{"product_id":"homer-and-the-origin-of-the-greek-alphabet-paperback-9780521589079","title":"Homer and the Origin of the Greek Alphabet (Paperback) 9780521589079","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eHomer and the Origin of the Greek Alphabet\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA challenging and fascinating enquiry into the genesis of alphabetic writing.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eBarry B. Powell (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780521589079, Cambridge University Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback, published 28 October 1996\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e308 pages, 4 maps  6 tables\u003cbr\u003e35.3 x 9.8 x 2 cm, 0.46 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e'[This] is an important book, and will be widely read by students of writing in other cultures as well as by Homerists, linguists, historians and archaeologists of early Greece.' Classical Philology\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eWho invented the Greek alphabet and why? The purpose of this challenging book is to inquire systematically into the historical causes that underlay the radical shift from earlier and less efficient writing systems to the use of alphabetic writing. The author reaches the conclusion that a single man, perhaps from the island of Euboea, invented the Greek alphabet specifically in order to record the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eForeword: why was the Greek alphabet invented? 1. Review of criticism: what we know about the origin of the Greek alphabet\u003cbr\u003e 2. Argument from the history of writing: how writing worked before the Greek alphabet\u003cbr\u003e 3. Argument from the material remains: Greek inscriptions from the beginning to c. 650 BC\u003cbr\u003e 4. Argument from coincidence: dating Greece's earliest poet\u003cbr\u003e 5. Conclusions from probability: how the Iliad and the Odyssey were written down\u003cbr\u003e Appendix I: Gelb's theory of the syllabic nature of West Semitic writing\u003cbr\u003e Appendix II: Homeric references in poets of the seventh century.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: Literary studies: classical, early \u0026amp; medieval [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Literary studies: classical, early \u0026amp; medieval\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Literary%20studies:%20classical,%20early%20\u0026amp;%20medieval%20%5BDSBB%5D%22\"\u003eDSBB\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Cambridge University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46002826150168,"sku":"9780521589079","price":38.29,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/products\/9780521589079_cd9b04ec-bd44-4bcb-9cd3-47d8f29e8869.gif?v=1691370129","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/homer-and-the-origin-of-the-greek-alphabet-paperback-9780521589079","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}