Secret societies have existed for hundreds and sometimes even thousands of years.  The Freemasons are probably one of the most famously-recognized of all.  In 1776, a secret society was founded at the College of William & Mary called Phi Beta Kappa.  This group differed from those before it in that it had a Greek-letter name.  It was the first Greek fraternity and it set the traditions for those to come: the Greek letters, a secret ritual, a secret handshake, a badge, mottoes, and a code of laws.  It had regular meetings and an emphasis was placed on rhetoric, composition, and acting in a gentlemanly manner.  Eventually, Phi Beta Kappa discarded its secrecy and publicly revealed the secret motto for which it stands:

 

Phi Beta Kappa = Filosofia Bion Kuberneqes = Philosophia Bios Kybernethes = “Philosophy [is the] guide to life.”

 

  The fraternity system grew throughout the early 1800s with the formation of Kappa Alpha Society, Sigma Phi, and Delta Phi.  The three made up what is now called the Union Triad.  Moving westward into Ohio's Miami University, three fraternities were founded there: Beta Theta Pi, Delta Theta, and Sigma Chi.  These would form the Miami Triad.  These early groupings would later give way to a large expansion of the Greek system throughout the colleges for the better part of a century.  In the 1850s, Alpha Delta Pi was founded as the first sorority although Gamma Phi Beta was the first organization actually called a sorority (and is the only one to retain this in their official name).  Secret societies were generally looked down upon by most people throughout this time period.

  The National Panhellenic Conference was founded in 1902 to organize sororities and in 1909 the National Interfraternity Conference (now the North-American Inferfraternity Council) was founded to do the same with fraternities.  As African-Americans began to enter the college system in greater numbers, organizations such as Alpha Phi Alpha came about with mostly African-American membership as most other Greek organizations instituted racial and religious limitations on their membership until the 1960s.  Eventually the National Pan-Hellenic Council, the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations, and the National Multicultural Greek Council would also be formed to govern their respective organizations.  These new organizations have, since their founding, stressed professional connections and service more than social activities. 

  Meanwhile, the Greek system ran into trouble.  World War I and World War II sent most college-aged men into battle and many college-aged women into the workforce.  Many organizations could not support so many chapters with so little manpower in each, so many were shut down and some ceased to exist entirely.  Many fraternity and sorority houses were used to house troops as campuses often became primarily recruiting and training centers.  Many smaller organizations merged with larger ones in order to keep from disappearing entirely.  After WWII, the GI Bill brought an enormous influx of men into the college system.  Some schools found themselves with up to forty Greek organizations with at least fifty members each.  It was also mainly with this influx that a sad tradition of hazing proliferated. 

  The sixties and seventies carried a strong anti-establishment movement that doubled as an anti-Fraternity attitude as well.  Membership decreased overall, but the good side came with the Civil Rights Movement in that many organizations discarded all former racial and religious barriers to membership.

  The 1980s saw several major developments in the Greek system.  Membership began to recover as the attitudes of the 60s and 70s faded, but the legal changes to the drinking age created a very awkward position for Greek organizations.  Many Greek Organizations had become the centers of social life on many campuses.  Now this was a huge liability.  A great many changes came with this legislation, but much of it was probably for the better.

  The 1990s saw more changes for the Greek system.   Many groups were able to move away from the negative stereotypes created during those rougher years and became again a home away from home for students and a way of promoting leadership, scholarship, and community spirit.  Many campuses that lacked the huge colonial houses built earlier in the century created ultra-modern living areas for Greeks.

  Currently, some schools revolve around Greek Life and are incredibly traditional in how they operate.  Some schools don't even allow Greek organizations.  And there are many variations in between those two extremes.

  In addition to the social Greek organizations, many Greek-letter organizations today exist as honorary and scholarly societies that do not have the rituals, gatherings, secrets and other characteristics of the socials.