Sampi (letter) facts for kids
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Quick facts for kids Greek alphabet |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Αα | Alpha | Νν | Nu |
| Ββ | Beta | Ξξ | Xi |
| Γγ | Gamma | Οο | Omicron |
| Δδ | Delta | Ππ | Pi |
| Εε | Epsilon | Ρρ | Rho |
| Ζζ | Zeta | Σσς | Sigma |
| Ηη | Eta | Ττ | Tau |
| Θθ | Theta | Υυ | Upsilon |
| Ιι | Iota | Φφ | Phi |
| Κκ | Kappa | Χχ | Chi |
| Λλ | Lambda | Ψψ | Psi |
| Μμ | Mu | Ωω | Omega |
| Other letters | |||
| Ϝϝ | Digamma | Ⱶⱶ | Heta |
| Ϻϻ | San | Ϙϙ | Koppa |
| Ϡϡ | Sampi | Ϛϛ | Stigma |
| Ϸϸ | Sho | ||
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Sampi or Disigma is a mysterious Greek symbol. Its meaning is still debated today. At the moment it is thought by some that it is a letter for the number "900" used in the system of Greek numerals. And others believe it to be a replacement of 'san'. Before that, it was a letter that was used in the Greek alphabet in a few Greek cities in the 5th century BC. At that time, it looked like 
or 
. It was probably pronounced like "ts" or "tch" in the dialect of those cities. Over time, it was changed from to 
or 
and at last to 
.
Images for kids
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Coin of king Kanishka, with the inscription ÞΑΟΝΑΝΟÞΑΟ ΚΑΝΗÞΚΙ ΚΟÞΑΝΟ ("King of Kings, Kanishka the Kushan"), using Bactrian "þ" for š.
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Graeco-Iberian lead plaque from la Serreta (Alcoi), showing the Iberian form of sampi.
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