The C

Greek Learning Greek
1

I note that some Greek text uses the character “c”.

What is “c”?

Thanks

Aprotosimaki

2

The C is the sigma. Because of its shape it is called the lunate sigma and in texts where it is used it is employed equally at the end of words and in all other positions as well.

Sebastian

3

Sebastian,

Thank you for the answer. Seems like “C” for a sigma is a relatively new thing. My older books do not seem to use it; however, I was in a bookstore and saw a number of examples in more recent texts.

Thanks

Aprotosimaki


4

[quote author=aprotosimaki link=board=2;threadid=169;start=0#818 date=1055516080]

Thank you for the answer. Seems like “C” for a sigma is a relatively new thing. My older books do not seem to use it; however, I was in a bookstore and saw a number of examples in more recent texts.
[/quote]

I think it first got going in the 60s, but I think it’s one of the stupidest ideas. It’d be like insisting on printing modern English editions of older English works with the thorn (þ) for ‘th’. Yeah, it is sort of historical, but to use it now is an anacronism.

We don’t print Homer in unspaced, unpunctuated uncial, we use the Byzantine book hands…which did not use a lunate sigma.

Sorry. For some reason the lunate sigma in anything but palaeography texts drives me bonkers.