Greek numerals, also known as Ionic, Ionian, Milesian, or Alexandrian numerals, were a system of writing numbers using the letters of the Greek alphabet. They are still used today for the ordinal numbering of chapters, for listing at the end of books, and in similar contexts.
The system is an alphabetic numeral system, meaning that each letter corresponds to a number. It is an additive system, where the values of the individual letters are summed to get the total. For example, π (80) + ε (5) would represent 85.
Key Features:
- Uses 27 letters of the Greek alphabet: 24 classical Greek letters plus three archaic letters: digamma (ϝ), koppa (ϟ), and sampi (ϡ).
- Has separate units for units (1-9), tens (10-90), and hundreds (100-900).
- Thousands are formed by placing a stroke (keraia) in front and below the respective unit letter (e.g., ͵α for 1,000).
- Myriads (10,000s) are represented by placing the numeral above the letter M or by placing two strokes (double keraia) above the unit letter.
Further Reading: