These names are officially spelled with the Greek alphabet. There are many transliteration schemes, giving rise to many variant names. For English names, I chose the spellings that are most often met in literature or news reports. A knowledge of the variations in transliteration schemes makes it easier to recognize variant names. The pronunciation of the letter Beta in Ancient Greek was like our B, but in Modern Greek more like V, so it may be transliterated either way. Likewise, Eta is usually E for Ancient Greek words, I for Modern. Gamma-Gamma is a diphthong, pronounced (and usually transliterated) "NG". Delta may be represented as D or DH; Gamma as G or Y; Phi as F or PH; Rho as R or RH; Kappa as K or C; Chi as KH or CH; and Upsilon as Y, U, or I, or, after a vowel, V or F. There is a diacritical mark similar to a reversed apostrophe called "rough breathing". In transliteration, it may be ignored, or may be shown as H. For example, it comes at the start of Ellas/Hellas, meaning Greece.
