The Greek Language

Greek is one of the oldest languages still spoken today. People have been speaking Greek for over 3,000 years. It is the main language of Greece and Cyprus. The Greek alphabet has 24 letters. Our word 'alphabet' comes from the first two Greek letters, alpha and beta.

Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is different from modern Greek. Famous thinkers like Plato and Aristotle wrote in ancient Greek. The stories of Greek gods and heroes were also told in this language. Many English science words come from Greek. Words like telephone, biology, and galaxy all have Greek roots.

A marble statue of Homer, a famous Greek poet.
A marble statue of Homer, a famous Greek poet. (Wikimedia Commons)

The Greek Alphabet

The Greek alphabet is used today in math and science. Letters like pi, sigma, and delta are used by scientists. Pi is used to find the area of a circle. The Greek alphabet was made over 2,500 years ago. It was one of the first alphabets to have letters for both vowels and consonants.

Fun Facts

  • Many English words like 'school' and 'music' come from Greek.
  • The word 'alphabet' comes from the Greek letters alpha and beta.
  • Greek has been written for over 3,400 years.

Did You Know?

The symbol for pi in math is a Greek letter, and it is used to measure circles all around the world!