Attic Numerals History
The attic system was similar to other forms of numbering systems of that era.
Attic numerals history. Attic numbers were largely used for cardinal numbers for counting not for ordering and were not used to represent fractions. Attic numeration was used by the ancient greeks probably starting in the 7th century b c. They were also known as herodianic numerals because they were first described in a 2nd century manuscript by herodian. The roman numeral system was descended from ancient etruscan numerals itself adapted from the greek attic symbols.
The greek system of abbreviations known today as attic numerals appears in the records of the 5th century bce but was probably used much earlier. It is the oldest system of those employed by the greeks. They were also known as herodianic numbers as they appear described for the first time in a manuscript by herodian from the 2nd century. The letter is an archaic form of d pi not to be confused with e gamma.
Attic numerals were used by the ancient greeks possibly from the 7th century bc. The attic numerals are a symbolic number notation used by the ancient greeks. This system which arose around 500 b c. Or as acrophonic numerals from acrophony because the basic symbols derive from the first letters of the ancient greek words that the symbols represented.
Attica is a region of greece whose main city is athens. The letter h eta is usually pronounced as a long e. The system was somewhat flawed in that there was no symbol for zero 0 and no real method for counting above several thousand other than adding lines around numerals to indicate multiples. Our own word alphabet comes from the first two letters or numbers of the greek alphabet alpha and beta using the letters of their alphabet enabled them to use these symbols in a more condensed version of their old system called attic.
They were acrophonic derived after the initial one from the first letters of the names of the numbers represented. Or so used only six symbols. Attic refers to the greek territory of attica while herodianic refers to aelius herodianus a grammarian of the 2 nd century a d. Attic numerals were adopted possibly starting in the 7th century bce and were eventually replaced by the classic greek numerals around the 3rd century bce.
The attic or herodianic system of numerals was the first numeral system used in ancient greece. Who described the system in his writings.