Hermodike I
Hermodike I has been attributed with inventing the Greek written script, i.e. the transfer of earlier technical knowledge from Phrygia into ancient Greek society through Aeolis. She is referred to by Aristotle. The same name was given as Demodike by Pollux. Academics state that Aristotle and Pollux, though ancient commentators, were not historians and so their unsubstantiated opinions may be misleading. Other historians have given the name as Hermodice or Damodice. Hermodike I was the daughter of a dynastic Agamemnon of Cyme and became the wife of Midas, king of Phrygia, who came to the throne in 738 BCE, or alternatively Gyges of Lydia, who was referred to as King Midas (680–644 BCE) after giving the Oracle at Delphi six gold bowls (extracted from the Pactolus river). She is described as "a woman distinguished by beauty and wisdom". She is the ancestor of Hermodike II, who has been attributed with inventing Greek coinage. Linguistic history Most specialists believe that the Phoenician alphabet was adopted for Greek during the early 8th century BC, perhaps in Euboea. The earliest known fragmentary Greek inscriptions date from this time, 770–750 BC, and they match Phoenician letter forms of c. 800–750 BC. The oldest substantial