Q 01/05

How many letters are in the standard Greek alphabet?

A) 24

B) 22

C) 26

D) 28

Answer · why

A) 24

The set was standardised across the Greek world by the end of the 4th century BC and is still used today.

Q 02/05

What is the last letter of the Greek alphabet?

A) Zeta

B) Omega

C) Chi

D) Psi

Answer · why

B) Omega

Its Byzantine-era name means 'big o'.

Q 03/05

From which earlier alphabet was the Greek alphabet derived?

A) Egyptian hieroglyphs

B) Phoenician

C) Aramaic

D) Etruscan

Answer · why

B) Phoenician

The Greeks called the borrowed letters by that people's name, then repurposed some consonants to write vowels.

Q 04/05

What is the Greek alphabet's claim to being the first 'true' alphabet?

A) It had exactly 24 letters

B) It wrote vowels as well as consonants

C) It was written from left to right

D) It had upper and lower case

Answer · why

B) It wrote vowels as well as consonants

Semitic scripts are abjads, with letters only for consonants.

Q 05/05

Around what date is the Greek alphabet conventionally said to have originated?

A) 800 BC

B) 1200 BC

C) 300 BC

D) 500 BC

Answer · why

A) 800 BC

The oldest substantial inscriptions, such as the Dipylon vase and the cup of Nestor, date from about 740-730 BC.