Sampi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Greek alphabet
Αα	Alpha	Νν	Nu
Ββ	Beta	Ξξ	Xi
Γγ	Gamma	Οο	Omicron
Δδ	Delta	Ππ	Pi
Εε	Epsilon	Ρρ	Rho
Ζζ	Zeta	Σσ	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	Ϟϟ	Koppa
Ϛϛ	Stigma	Ϡϡ	Sampi
Ͱͱ	Heta	Ϸϸ	Sho
Ϻϻ	San

Sampi or Disigma is a mysterious Greek symbol. Its meaning is still debated today. Some 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 . Eventually, the letter came out of use, while it was still used to denote "900" in the system of Greek numerals.

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.