Ancient Greek Numbers and their Symbols

Learning from Pythagoras Tetractys Art, Education, Symbols and Signs, default

The Ancient Greek Numerical System

Pythagoras Symbols Numbers and Tetractys by Nataša Pantović

The divine number, the holy holy Tetractys, we find as a symbol expressing god / divine. The number or a symbol: + , 10, used in Ancient Greece, in Ancient China, and within the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, with its ten spheres.

Tetractys Pythagoras and the Meaning of the number 10 Ten

Ancient Greek Numbers & Corresponding Letters

Have you ever wonder how the Ancient Greek Numerical system looked like? Knowing the Roman numbers (I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X MCC ) give us an important clue, that the Ancient Greek Numerology must have had alphabetic letters assigned to a number. Manipulating numbers, for our wise anscestors, and ancient philosophers,  have also meant, the metaphysics of sounds.

When Ancient Greek Philosophers, and Pythagoras spoke of one (1), two (2), three (3), and four (4 )they also spoke of the SOUNDS.

Ancient Greek Numbers and Corresponding Symbols

Ancient Greek numbers and their symbols

The number 1 or Alpha narrates a story of "F" not "A" that is a symbol of F of both "PH" and "F" of Ancient Egyptians Kings nd Priests. The omega tells us of "G" of George 

	YHW
A α	Α / F	1								I	ι	Ι	10													R ρ	Ρ	100	+
B β	Β	2								K	κ	Κ	20													S σ	Σ	200
G γ	Γ	3								L	λ	Λ	30													T τ	Τ	300
D δ	Δ	4								M	μ	Μ	40													U υ	Υ	400
E ε	Ε	5								N	ν	Ν	50													F φ	Φ	500
W	Ϛ Vau*	6								Xi	ξ	Ξ	60													Xi χ	Χ	600
C ζ	C	7								O	ο	Ο	70													Ψ č	Ψ	700
η	eta	8								P	π	Π	80													DŽ	Ω	800
Θ	Θ theta	9								koppa*	Ž	Ϟ	90													Koppa* Đ	Ϡ	900

 * Vau, koppa, and sampi are obsolete characters

In the ancient and medieval manuscripts, the numerals had a letter + overbars: α, β, γ

In Ancient Greek for example, 241 as 200 + 40 + 1 would have been ΣMA or 666 is written as χξϛ (600 + 60 + 6) 

Ž Č Š Đ DŽ are inserted by myself, for the comparison of the Ancient Greek Symbols and the Cyrilic letters. The Ancient Greek does not have the hard sounds of Ch, Dž, Zh.

The Tetractys symbolizes the four elements: fire, air, water, and earth

Tetractys κτισις = creation = sounding as ThISiS

The first four numbers for Pythagoras symbolize the musica universalis and the Cosmos:

1 = Unity or Monad, zero dimension (a point)

2 = Dyad, one dimension (a line of two points)

3 = Triad, two dimensions, a plane defined by a triangle

4 = Kosmos (Tetrad), a tetrahedron defined by four points

The four rows add up to ten, which was unity of a higher order or the Dekad.

 

Pythagoras primary numbers symbolical meaning of one, two, three, four, five, six, ten

“Bless us, divine number, thou who generated gods and men! O holy, holy Tetractys, thou that containest the root and source of the eternally flowing creation! For the divine number begins with the profound, pure unity until it comes to the holy four; then it begets the mother of all, the all-comprising, all-bounding, the first-born, the never-swerving, the never-tiring holy ten, the keyholder of all.”

A Pythaorian Prayer and the number 10 in Tetractys

 The Pythagorean Oath also mentioned the Tetractys:

"By that pure, holy, four lettered name on high,

nature's eternal fountain and supply, 

the parent of all souls that living be,

by him, with faith find oath, I swear to thee."

The Tetractys or Decad (for it has 10 numbers and letters included) is both a mathematical idea and a metaphysical concept of consciousness. 

In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses (Ancient Greek: Μοῦσαι, Moũsai) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They are considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric songs, and myths that were related orally for centuries in these ancient cultures.

In current English usage, "muse" can refer in general to a person who inspires an artist, musician, or writer.

Perhaps the Muses were our first guardians of writing, back in 2,500 BC? 

Ancient Temples & Fire Stolen from Gods

Yi Chinese character representing One, 1, I, Io, Jahowa, Jedan, Sacred Script of Neolithic Europe and the Influence of China

Sacred Script of Neolithic Europe and Ancient China, Banpo pottery symbols Ancient China 5000 BC