Question

Sometime around the ninth century B.C.E., the Greeks adapted an alphabet invented by the Phoenicians into their own language. The Greek alphabet, in turn, became the basis of the Latin alphabet used by the Romans. Which of the following most likely helped spread the idea of an alphabet from one Mediterranean civilization to another?

A. The Roman Empire had created a system of universities that encouraged the discussion of new ideas.
B. The Roman Empire had created a network of roads that allowed the free movement of ideas.
C. The Phoenicians and the Greeks were military powers who frequently fought wars against each other.
D. The Phoenicians and the Greeks were seafarers who traded extensively throughout the region.

Answer 1

Seafaring and trade between the Greek and Phoenician merchants was the most likely factor that helped to spread the idea of an alphabet from the Phoenicians to the Greeks. The Greeks then adapted the alphabet, adding vowels, which was later used as the basis for the Roman and modern European alphabets. The correct answer is option D.

Step-by-step explanation:

Which of the following most likely helped spread the idea of an alphabet from one Mediterranean civilization to another? The correct answer is D. The Phoenicians and the Greeks were seafarers who traded extensively throughout the region. Through their robust trade networks and interactions, the Phoenician invention of an alphabet around 1100 BCE, a simplified writing system allowing more people to become literate, was transmitted to Greek merchants and, in turn, adapted for the Greek language. This Greek adaptation, which included important innovations such as the addition of vowels, went on to influence the Latin alphabet used by the Romans and the alphabets used in present-day Latinate European languages such as English.

Trade between Greek and Phoenician merchants facilitated the spread of the Phoenician syllabic alphabet across the Mediterranean. This system was much simpler than previous symbolic writing, allowing regular merchants to become literate, ultimately leading to the Greeks recording their own literature, poetry, and drama. This hallmark of cultural exchange exemplifies how cultural interactions and the sharing of technologies like writing systems dramatically impacted the development of civilizations.

Greek and Phoenician societies shared the common expertise of seafaring, which served as a foundational aspect for the dissemination of the alphabet and other cultural traits between the two civilizations. As a result of maritime trade, the Phoenician alphabet slowly permeated Greek culture during the Archaic period, marking the return of literacy and ending the Aegean world's isolation after the Greek Dark Age. Moreover, this exchange laid the groundwork for the classical civilizations of Ancient Greece and Rome, which are foundational to Western civilization.