The use of ει to represent etymologically long ῑ: a Greek imitation and/or adoption of a Roman scribal practice

The spelling patterns reflected in ancient Greek inscriptions and papyri may be described as the product of an interwoven lattice of historical phonological developments and popular trends in scribal practice. This is perhaps no more evident than in the rise of popularity of the ῑ → ει spelling convention in Greek inscriptions and papyri around the Mediterranean during the Roman period. A close analysis of this scribal feature suggests that its increased popularity is not only the product of phonological changes, but also social, cultural, geopolitical, and what may be termed 'socio-orthographic' changes as well. In the ancient Mediterranean world, a change in the ruling administration of a particular region could also precipitate significant changes in scribal trends and scribal practice. In this paper, we explain the increased popularity of the ῑ → ει spelling convention during the Roman period in light of all these aspects.