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Article: SCHOLAR SAYS HOMER INSPIRED GREEK ABCS NEW THEORY ON ORIGINS OF KEY ALPHABET DRAWS QUESTIONS FROM OTHER CLASSICISTS
- Article from:
- The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)
- Article date:
- January 11, 1989
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright (null) The Boston Globe. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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BALTIMORE - In a new analysis of one of the great questions
in the history of Western civilization, a scholar asserts that the
Greek alphabet was invented -- perhaps by a single individual --
specifically to record the poetry of Homer, the immortal bard of
ancient Greece.
The radical proposal by Barry Powell of the University of
Wisconsin has evoked strong and varied reactions among specialists.
Most historians believe that the Greek writing system was invented
for use in inventories, catalogues or business accounts.
The development of the Greek alphabet made possible written
literature and is considered a keystone of Western culture.
"It is the most important technological ...