Here's a breakdown:
* Ancient Greece: The Greeks adopted their alphabet from the Phoenicians. The Phoenician alphabet was written from right to left.
* Greek alphabet: The Greeks modified the Phoenician alphabet and introduced the concept of vowels. They also changed the writing direction to left to right. The first two letters of the Greek alphabet are alpha (Α) and beta (Β).
* Latin alphabet: The Romans adopted the Greek alphabet and further modified it. The Latin alphabet is the basis for many modern alphabets, including English.
* "Alphabet" word: The term "alphabet" itself was derived from the Greek "alpha" and "beta" and came into use in the late Middle Ages.
So, we call it an "alphabet" because it's a combination of the names of the first two letters of the Greek alphabet.