The Greeks of Asia Minor on the other hand, and those of the islands of the Archipelago, and also the Corinthians on the mainland appear, when this proposal reached them, to have already had in use for the sound -- "id:xi iota" the fifteenth sign of the Phoenician alphabet -- "id:XI" (Samech); accordingly of the three new signs they adopted the -- "id:PHI" for -- "id:phi iota", but employed the -- "id:CHI" not for -- "id:xi iota", but for -- "id:chi iota".

The third sign originally invented for -- "id:chi iota" was probably allowed in most instances to drop; only on the mainland of Asia Minor it was retained, but received the value of -- "id:psi iota".

The mode of writing adopted in Asia Minor was followed also by Athens; only in its case not merely the -- "id:psi iota", but the -- "id:xi iota" also, was not received and in their room the two consonants continued to be written as before .-- II.

Equally early, if not still earlier, an effort was made to obviate the confusion that might so easily occur between the forms for -- "id:iota S" and for -- "id:s E"; for all the Greek alphabets known to us bear traces of the endeavour to distinguish them otherwise and more precisely.

Already in very early times two such proposals of change must have been made, each of which found a field for its diffusion.