On the topic of pronunciation, say, "beta", "eta", "zeta" — is the first vowel actually pronounced as "ei" in English, instead of just "e" (as in "bed")? "Mew"

On the topic of pronunciation, say, "beta", "eta", "zeta" — is the first vowel actually pronounced as "ei" in English, instead of just "e" (as in "bed")? "Mew" and "new" are actually a good approximation for the ancient Greek letter names: actual sound was of course "y", "i Graeca", but it's close enough, the blending of initial "j" with following "u" produces a reduced "y".