Histories

At this time the Greeks who were settled around them were for the most part Ionians, and after being taught the letters by the Phoenicians, they used them with a few changes of form. In so doing, they gave to these characters the name of Phoenician, as was quite fair seeing that the Phoenicians had brought them into Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeGreece.[*](Whether Herodotus' theory of derivation be right or not, there is certainly a similarity in the form and order of early Greek and Phoenician letters.)

The Ionians have also from ancient times called sheets of papyrus skins, since they formerly used the skins of sheep and goats due to the lack of papyrus. Even to this day there are many foreigners who write on such skins.

I have myself seen Cadmean writing in the temple of Ismenian Apollo at Thebes [23.3333,38.325] (Perseus) Thebes of Boeotia (department), Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, Europe Boeotia engraved on certain tripods and for the most part looking like Ionian letters. On one of the tripods there is this inscription:

1. Amphitryon dedicated me from the spoils of[*](This is reading e(lw/n, Meineke's change for the MSS e)w/n. ) Teleboae.