Α Numerals Ancient Greece

Greek Numerals Converter

Convert numbers (1-9,999) to ancient Greek notation in both the Attic (acrophonic) and Ionic (alphabetic) systems, with full symbol tables and historical context.

Ionic (Alphabetic) System

GreekValueLetter name
α1Alpha
ε5Epsilon
ι10Iota
ν50Nu
ρ100Rho
φ500Phi
χ1,000Chi
Α

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Both Greek numeral systems appear instantly.

Two Greek Systems

Attic (acrophonic): Used mainly in Athens, c.500-100 BC. Symbols derived from the first letter of Greek words: Π (pente = 5), Δ (deka = 10), Η (hekaton = 100), Χ (khilioi = 1000).

Ionic (alphabetic): Replaced Attic from about 400 BC onward. Uses all 27 letters of the Greek alphabet (including 3 archaic letters) as numerals. Still used for ordinals and chapter numbers in Greek texts today.

Attic era
c.500-100 BC
Ionic era
c.400 BC to present
Type
Additive (both)
Zero
Not used

Greek Mathematics Legacy

Despite the unwieldy numeral systems, ancient Greek mathematicians produced extraordinary work in geometry, number theory and astronomy. Archimedes, Euclid and Pythagoras all used these numerals. Greek numerals influenced later Roman numerals and are still used in the Orthodox Church and formal Greek texts.