How to Convert the Greek Numerical Alphabet

The Greek number system correlates values to the letters of the Greek alphabet.

The ancient Greek civilization made advancements in many areas, including several in mathematics. In their calculations they used a number system based on their alphabet. Though in the following centuries, the Arabic numeral system has taken hold in Greece as in the rest of the West, in Greece today the number system is occasionally used in official contexts similar to the Roman numeral system in the rest of Europe and America. Converting Greek numbers to standard numeration is a relatively simple process.

Instructions

1. Determine the value of each character in the number. For the single digit numbers, the letter alpha stands for 1, beta for 2, gamma for 3, delta for 4, epsilon for 5, zeta for 6, eta for 7and theta for 9. Beyond these, iota stands for 10, kappa for 20, lambda for 30, mu for 40, nu for 50, xi for 60, omicron for 70, pi for 80, rho for 100, sigma for 200, tau for 300, upsilon for 400, phi for 500, chi for 600, psi for 700, omega for 800. Special characters digamma or stigma both stand for 6.

2. Add the values together. Take into account there is no zero character, but if there is an iota superscript written next to a letter, it indicates to multiply it by 1,000.

3. Write the number in standard numeration. A commonly given example from the Christian New Testament is chi, xi, stigma, adding up to 666, or the number of the beast.

References

• Lahanas, Michael: Greek Numbers