 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2019) |
| Ancient Greek | |
|---|---|
| Ἑλληνική Hellēnikḗ | |
 An inscription about the construction of the statue of Athena Parthenos in the Parthenon, 440/439 BC | |
| Region | Eastern Mediterranean |
Indo-European
| |
Early form | |
| Greek alphabet | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | grc |
| ISO 639-3 | grc (includes all pre-modern stages) |
| Glottolog | anci1242 |
 Map of Ancient (Homeric) Greece | |
Ancient Greek (Ἑλληνῐκή, Hellēnikḗ; [hellɛːnikɛ́ː])[1] includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (c. 1400–1200 BC), Dark Ages (c. 1200–800 BC), the Archaic or Epic period (c. 800–500 BC), and the Classical period (c. 500–300 BC).[2]
Ancient Greek was the language of Homer and of fifth-century Athenian historians, playwrights, and philosophers. It has contributed many words to English vocabulary and has been a standard subject of study in educational institutions of the Western world since the Renaissance. This article primarily contains information about the Epic and Classical periods of the language, which are the best-attested periods and considered most typical of Ancient Greek.
From the Hellenistic period (c. 300 BC), Ancient Greek was followed by Koine Greek, which is regarded as a separate historical stage, though its earliest form closely resembles Attic Greek, and its latest form approaches Medieval Greek. There were several regional dialects of Ancient Greek; Attic Greek developed into Koine.
- ^ Dalby, Andrew (28 October 2015). Dictionary of Languages: The definitive reference to more than 400 languages. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 230. ISBN 978-1-4081-0214-5.
- ^ Ralli, Angela (2012). "Greek". Revue belge de Philologie et d'Histoire. 90 (3): 964. doi:10.3406/rbph.2012.8269. Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2021.