Boustrophedon | Ancient Greek, Alternating Lines, Scripts | Britannica (original) (raw)

boustrophedon Detail of the Gortyn code boustrophedon inscription on a wall in the Agora at Gortyn, Crete, Greece.

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boustrophedon, the writing of alternate lines in opposite directions, one line from left to right and the next from right to left. Some Etruscan texts are written in boustrophedon style, as are some Greek ones of about the 6th century bc. The word is from the Greek boustrophēdon, meaning literally “to turn like oxen” (in plowing).

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.