Greek Numerals - Easy as AIR

I'm still trying to get the hang of posting images with Google's Hello, but after seven attempts here's a little jpeg I made to demonstrate Greek numerals. (I came up with this while covering a study hall as a sub.)


Greek Numerals 

The system incorporates 27 characters from the archaic alphabet, which means the inclusion of digamma (or sometimes stigma), koppa, and sampi. You'll notice that digamma (based on semitic wau) looks similar to and occupies the same position as Latin f. Likewise, koppa with Latin q.

Using this chart is fairly simple. The mnemonic AIR (alpha, iota, rho : αιρ) will help you to remember that these three character represent one, ten, and one hundred. Since there are 27 charαcters, or 9 each for ones, tens, and hundreds, the system allows for numbers as high as 999 (sampi koppa theta).

Numerals are normally marked by a stroke to the upper right (α' = 1), but multiples of 1000 are marked by a stroke to the lower left (,α = 1000).

Remember that these are all multiples: iota is 1 times 10 (10), kappa is 2 times 10 (20). 11 would be iota alpha (ια'), and 12 would be iota beta (ιβ').

Who knew it was that easy?

Browsing at the New Acquisitions Table

As the title states, I was just browsing at the new acquisitions table in the library. I noticed that they had the Bude addition of the Theriaka. Dennis: I'm assuming you have that available to you, but if not, let me know and I can copy any relevant sections for you. I also saw a fairly recent (2002) book by W. Clausen on the Aeneid with which I'm not familiar and whose subtitle is 'Decorum, Allusion, and Ideology'. Has anyone read any of it? Thoughts? For any Bryn Mawr readers in the Aeneid seminar: have you come across this book?

A couple other things of interest to me were a book on the 3rd century persecutions of Decius and Valerian and another collection called Early Christian Families in Context.

And Speaking of Solidi...

...Sarah brings us a link to a pucker-faced Honorius solidus, worth reproducing here: