The Greek Alphabet

π is the sixteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. The Greek alphabet has 24 letters and it is similar to those used by most European languages, although it has some different characters.

The English alphabet is derived from the Greek alphabet. Greek letters are widely used in mathematics and science and it is worthwhile being familiar with them.

The Ancient Greeks were a civilization that really cared about mathematics.

Their mathematicians were amongst the first to write down rigorous proofs* of their mathematical discoveries.

The Ancient Greeks had a wealth of brilliant mathematicians, many of whom are still well known today including Aristotle, Archimedes, Pythagoras and Euclid.

Euclid collected together many of the greatest theorems of his time. He produced proofs in a style which is still used in mathematics today.

His book ‘Elements’ was used to teach mathematics until the 20th century and it is still interesting to read. It deals with geometric constructions such as perpendicular bisectors and also delves into number theory and algebra.

Lower Case

Upper Case

Name

alpha

beta

gamma

delta

epsilon

zeta

eta

theta

iota

kappa

lamda

omicron

rho

sigma

tau

upsilon

phi

chi

psi

omega