Why do we use Greek letters, like alpha (α), beta (β), and gamma (γ), in mathematical notation?

Question

Why do we use Greek letters, like alpha (α), beta (β), and gamma (γ), in mathematical notation?

In: Mathematics

Answer 1

When we use variables, there is only so many letters that we can use. As such, when you have a very specific or special variable, you may want to give it something to make it stick out more then an arbitrary number