Latin was original written either from right to left, left to right, or alternating between those two directions (boustrophedon).Many of the letters have serveral different shapes in different inscriptions and texts. This is one version of the Ancient Latin alphabet.

Other letters were added from time to time as the Latin alphabet was adapted for other languages. The letters Y and Z were taken from the Greek alphabet to write Greek loan words. It was adapted from the Etruscan alphabet during the 7th century BC. The earliest known inscriptions in the Latin alphabet date from the 6th century BC. There is no historical evidence to support this story, which comes from the Roman author, Gaius Julius Hyginus (64BC - 17AD). This was introduced to Latium by Evander, her son. Since then it has had many different forms, and been adapted to write many other languages.Īccording to Roman legend, the Cimmerian Sibyl, Carmenta, created the Latin alphabet by adapting the Greek alphabet used in the Greek colony of Cumae in southern Italy. The Latin, or Roman, alphabet was originally adapted from theĮtruscan alphabet during the 7th century BC to write Latin.

Old english font letter y