Etruscan

     The Etruscan letters are quite similar to the Greek, but they were written from right to left rather than left to right. Though the characters are familiar to linguists the Etruscan language is still undeciphered except for some individual words.

Greek

     The Greek alphabet is very old and it has changed over the centuries. A very early form is known as Linear B from the 13th century b.c.

     Letters carved into stone are usually quite simple, mostly straight lines as in this fragment of the Acropolis in Athens in the 5th century b.c.

     The 11th century manuscript shows the form Greek letters took in manuscripts written on parchment. The text is written in miniscule letters, all lower case, although the title is in majuscules, capital letters. Only later were the upper and lower case letters mixed on a page.

    The most recent example is from the 19th century manuscript of the Memoirs of Ioannis Makryiannis (1797-1831). He wrote about his part in the Greek struggle for independence from the Turks in 1821-1830.