An even permutation is a permutation obtainable from an even number of two-element swaps, i.e., a permutation with permutation symbol equal to . For initial set 1,2,3,4, the twelve even permutations are those with zero swaps: (1,2,3,4); and those with two swaps: (1,3,4,2, 1,4,2,3, 2,1,4,3, 2,3,1,4, 2,4,3,1, 3,1,2,4, 3,2,4,1, 3,4,1,2, 4,1,3,2, 4,2,1,3, 4,3,2,1).
For a set of elements and , there are even permutations, which is the same as the number of odd permutations. For , 2, ..., the numbers are given by 0, 1, 3, 12, 60, 360, 2520, 20160, 181440, ... (OEIS A001710).