................................................................................................11
The derivation from the Ugaritic alphabet.....................................................................................11
The role of the name Thebes..........................................................................................................12
The pentagrams in the royal pedigrees and the rivers' names........................................................13
The legends of the dragon's teeth...................................................................................................13
Jason and Aeson .......................................................................................................................14
The nasals in the Bats-language................................................................................................15
The Georgian alphabet..............................................................................................................16
Lycus (mythology).........................................................................................................................17
Lykos in the river names...........................................................................................................18
Did the Name „Deus“ exist in the Archaic Alphabet?...................................................................19
Linear-B....................................................................................................................................19
The names DEWZ and DEUZ..................................................................................................19
The four letters D4,E5,U6,Z7...................................................................................................20
The fourth letter D4...................................................................................................................20
The fifth letter E5 (resulting in the vowel E)............................................................................20
The sixth letter U6 (Digamma).................................................................................................20
The seventh letter Z7.................................................................................................................20
The runic signary (with Wodinaz and Tiwæz)....................................................................................21
Wodinaz.........................................................................................................................................21
Tiwæz.............................................................................................................................................21
Tiwaz, Tīwaʀ, Tīwaʀ, Teiws and Tívar.........................................................................................22
Vidar...............................................................................................................................................22
The Ogham signary............................................................................................................................23
Ogham............................................................................................................................................23
The standard order of the Ogham signary.................................................................................23
Summary ............................................................................................................................................24
Appendix 1 - The Pedigree of the alphabets.......................................................................................26
Appendix 1 - The Pedigree of the alphabets
Egyptian hieroglyphs 32nd c. BCE
• Hieratic 32nd c. BCE → Demotic 7th c. BCE → Meroitic 3rd c. BCE
• Proto-Sinaitic 19th c. BCE
• Ugaritic 15th c. BCE
• Epigraphic South Arabian 9th c. BCE → Geʽez 5–6th c. BCE
• Phoenician 12th c. BCE
• Paleo-Hebrew 10th c. BCE → Samaritan 6th c. BCE
• Aramaic 8th c. BCE
• Kharosthi 3rd c. BCE
• Brahmi 3rd c. BCE
• Brahmic family (see)
• E.g. Tibetan 7th c. CE
• Devanagari 10th c. CE → Canadian syllabics
1840
• Hebrew 3rd c. BCE → Square Aramaic Alphabet 2007
• Pahlavi 3rd c. BCE → Avestan 4th c. CE
• Palmyrene 2nd c. BCE
• Nabataean 2nd c. BCE → Arabic 4th c. CE → N'Ko 1949 CE
• Syriac 2nd c. BCE
Sogdian 2nd c. BCE

Orkhon (old Turkic) 6th c. CE → Old Hungarian c. 650 CE

Old Uyghur → Mongolian 1204 CE

• Mandaic 2nd c. CE
• Greek 8th c. BCE
• Etruscan 8th c. BCE
• Latin 7th c. BCE
Cherokee (syllabary; letter forms only) c. 1820 CE → Vai (syllabary) c.
1832 CE
Deseret 1854 CE

Osage 2006 CE
• Runic 2nd c. CE
• Ogham (origin uncertain) 4th c. CE
• Coptic 3rd c. CE
• Gothic 3rd c. CE
• Armenian 405 CE
• Caucasian Albanian (origin uncertain) c. 420 CE

• Georgian (origin uncertain) c. 430 CE

• Glagolitic 862 CE
• Cyrillic c. 940 CE → Old Permic 1372 CE
• Paleohispanic (semi-syllabic) 7th c. BCE

• Libyco-Berber 3rd c. BCE → Tifinagh

Adlam (slight influence from Arabic) 1989 CE

Hangul 1443 CE
Thaana c. 18 CE (derived from Brahmi numerals)
The (complete) Pedigree of the alphabets (source: History of the alphabet )
Color codes : before 19th c. BCE, → 10th c. BCE → 7th c. BCE → after 0 BC

Table 22 The (complete) Pedigree of the alphabet