How to add a greek character in png file created by gnuplot

Question

I am using a commercial sever with FreeBSD system without root account. I install gnuplot with my account. But, I can not set up fonts. So, I copy the fonts files in my home directory such as ~/usr/fonts

Then, I use followed scripts in my gnuplot files:

set term png enhanced font '/home/Tom/usr/fonts/truetype/msttcorefonts/verdana.ttf'
set out 'xrd.png'
set xlabel '2 {/Symbol q}'; 
set ylabel 'Count'; 
set xrange [:];
set yrange [:];
unset key;
set border lw 1;
plot './data.txt' using 1:2 with l linetype 1 linewidth 1;
set term xterm;
set out ;

However, I get the following errors when I run my scripts:

gdImageStringFT: Could not find/open font while printing string q with font Symbol
gdImageStringFT: Could not find/open font while printing string q with font Symbol

This might be because the font 'verdana.ttf' that I am using is not correct. But, I can use this font on my own PC with a Debian system.

Solution

Do not use /Symbol. That will not use the Verdana font.

According to this page, the Verdana font includes greek letters.

Use UTF-8 encoding by adding set encoding utf8 to your gnuplot file. Then insert the unicode symbol (according to this page: θ, greek small letter theta, U+03B8) into the label string using your favorite text editor.