Alpha (uppercase Α, lowercase α) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 1. It derives from the Phoenician letter 'Aleph . Letters that arose from Alpha include the Latin A and the Cyrillic letter A. Image File history File links Greek_alphabet_alpha. ... The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since about the 9th century B.C.. It was the first true alphabet, that is, one with a symbol for each vowel and consonant, and is the oldest alphabet in use today. ... Beta (upper case Î’, lower case β) is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Gamma (upper case Γ, lower case γ) is the third letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Delta (upper case Δ, lower case δ) is the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Epsilon (upper case Ε, lower case ε) is the fifth letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Zeta (upper case Ζ, lower case ζ) is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. ... For other meanings of ETA, see ETA (disambig). ... Note: A theta probe is a device for measuring soil moisture. ... Iota (upper case Ι, lower case ι) is the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Kappa (upper case Κ, lower case κ) is the tenth letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Lambda (upper case Λ, lower case λ) is the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Mu (upper case Îœ, lower case μ) is the 12th letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Nu (upper case Ν, lower case ν) is the 13th letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Xi (upper case Ξ, lower case ξ) is the 14th letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Omicron (upper case Ο, lower case ο, literally small o) is the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Pi (upper case Π, lower case π) is the 16th letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Rho (upper case Ρ, lower case ρ) is the 17th letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Sigma (upper case Σ, lower case σ, alternative ς) is the 18th letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Tau (upper case Τ, lower case Ï„) is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Upsilon (upper case , lower case ) is the 20th letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Phi (upper case Φ, lower case φ or ) is the 21st letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Chi (upper case Χ, lower case χ) is the 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Psi (Ψ ψ) is the 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet and has a numeric value of 700. ... Omega (Ω ω) is the 24th and last letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Digamma, or Wau, (upper case , lower case ) is an obsolete letter of the Greek alphabet. ... San was a letter of the Greek alphabet, appearing between Pi and Qoppa in alphabetical order, corresponding in position although not in name to the Phoenician tsade. ... Qoppa Qoppa is an obsolete letter of the Greek alphabet and has a numeric value of 90. ... Sampi (Upper case Ϡ, lower case ϡ) is an obsolete letter of the Greek alphabet and has a numeric value of 900. ... The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since about the 9th century B.C.. It was the first true alphabet, that is, one with a symbol for each vowel and consonant, and is the oldest alphabet in use today. ... Greek numerals are a system of representing numbers using letters of the Greek alphabet. ... The Phoenician alphabet dates from around 1000 BC and is derived from the Proto-Canaanite alphabet. ...   Aleph (or alef) is the first letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic. ... Phoenician Aleph. ... The letter A is the first (1st) letter in the Latin alphabet. ... А (А, а) is the first letter of the Cyrillic alphabet. ...

Plutarch in Moralia presents a discussion on the question of why the letter alpha stands first in the alphabet. Plutarch's speaker suggests that Cadmus, the Phoenician who reputedly have settled in Thebes and introduced the alphabet to Greece, "placed alpha first because it is the Phoenician name for ox, which they, like Hesiod, considered not the second or third, but the first of necessities." This refers to a passage in Works and Days by Hesiod, who advised the early Greek farmers, "First get an ox, then a woman." A simpler explanation is that it was the first letter in the Phoenician alphabet. Plutarch Mestrius Plutarch (cz. ... External links The Moralia (loosely translatable as Matters relating to customs and mores) of Plutarch is an eclectic collection of 78 essays and transcribed speeches, which includes On the Fortune or the Virtue of Alexander the Great — an important adjunct to his Life of the great general — On the Worship... Phoenician can mean: The Phoenician ancient civilization The Phoenician alphabet The Phoenician languages This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Two important places in antiquity were called Thebes: Thebes, Greece – Thebes of the Seven Gates; one-time capital of Boeotia. ... Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ... Hesiod (Hesiodos, Ἡσιοδος) was an early Greek poet and rhapsode, believed to have lived around 700 BC. Greek historians debated the priority of Hesiod or of Homer, and even brought them together in an imagined poetic contest; most modern scholars agree that Homer lived before Hesiod. ... Hesiod (Hesiodos) was an early Greek poet and rhapsode, believed to have lived around the year 700 BCE. From the 5th century BCE, literary historians have debated the priority of Hesiod or of Homer. ...

According to Plutarch's natural order of attribution of the vowels to the planets, alpha was connected with the Moon. Oxen were also associated with the Moon in both early Sumerian and Egyptian religious symbolism due to the crescent shape of their horns. Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from the revision dated 2005-07-18, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... A planet is generally considered to be a relatively large mass of accreted matter in orbit around a star that is not a star itself. ... Crust composition Oxygen 43% Silicon 21% Aluminium 10% Calcium 9% Iron 9% Magnesium 5% Titanium 2% Nickel 0. ... Sumer (or Shumer, Sumeria, Shinar, native ki-en-gir) formed the southern part of Mesopotamia from the time of settlement by the Sumerians until the time of Babylonia. ...

The uppercase letter alpha is not generally used as a symbol because it tends to be rendered identically to the uppercase latin A. The letter A is the first (1st) letter in the Latin alphabet. ...

The lower-case letter α is used as the symbol for:

• Angular acceleration in physics.
• The alpha particle and alpha decay in physics.

Alpha, both as a symbol and term, is used to refer to or describe a variety of things, including the first or most significant occurrence of something; see Alpha. Angular acceleration is the rate of change of angular velocity over time. ... An alpha particle is deflected by a magnetic field Alpha particles or alpha rays (named after the first letter in the greek alphabet) are a form of particle radiation which are highly ionizing and have low penetration. ... Alpha decay is a form of radioactive decay in which an atomic nucleus ejects an alpha particle and transforms into a nucleus with mass number 4 less and atomic number 2 less. ... The first letter of the Greek alphabet, Α α, also has some cultural meanings; see alpha (letter). ...