The letters of the Greek alphabet in

Homer's Catalogue of Ships

Joannes Richter

# Settlements (E.) Settlements (Gr.) Remarks

Region - Εὔβοια EÚBOIA - Εὔβοια ΕΥΥ ΥΒΟΙΑ -
Region - Boeotia BOEOTIA - Βοιωτία ΒΟΙΩΤΊΑ -

Boeotians 1 - Thebes ThEBES - Θῆβαι ThĒBAI(S) P *TʰĒGʷAII

S ThĒBAIS
Boeotians 2 P Aulis AULIS P Αὐλίς ΑΥΥΛΊΣ P ΑΥΥΛΊΣ AULIS
Boeotians 3 P Thisbe ThISBE P Θίσβη ΘΊΣΒΗ P ΘΊΣΒΗ ThISBE
Boeotians 4 - Hyria HYRIA - Ὑρίη ὙΡΊΗ P oURION URINE
Phocēans 5 P Daulis DAULIS P Δαυλίς ΔΑΥΛΊΣ P Δ'ΑΥΛΊΣ DAULIS
Locrians 6 P Kynos KYNOS P Κῦνος ΚΥΥΝΟΣ P ΚΥΝΟΣ KYNOS
Messenians 7 P Pylos PYLOS P Πύλος ΠΎΛΟΣ P ΠΎΛΟΣ PYLOS
No name 8 - Olizon OLIZŌN P Ὀλιζών ὈΛΙΖΏΝ P ὈΛΙΖΏΝ ὈLΙΖŌΝ
Table 1 5-Letter Settlements in Homer's Catalogue of Ships

Abstract
According to the legends the first 6 letters of the Greek (A B H T I U 1) may have represented 7
phonemes (A B H T I U ?) and inherited the 5 Places of articulation (A V T I ?) of the Ugaritic
alphabet. The missing elements (symbolized as question marks) “?“ may be interpreted as the
trailing “S”-dental, which is also found in *TʰĒGʷAII S, *TʰĒGʷASDE and ThĒBAIS.
The first Greek polis has been identified as Thebes, originally concentrated as a citadel named
Cadmea. Today Thebes is named Thiva (or ThIVA), and initially in tables to be read as *TʰĒGʷAII S
(Ancient Greek: Θήβαις, ThĒBAIS, i.e. "at Thebes", Thebes in the dative-locative case), te-qa-de,[n
2] for *TʰĒGʷASDE (Θήβασδε, ThĒBASDE, i.e. "to Thebes"),[1][4] and te-qa-ja,[n 3] for
*TʰĒGʷAJA (Θηβαία, ThĒBAIA, i.e. "Theban woman").[1]. *TʰĒGʷAII S may be interpreted as a 5-
letter name for the the 5 Places of articulation.
The pattern of the 5 Places of articulation in the Greek alphabet may still be found as a concentrated
foundation in a number of Greek settlements, which are documented in the Catalogue of Ships in
the Iliad by Homer and additionally in the names of the Cities in ancient Boeotia.
This paper investigates a number of other 5-letter names: ThĒBAIS (*TʰĒGʷAIIS), AULIS,
DAULIS, (Δ'ΑΥΛΊΣ), ThISBE, oURION, PYLOS (ΠΎΛΟΣ) and OLIZŌN (ὈΛΙΖΏΝ) for the the 5
Places of articulation. In these names the letters A B H T I U ? (including the equivalents D and Θ
for T, P for B, Ώ, Ō, Y for U, E, H and O for A, Y for I, and Z and R for S) are highlighted.
The names for the regions BOEOTIA and EÚBOIA may also be based on the relevant phonemes (A
B H T I U ?), but the dental symbol S is missing.

1 Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 277 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) : "First Inventors.
The Parcae (Fates) [Moirai], Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos invented seven Greek letters--A B H T I U."
The initiation of the Greek alphabet
Legends
According to Hyginus' legend the Greek alphabet is composed from letters in 4 stages, whose
symbols are inherited from the Phoenician alphabet. The letter Y may be a joker, which is allowed
to represent some of the other letters (J, I and U) :
Importers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

3 Moirai A B H I T Υ
Palamedes Γ Δ Θ Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Ρ Σ (Χ)

Simonides Ε Ζ Φ Ω
Epicharmus Π Ψ
Deleted letters F Q
Greek alphabet Α Β Γ Δ Ε Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Π Ρ Σ Τ Υ Φ Χ Ψ Ω
α β γ δ ε ζ η θ ι κ λ μ ν ξ ο π ρ σ τ υ φ χ ψ ω
transliterated A B C D E F G H IJ K L M N O P Q R S T U VW - - -

Numeric Value 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

Table 2 The introduction of the Greek alphabet according to Hyginus, Fabulae, sectie 277
According to Dmitry Okolnikov Nigel Pennick claims in his book Magical Alphabets:
One version of the legend comes down to us from the Roman writer Gaius Julius
Hyginus, who was the curator of the Paletine Library and a friend of the poet Ovid. In
his Fables, he wrote that the Fates invented the first seven of the Greek letters. These
were Alpha, Beta, Eta, Ypsilon, Iota, Omicron and Tau.

After this, Palamedes, son of Nauplius, invented eleven more. Then Epicharmus of
Sicily added Theta and Chi (alternatively Pi and Psi). Finally, Simonides contributed the
letters Omega, Epsilon, Zeta and Psi (or Phi) to the alphabet.

I did find the specification (Alpha, Beta, Eta, Ypsilon, Iota, Omicron and Tau) in Pennick's book
Magic Alphabets.
Obviously one letter (the Omicron) is missing or one symbol represents two letters (e.g. U and V) 2.
Pennick should specify in which ancient manuscript the seventh letter Omicron is mentioned.
The missing Omicron may have been introduced by Palamedes, as this letter had not been delivered
by Epicharmus of Sicily nor by Simonides: "After this, Palamedes, son of Nauplius, invented eleven
more. Then Epicharmus of Sicily added Theta and Chi (alternatively Pi and Psi). Finally, Simonides
contributed the letters Omega, Epsilon, Zeta and Psi (or Phi) to the alphabet."

2 Wikipedia's translation (Online Text: Hyginus, Fabulae translated by Mary Grant) documents: § 277 FIRST
INVENTORS: The Parcae, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos invented seven Greek letters — A B H T I Y.
The introduction of a 6-letter or 7-letter alphabet
What purpose may be sought for the introduction of a 6-letter or 7-letter alphabet?
The letters A B H T I Y may be interpreted as an 6-letter “alphabet” “AB” to compose a city's name
“*THYBAII “, “THIBAY”, “ThYBEI“ or similar names.
The missing letter may be “O”, “Z”, “R” or “S” which allows us to compose names such ThISBE,
oURION, ....
A reduced alphabet could be composed to teach the population how to use the new alphabet. The
reduced set of letters allows to demonstrate how easy the words may be composed and how easy the
words could be interpreted and understood.
This would explain the 6 or 7 letters A B H T I Y, for which the divine inventors had been chosen as
the Moirai. Generally, the Moirai were considered to be above even the gods in their role as
enforcers of fate, although in some representations, Zeus, the chief of the gods, is able to command
them.[1]3
The concept of a universal principle of natural order and balance has been compared to similar
concepts in other cultures such as the Vedic Ṛta, the Avestan Asha (Arta) and the Egyptian Maat.
The MOIRA is related to meros, "part, lot" and moros, "fate, doom".[4] The possible derived Latin
MERITum, "reward", English MERIT, maybe coming from the Proto-Indo-European language root
*(s)mer, "to allot, assign".[5]
In Norse mythology the Norns are a trio of female beings who rule the destiny of gods and men,
twining the thread of life. They set up the laws and decided on the lives of the children of men.[11]
Their names were Urðr, related with Old English wyrd, modern WEIRD ("fate, destiny, luck"),
Verðandi, and Skuld, and it has often been inferred that they ruled over the past, present and future.

A word at the introduction of the Greek alphabet

Rudolf Wachter claims a new alphabet makes no sense unless at least one word may be composed
from the first letters4. Therefore I tried to compose a first word from the first letters A B H T I Y.
Originally the city of Thebes started as Cadmeia, the citadel of ancient Thebes, Greece. The name
Thebes may have been composed from the first 6 letters Tebais (Ancient Greek: Θήβαις, ThĒBAIS,
i.e. "at Thebes", Thebes in the dative-locative case). The missing letter may be the trailing letter S.
The modern name for Thebes is in Greek: Θήβα, ThÍVA [ˈθiva].

3 Moirai
4 Ein Schwarzes Loch der Geschichte: die Erfindung des griechischen Alphabets by Rudolf Wachter [Aus: Wolfgang
Ernst und Friedrich Kittler (Hrsg.), Die Geburt des Vokalalphabets aus dem Geist der Poesie. Schrift, Zahl und Ton
im Medienverbund. Munchen (Wilhelm Fink), 2006, 33–45.]
The names of the legendary founders of the city of Thebes
The married couple Agave and Echion, the leader of the 5 warriors of Cadmus, had a son Pentheus
who was the successor of Cadmus as a king of Thebes.
The following overview documents the names of the legendary founders of the city of Thebes and
the places of articulation5, which may be interpreted from the names of the founders:
Latin names Greek names Categories Comments and details places of category sample
articulation

1 Echion ἘχῑΥων ἘΧῙΥΩΝ "viper" Tongue linguals D

2 Hyperenor Ὺπερήνωρ ῪΠΕΡΉΝΩΡ 'man who comes up' Palate palatals I
3 Chthonius Χθόνιος ΧΘΌΝΙΟΣ “underworld” Throat gutturals A
4 Pelorus Πέλωρος ΠΈΛΩΡΟΣ monstrous, marvellous Lips labials U
5 Udaeus Ουδαιος ΟΥΔΑΙΟΣ ουδος 'threshold' or Teeth dentals S
ουδαιος 'on the ground'.

Table 3 The legendary founders of the City of Thebes and the corresponding places of articulation

ἘΧῙῙΩΝ
The most important, active and universal place of articulation is the tongue. In the founders of
Thebes the representing person for the tongue seems to be Echion, (ἘΧῙΥΩΝ).
Apart from Echion, (ἘΧῙΥΩΝ) and the 5 kings we may also 5-letter names of settlements which had
been named with 5-letter words to memorize the categorization of the letters and the places of
articulation for each letter.

5 Source for details: An Alternative History for the AlphabetPlaces of articulation

The Catalogue of Ships in the Iliad of Homer
In the Iliad, the Greek Catalogue lists 29 contingents under 46 captains, accounting for a total of
1,186 ships.[10] In his Library, Apollodorus lists 30 contingents under 43 leaders with a total of
1013 ships.[11]
The pattern of the 5 (linguals, palatals, labials, gutturals, dentals) in the Greek alphabet may still be
found as a concentrated foundation in a number of Greek settlements, which are documented in the
Catalogue of Ships in the Iliad by Homer and additionally in the names of the Cities in ancient
Boeotia.
According to the legends the Parcae (Fates) [Moirai], Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos invented seven
Greek letters--A B H T I U. This claim of 7 letters deviates from the 6 letters in the list and the 5
categories of the letters in the Greek alphabet.
The first inspection of the list of ships for Troy's resulted in a list with 10 names for settlements,
which may have been selected to memorize the 5 letters, which in analogy to the name Echion,
(ἘΧῙΥΩΝ), was composed to remind to the introduction of the Greek alphabet.
The names for the regions BOEOTIA and EÚBOIA may also be based on the relevant phonemes (A
B H T I U ?), but the dental symbol S is missing.
Also the names Midea (MIDEA) and Pylene (PYLENE) may be deselected for further investigations.

English Greek
# Settlements (E.) Settlements (Gr.) Remarks

Region Εὔβοια EÚBOIA Εὔβοια ΕΥΥ ΥΒΟΙΑ

Region Boeotia BOEOTIA Βοιωτία ΒΟΙΩΤΊΑ

Boeotians 1 - Thebes ThEBES - Θῆβαι ThĒBAI(S) P *TʰĒGʷAII

S ThĒBAIS
Boeotians 2 P Aulis AULIS P Αὐλίς ΑΥΥΛΊΣ P ΑΥΥΛΊΣ AULIS
Boeotians 3 - Midea MIDEA - Μίδεια ΜΊΔΕΙΑ
Boeotians 4 P Thisbe ThISBE P Θίσβη ΘΊΣΒΗ P ΘΊΣΒΗ ThISBE
Boeotians 5 - Hyria HYRIA - Ὑρίη ὙΡΊΗ P oURION URINE

Phocēans 6 P Daulis DAULIS P Δαυλίς ΔΑΥΛΊΣ P Δ'ΑΥΛΊΣ DAULIS

Locrians 7 P Kynos KYNOS P Κῦνος ΚΥΥΝΟΣ P ΚΥΝΟΣ KYNOS
Messenians 8 P Pylos PYLOS P Πύλος ΠΎΛΟΣ P ΠΎΛΟΣ PYLOS
Aetolians 9 - Pylene PYLENE - Πυλήνη ΠΥΛΉΝΗ
No name 10 - Olizon OLIZŌN P Ὀλιζών ὈΛΙΖΏΝ P ὈΛΙΖΏΝ ὈLΙΖŌΝ
Table 4 5-Letter Settlements in Homer's Catalogue of Ships
Words with references to Boeotia
Boeotia (Greek: Βοιωτία; modern: VIOTÍA; ancient: Boiōtía) is one of the regional units of Greece.
It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its largest city is Thebes
(ThĒBAIS). Boeotia was also a region of ancient Greece, from before the 6th century BC.
50% of the 8 selected settlements' names of Homer's Catalogue of Ships are Boeotian.
The cities Hyria (HYRIA) and stony Aulis (AULIS), where the fleet assembled, lead the Boeotian
contingents in the Catalogue of Ships in the Iliad of Homer.[2]
Aulis (AULIS) may be related to Daulis (DAULIS).

English Greek
# Settlements (E.) Settlements (Gr.) Remarks

Boeotians 1 - Thebes ThEBES - Θῆβαι ThĒBAI(S) P *TʰĒGʷAII

S ThĒBAIS
Boeotians 2 P Aulis AULIS P Αὐλίς ΑΥΥΛΊΣ P ΑΥΥΛΊΣ AULIS
Boeotians 3 P Thisbe ThISBE P Θίσβη ΘΊΣΒΗ P ΘΊΣΒΗ ThISBE
Boeotians 4 - Hyria HYRIA - Ὑρίη ὙΡΊΗ P ὨΡΊΩΝ URINE
ὨΑΡΊΩΝ

Phocēans 5 P Daulis DAULIS P Δαυλίς ΔΑΥΛΊΣ P Δ'ΑΥΛΊΣ DAULIS

Locrians 6 P Kynos KYNOS P Κῦνος ΚΥΥΝΟΣ P ΚΥΝΟΣ KYNOS
Messenians 7 P Pylos PYLOS P Πύλος ΠΎΛΟΣ P ΠΎΛΟΣ PYLOS
No name 8 - Olizon OLIZŌN P Ὀλιζών ὈΛΙΖΏΝ P ὈΛΙΖΏΝ ὈLΙΖŌΝ
Table 5 5-Letter Settlements in Homer's Catalogue of Ships

Thebes
Thebes (/ˈθiːbz/; Greek: Θήβα, Thíva ; Ancient Greek: Θῆβαι ThĒBAI(S), Thêbai [1]) is a city in
Boeotia, Central Greece and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and the
third oldest in Europe. Thebes is the largest city in Boeotia and a major center for the area.

Hyria / Ourion
Hyria (Ionic Greek: Ὑρίη, Hyriē; Koinē Greek: Ὑρία, HYRIA[1]) is a toponym
mentioned in Homer's Catalogue of Ships, where the leading position in the list is given
to the contingents from Boeotia, where Hyria and stony Aulis, where the fleet
assembled, lead the list.[2]

A special, remarkable name for a settlement is HYRIA, which is documented in a legend of Orion
(OURION):
In Hyria [6] lived a childless king called Hyrieus (HYRIEUS), who had prayed to the
gods for a son. Zeus, Poseidon and Hermes, visitors in disguise responded by urinating
on a bull's hide and burying it in the earth which produced a child. He was named Orion
—as if "of the urine"— after the unusual event.[7] In Greek mythology, Orion (Ancient
Greek: ὨΡΊΩΝ or ὨΑΡΊΩΝ; Latin: Orion)[1] was a giant huntsman whom Zeus (or
perhaps Artemis) placed among the stars as the constellation of Orion.
Aulis
Aulis (Ancient Greek: Αὐλίς, AULIS) was a Greek port town, located in ancient Boeotia in central
Greece, at the Euripus Strait, opposite of the island of Euboea. Aulis never developed into a fully
independent polis, but belonged to ancient Thebes (378 BC) and Tanagra respectively.[2]

Daulis (in Phocis)

Daulis (Ancient Greek: Δαυλίς, DAULIS), at a later time Daulia (Δαυλία),[1] and also Daulium or
Daulion (Δαύλιον),[2] was a town of ancient Phocis, near the frontiers of Boeotia.

Thisbe
Thisbe (Ancient Greek: Θίσβη),[1][2][3] or Thisbae or Thisbai (Θίσβαι),[4][5] was a town of
Boeotia, described by Strabo as situated at a short distance from the sea, under the southern side of
Mount Helicon, bordering upon the confines of Thespiae and Coroneia.[4]

Kynos (in Locris)

Kynos was reported to have been the residence of Deucalion and Pyrrha; the tomb of the latter was
shown there.[2]

Pylos (in Messenia)

Pylos has been inhabited since Neolithic times. It was a significant kingdom in Mycenaean Greece,
with remains of the so-called "Palace of Nestor" excavated nearby, named after Nestor, the king of
Pylos in Homer's Iliad. Clay tablets, generally used for administrative purposes or for recording
economic transactions, clearly demonstrate that the site itself was already called "Pylos" by its

Mycenaean inhabitants (Pulos in Mycenaean Greek; attested in Linear B as pu-ro).

Olizon (Thessaly)
Olizon (Ancient Greek: Ὀλιζών) was an ancient Greek town and polis (city-state) of Magnesia
located in the region of Thessaly.[1][2][3][4].

Evia, Eúboia
Evia also known by its antique spelling Euboea Greek: Εὔβοια Eúboia, Ancient: [ěuuboiu a], Modern:
[ˈevia]) is the second-largest Greek island in area. Its ancient and current name, Εὔβοια, derives
from the words εὖ "good", and βοῦς "ox", meaning "(the land of) the well(-fed) oxen".
Summary
According to the legends the first 6 letters of the Greek (A B H T I U 6) may have represented 7
phonemes (A B H T I U ?) and inherited the 5 Places of articulation (A V T I ?) of the Ugaritic
alphabet. The missing elements (symbolized as question marks) “?“ may be interpreted as the
trailing “S”-dental, which is also found in *TʰĒGʷAII S, *TʰĒGʷASDE and ThĒBAIS.
The first Greek polis has been identified as Thebes, originally concentrated as a citadel named
Cadmea. Today Thebes is named Thiva (or ThIVA), and initially in tables to be read as *TʰĒGʷAII S
(Ancient Greek: Θήβαις, ThĒBAIS, i.e. "at Thebes", Thebes in the dative-locative case), te-qa-de,[n
2] for *TʰĒGʷASDE (Θήβασδε, ThĒBASDE, i.e. "to Thebes"),[1][4] and te-qa-ja,[n 3] for
*TʰĒGʷAJA (Θηβαία, ThĒBAIA, i.e. "Theban woman").[1]. *TʰĒGʷAII S may be interpreted as a 5-
letter name for the the 5 Places of articulation.
The pattern of the 5 Places of articulation in the Greek alphabet may still be found as a concentrated
foundation in a number of Greek settlements, which are documented in the Catalogue of Ships in
the Iliad by Homer and additionally in the names of the Cities in ancient Boeotia.
This paper investigates a number of other 5-letter names: ThĒBAIS (*TʰĒGʷAIIS), AULIS,
DAULIS, (Δ'ΑΥΛΊΣ), ThISBE, OURION, PYLOS (ΠΎΛΟΣ) and OLIZŌN (ὈΛΙΖΏΝ) for the the 5
Places of articulation. In these names the letters A B H T I U ? (including the equivalents D and Θ
for T, P for B, Ώ, Ō, Y for U, E, H and O for A, Y for I, and Z and R for S) are highlighted.
The names for the regions BOEOTIA and EÚBOIA may also be based on the relevant phonemes (A
B H T I U ?), but the dental symbol S is missing.

Boeotia (Greek: Βοιωτία; modern: VIOTÍA; ancient: Boiōtía) is one of the regional units of Greece.
It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its largest city is Thebes
(ThĒBAIS).
50% of the 8 selected settlements' names of Homer's Catalogue of Ships are Boeotian.
The cities Hyria (HYRIA) and stony Aulis (AULIS), where the fleet assembled, lead the Boeotian
contingents in the Catalogue of Ships in the Iliad of Homer.[2]
Aulis (AULIS) may be related to Daulis (DAULIS).
A special, remarkable name for a settlement is HYRIA, which is documented in a legend of Orion
(OURION). In Greek mythology, Orion (Ancient Greek: ὨΡΊΩΝ or ὨΑΡΊΩΝ; Latin: Orion)[1]
was a giant huntsman whom Zeus (or perhaps Artemis) placed among the stars as the constellation
of Orion.

6 Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 277 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) : "First Inventors.
The Parcae (Fates) [Moirai], Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos invented seven Greek letters--A B H T I U."
Contents
Abstract.................................................................................................................................................1
The initiation of the Greek alphabet.....................................................................................................2
Legends............................................................................................................................................2
The introduction of a 6-letter or 7-letter alphabet............................................................................3
A word at the introduction of the Greek alphabet.......................................................................3
The names of the legendary founders of the city of Thebes............................................................4
ἘΧῙΥΩΝ........................................................................................................................................4
The Catalogue of Ships in the Iliad of Homer.................................................................................5
Words with references to Boeotia ...................................................................................................6
Thebes.........................................................................................................................................6
Hyria / Ourion.............................................................................................................................6
Aulis............................................................................................................................................7
Daulis (in Phocis)........................................................................................................................7
Thisbe..........................................................................................................................................7
Kynos (in Locris)........................................................................................................................7
Pylos (in Messenia).....................................................................................................................7
Olizon (Thessaly)........................................................................................................................7
Evia, Eúboia................................................................................................................................7
Summary...............................................................................................................................................8