Greek Alphabet A
Alpha
B
Beta
G
Gamma
D
Delta
E
Epsilon
Z
Zeta
H
Eta
Q
Theta
I
Iota
K
Kappa
L
Lambda
M
Mu
N
Nu
X
Xi
O
Omicron
P
Pi
R
Rho
S
Sigma
T
Tau
U
Upsilon
F
Phi
C
Chi
Y
Psi
W
Omega
Virginia. The Flat Hat Club was formed in 1750 and boasted Thomas Jefferson as one of its members.
Phi Beta Kappa, The First Greek Letter Society The Greek-letter fraternity system emerged with the birth of the United States of America in 1776. Only five months after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, five students at William & Mary founded Phi Beta Kappa on the night of December 5, 1776. Phi Beta Kappa has all the earmarks of our present day fraternities – a secret motto, recognition grip, ritual and the high ideals of morality, scholastic attainment and fellowship. The members of Phi Beta Kappa frequently gathered to discuss political matters. Since such meetings were prohibited at the time, it was natural that grips of recognition, passwords and secret meetings would be employed. Phi Beta Kappa decided to extend its values to other institutions, and within eleven years had established chapters at Yale, Harvard and Dartmouth. However, in 1831, influenced by a nationwide agitation against secret societies, the Harvard chapter of Phi Beta Kappa voluntarily disclosed its secrets. The entire organization then became an honorary society in which membership was conferred solely for distinguished scholarship. Having long since discontinued competition with social fraternities, Phi Beta Kappa today is widely distributed throughout the United States and remains purely honorary in character.
Union College, The Mother of Fraternities The Kappa Alpha Society, commonly referred to as the “Northern K.A.,” is the oldest of all existing social fraternities. It was organized at Union College in Schenectady, New York, in 1825, and it was patterned after the former status of Phi Beta Kappa. The popularity of social fraternities grew quickly at Union, with Sigma Phi and Delta Phi each appearing on the scene in 1827. As pioneer fraternities, the Kappa Alpha Society, Sigma Phi and Delta Phi came to be known as the “Union Triad.” When Psi Upsilon, Chi Psi and Theta Delta Chi each established their first chapters at Union College in the years that followed, Union earned the title “Mother of Fraternities.”
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