Writing and Identity

Abstract

What did ancient Romans believe about the origins of their alphabet? Focusing on the fact that the alphabet was recognized by Roman authors to have been borrowed from the Greeks, who in turn had borrowed it from more ancient cultures in the eastern Mediterranean, this chapter shows how those borrowings were used by Romans in the classical period to echo and reinforce popular myths and ideals about their own hybrid cultural identity. Discussion includes a comparison of Greek and Roman myths of alphabetic origins, including those of Herodotus, Plato, Tacitus, and Pliny the Elder, and analysis of Roman theories about the sources for differences between the Greek and Roman alphabets, stemming from histories of transmission from older writing cultures in the Mediterranean, including Etruscans, Phoenicians, Egyptians, and Assyrians.