Task 1.1 - Phoenician alphabet (10/16)

Phoenician alphabet

The Phoenician alphabet developed during the 15th century BC while the earliest known inscriptions date back to 1000BC. The alphabet consists of 22 consonant letters with no vowel indication, therefore modern scholars found it quite challenging when trying to decipher scripts. There were no spaces between words but by time it evolved into dots to separate words. The direction of writing was from right to left in horizontal lines. Sometimes the direction varied as they used boustrophedon (like the Greeks), where the direction varies from line to line. 

The 22 letters of the Phoenician alphabet

The Greeks later adopted their alphabet from the Phoenicians and added vowels to it.

On the Incirli Stela, Greek writing 

(deep incisions) was cut into the

earlier Phoenician text

Later the Etruscans in Italy adopted and modified the Greek alphabet which led to the alphabet we use today.

"The following tablets show how the Phoenician alphabet and Etruscan alphabet were used in actual practice. These inscriptions date from approximately 500 BC. They were found in a temple near ancient Caere in Italy, and describe a dedication made to the Phoenician goddess." (Santorini Books 2004-2014)

Gold plates with Phoenician and Etruscan writing (Pyrgi Gold Tablets. Origin of the Alphabet)

Ancient Scripts, 2014. Phoenician. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ancientscripts.com/phoenician.html. [Accessed 03 March 2014].

Omniglot, 2014. Phoenician alphabet and language. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.omniglot.com/writing/phoenician.htm. [Accessed 03 March 2014].

Phoenician, 2014. Phoenician Alphabet Origin. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.phoenician.org/alphabet.htm. [Accessed 03 March 2014].

The Phoenician Alphabet, 2014. Phoenician Alphabet. [ONLINE] Available at: https://suite101.com/a/the-phoenician-alphabet-a39076. [Accessed 03 March 2014].