Sampi

Sampi is the name of a additional letter of the Greek alphabet become a numeral sign being worth 900. Its origin is not clear.

The problem of the sampi

The letter which one names thus - is σαμπεῖ sampeĩ , σαμπῖ sampĩ , σανπεῖ sanpeĩ or σανπῖ sanpĩ in Greek old - raises many difficulties of interpretation (what one can note easily only with the number of possible C-Ws communication that one gives to his name). Indeed, it is not attested, almost, only like signs clean with the alphabetical numeration of Millet whereas the other numeral letters not being useful more that to indicate numbers ( Digamma and Koppa ) clearly go back to antiquated letters of the Greek alphabet now uncommon for the writing of the words but preserved, under a modified C-W communication, for numeration.

Origins

Several assumptions were put forth concerning the origin of the sampi . The first point to note is that the letter was rejected at the end of the numeral alphabet, which generally indicates a loan (to the manner of Y and Z that the Romans imported Greek alphabet directly) or an invention (as the sign for /f/ in form of 8 of the Etruscan Alphabet), so that the alphabetical order old is not disturbed. The letter would be thus an innovation, made necessary by the fact that it if not would have missed a sign for the last numerical value, 900. This addition of an additional sign would explain why

Indices given by the name

The name even of the letter is subject to deposit.

There exists a rather improbable possibility for explains the name sampi : it would be composed of σάν and πῖ, the first term being the denomination of the antiquated letter san , ϻ, the second of the letter pi , π. However, it is not conclusive for the form: one does not recognize the layout of a san and this letter is absent from alphabets epichoric of Ionie (let us recall that Greek alphabetical numeration comes from the Ionian Millet city). Moreover, san does not intervene in Ionian numeration, since this letter is unknown there: sampi cannot thus come from it. A bond with san of another nature is however possible if one regards that the sampi epigraphic comes, as the san , of the ṣādē phenician (see low).

The already old assumption seems more admissible: the name is descriptive and is based on a purely formal similarity between the sampi and the letter π pi : indeed, the name σαvπῖ can be included/understood like the fusion of σὰν πῖ, i.e. in medieval Greek (and modern), “like pi ” (of the old Greek ὡσὰν πῖ). The passage of ν with µ in front of a π is regular in Greek. The name would be thus descriptive; it is true that the layout of the sampi returns it near to a tilted pi (the similarity between sampi and pi is more or less visible according to the pig iron and cast iron). The name, however, is probably quite posterior with the letter: interpretation was thus made a posteriori and it is certain that the sampi is not derived from pi .

Indices epigraphic

Michel Lejeune notes the existence, in certain alphabets of Asian Ionie (in Téos, Éphèse, Cyzique, Halicarnasse, for example, but not in Milet) and in Pamphylie (Pergè, Sillyon) of a local letter which was not preserved a long time (it is attested between half of the 6th century and half of the 5th century before the Christian era in Ionie, between and in Pamphylie). The letter in question, that M. Lejeune identifies with the sampi , traced various ways, in which and in Pamphylie.

It was used to note the whistling strong intervocalic exit of various phonetic Modifications (of which the Palatalisation old *k and *t of the Greek prehistoric) and noted in the majority of the dialects by ΣΣ, ΤΤ in Ionian-attic (of the remainder, starting from Ve century, one notices in the alphabets of Ionie the progressive replacement from ΣΣ, which one can interpret like the index of a pronunciation passed to). Into Ionian of Asia and pamphylien, it is possible that it was marked. Here some examples of raised words: ΤΕΑΡΑϘΟΝΤΑ (with Éphèse; in Ionian-attic: τετταράκοντα, elsewhere: τεσσαράκοντα, “forty”), ΘΑΛΑΗΣ (with Téos; in Ionian-attic: θαλάττης, elsewhere: θαλάσσης, “sea” with the Genitive”). For the pamphylien, the name of Artémis is noted ϜΑΝΑΑ (normally with a Digamma initial layout differently), which corresponds in Ionian-attic to ἄνασσα, “Queen”.

Always according to M. Lejeune, the Ionian sampi would be a loan with the alphabet Carien. It would be righter of speaking about a loan to a writing derived from the Greek being used for a Anatolian Langue without specifying which since Téos and Éphèse are in Lydie, Halicarnasse in Carie and the zone pamphylienne very near to the Lycie. Remainder, there exists in the alphabet Lycien a sign very close to the sampi pamphylien () being used to write a transcribed consonant τ (whose phonetic value is not clear). The Anatolian origin is plausible but it is not obvious to affirm the exact source of the Greek sampi S: there exist several characters of close layout and, especially, their phonetic value is not sure.

Other scientists, Pierre Swiggers, consider that the Greek sampi comes, just as the san (Ϻ), of the ṣādē phenician, traced. It would have in this case to be accepted that the alphabet Anatolian then borrowed from the Greek this rare form of the ṣādē to form the characters which, on their premises, resemble the various layouts of the sampi . Sampi and san would be then two different layouts for same a étymon.

It is thus quite possible that it thus later was named because it resembled a pi . The Ionian ones of Millet would then have added it at the end of their numeral alphabet to make it complete, without to be themselves about it been useful in their inscriptions.

Evolution of the layout

Such a letter, of which the use was relatively rare and the obscure origin, could only be deformed with the wire of the centuries. To forward the current eye, Ϡ, of the old forms or, it is necessary to call upon the Greek Oncial, in whom number 900 is represented by the sign: the passage of to is clear. It is about a simplification of the form. It is besides this layout which was transmitted to the gotic Alphabet (whose numeration is borrowed from Greek), where one A.

While continuing to undergo modifications during the Middle Ages, the sampi arrived from there at the layout running, still used nowadays.

Data-processing coding

Unicode still does not envisage ─ (version 4) ─ of distinction between the ancient sampi and the numeral sampi . The sign is now bicameral and one notes rather important differences in layout between the font faces for the capital , which are explained if one remembers that alphabetical numeration is used in Greece with the manner of our Roman numerals, and that it appears in capitals only in titles (of chapters, for example). However, it is rare that one comes to chapter 900. Here sites retained by Unicode:

sampi in capital Ϡ (U+03E0):

UTF-8 : 0xCF 0xA0;
UTF-8, octal representation: \ 317 \ 240
decimal numerical entity: & #992; ;

sampi into tiny ϡ (U+03E1):

UTF-8 : 0xCF 0xA1;
UTF-8, octal representation: \317\241 ;
decimal numerical entity: & #993; .

Appendices

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