this post was submitted on 12 Dec 2023
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[โ€“] doctorn@r.nf 38 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Back to Greek then. ๐Ÿ˜…

[โ€“] AnneBonny@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 11 months ago (3 children)
[โ€“] crispy_kilt@feddit.de 13 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

It is similar in that they use characters from their alphabet as numerals but not exactly the same way as the Romans. Greek numerals are decimal, based on powers of 10, just like Roman and Arabic. The units from 1 to 9 are assigned to the first nine letters of the old Ionic alphabet from alpha to theta. Instead of reusing these numbers to form multiples of the higher powers of ten, however, each multiple of ten from 10 to 90 was assigned its own separate letter from the next nine letters of the Ionic alphabet from iota to koppa. Each multiple of one hundred from 100 to 900 was then assigned its own separate letter as well, from rho to sampi.

[โ€“] ytg@feddit.ch 9 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Not really, they're based on gematria like Hebrew numerals. ฮฑ = 1, ฮฒ = 2, ฮณ = 3 and so on

[โ€“] AnneBonny@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 11 months ago

my hebrew is a little rusty

[โ€“] doctorn@r.nf 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Roman got it from the Greek too before adapting it, iirc.

[โ€“] crispy_kilt@feddit.de 11 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Romans got like 80% of everything they stood for from the Greeks.

A joke goes: The Greek invented sex. The Romans later improved upon the idea by introducing women to it.

[โ€“] doctorn@r.nf 2 points 11 months ago

Hehe, yeah, even their God's were recycled Greek ones.