Distribution of Greek dialects, ca. 400 BC, after Risch (1955).

Ancient Greek, in classical antiquity before the development of the Koine as the lingua franca of Hellenism, was divided into several dialects. Likewise, Modern Greek is divided into several dialects, most of them deriving from the Koine. Image File history File links by en:User:Dbachmann, derived from Image:Greece 34 43 17 30 blank map. ... Image File history File links by en:User:Dbachmann, derived from Image:Greece 34 43 17 30 blank map. ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC - 400s BC - 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC Years: 405 BC 404 BC 403 BC 402 BC 401 BC - 400 BC - 399 BC 398 BC... Note: This article contains special characters. ... It has been suggested that Greco-Roman be merged into this article or section. ... The literal meaning of the Greek word koine (κοινή) is common. It is used in several senses: Koiné Greek (Κοινή Ἑλληνική), a Greek dialect that developed from the Attic dialect (of Athens) and became the spoken language of Greece at the time of the Empire of Alexander the Great. ... Lingua franca, literally Frankish language in Italian, was originally a mixed language consisting largely of Italian plus a vocabulary drawn from Turkish, Persian, French, Greek and Arabic and used for communication throughout the Middle East. ... The term Hellenistic (established by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen) in the history of the ancient world is used to refer to the shift from a culture dominated by ethnic Greeks, however scattered geographically, to a culture dominated by Greek-speakers of whatever ethnicity, and from the political dominance... A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος, dialektos) is a variety of a language used by people from a particular geographic area. ... Modern Greek (Νεοελληνική, lit. ...

Antiquity

• The earliest known dialect is Mycenaean Greek, the language spoken by the first hellenic settlers of the Greek mainland in the 2nd millennium BC. The classical distribution of dialects was brought about by the migrations of the early Iron Age Greek Dark Ages after the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization. Some speakers of Mycenaean were displaced to Cyprus while others remained inland in Arcadia, giving rise to the Arcadocypriot dialect.

• The Dorian invasion spread Doric Greek the coast of the Pelopennesus, for example of Sparta, Crete and the southernmost parts of the west coast of Asia Minor. Doric was standard for Greek lyric poetry, such as Pindar. North Western Greek used to be classified as a separate dialect, but is now usually subsumed under Doric. Macedonian is regarded by some authors as another Greek dialect, possibly related to Doric or NW Greek.^[1].

• Aeolic was spoken chiefly on the island of Lesbos (Lesbian) and the west coast of Asia Minor north of Smyrna.

• Ionic was mostly spoken along the west coast of Asia Minor, including Smyrna and the area to the south of it. Homer's Iliad and Odyssey were written in Homeric Greek, a kind of literary Ionic with some loan words from the other dialects. Ionic, therefore, became the primary literary language of ancient Greece, Epic Greek. Attic Greek, a sub- or sister-dialect of Ionic, was for centuries the language of Athens. Because Attic was adopted in Macedon before the conquests of Alexander the Great and the subsequent rise of Hellenism, it became the "standard" dialect that evolved into the Koine.

Important authors for the individual dialects include Thucydides for Attic, Herodotus and Archilochos of Paros for Ionian, Alcman and Ibycus of Rhegium for Doric, Sappho and Alcaeus for Aeolic (Lesbian), Corinna of Tanagra for Boiotic. Thessalic and Arcado-Cypriot never became literary dialects and are only known from inscriptions, and to some extent by the comical parodies of Aristophanes. The dialect of Homer is a mixture of several dialects. According to Dion Chrysostomus, a mixture of Aeolic, Doric and Attic-Ionic; however, the "Doric" elements are not actually Doric but rather archaisms within Aeolic. Map of Bronze Age Greece as described in Homers Iliad Mycenaean is the most ancient known form of the Greek language, spoken on the Greek mainland and on Crete in the 16th to 11th centuries BC, before the Dorian invasion. ... This article or section should include material from Greeks According to Thucydides, Hellenes were the people of Hellas. ... (3rd millennium BC – 2nd millennium BC – 1st millennium BC – other millennia) // Events To grasp the spirit of the 2nd millennium BC, we must divide it in two parts, for there is a period of change around its middle so important that it creates two separate sub-millennia. First half (2000... Iron Age Axe found on Gotland This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age, for the mythological Iron Age see Iron Age (mythology). ... The Greek Dark Ages (ca. ... This article is about the Greek archaeological site. ... Arcadia or Arkadía (Greek Αρκαδία; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a region of Greece in the Peloponnesus. ... Arcadocypriot was an ancient Greek dialect spoken in Arcadia and Cyprus between ca. ... This article or section should be merged with Dorian The Dorian invasion is one of the theories advanced to explain the decline of the Mycenaean civilization in ancient Greece. ... Distribution of Greek dialects, ca. ... The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus (Greek: Πελοπόννησος Peloponnesos; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a large peninsula in southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth. ... Sparta (Σπάρτη) was a city in ancient Greece, whose territory included, in Classical times, all Laconia and Messenia, and which was the most powerful state of the Peloponnesus. ... Crete (Greek Κρήτη / Kriti, Turkish: Girit) is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean Sea. ... Anatolia (Greek: ανατολη anatole, rising of the sun or East; compare Orient and Levant, by popular etymology Turkish Anadolu to ana mother and dolu filled), also called by the Latin name of Asia Minor, is a region of Southwest Asia which corresponds today to the Asian portion of Turkey. ... Pindar Pindar (or Pindarus / Pindaros) (522 BC – 443 BC), considered the greatest of the nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, was born at Cynoscephalae, a village in Thebes. ... Aeolic Greek is a linguistic term used to describe a set of rather archaic Greek sub-dialects, spoken mainly in Boeotia (a region in Central Greece), in Lesbos (an island close to Asia Minor) and in other Greek colonies. ... Lesbos (Greek: Λέσβος - Lésvos; see also List of traditional Greek place names, Lasia - Λασία, Makaria - Μακαρία, Mitonis - Μυτονίδα, Aegeira - Αιγείρα, Pelasgia - Πελασγία, Issa - Ίσσα, Imerti - Ιμερτή) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea; its inhabitants are called Lesvonians (rather than Lesbians) or Lesviotians. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Aeolic Greek. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Ä°zmir. ... Ionic Greek was a sub-dialect of the Attic-Ionic dialectal group of Ancient Greek (see Greek dialects). ... Bust of Homer in the British Museum For other uses, see Homer (disambiguation). ... The Iliad (Ancient Greek: Ιλιάς, Iliás) tells part of the story of the siege of the city of Ilium, i. ... Odysseus and Nausicaä - by Charles Gleyre The Odyssey (Greek: Οδύσσεια, Odússeia) is the second of the two great Greek epic poems ascribed to Homer, the first of which is the Iliad. ... Homeric Greek is the dialect of Ancient Greek that was used by Homer in the Iliad and Odyssey. ... Epic Greek is the dialect of Ancient Greek that was used to compose epic poetry, typically in dactylic hexameter. ... Attic Greek is the ancient dialect of the Greek language that was spoken in Attica, which includes Athens. ... Athens (Greek: Αθήνα Athína IPA ) is the capital of Greece and one of the most famous cities in the world. ... The Vergina Sun, a symbol associated with the Macedonian kingdom Macedon or Macedonia (from Greek ; see also List of traditional Greek place names) was the name of an ancient kingdom located in the northern-most part of ancient Greece, bordering the kingdom of Epirus on the west and the region... Alexander the Great fighting Persian king Darius III (not in frame) Alexander Mosaic from Pompeii, from a 3rd century BC original Greek painting, now lost). ... The literal meaning of the Greek word koine (κοινή) is common. It is used in several senses: Koiné Greek (Κοινή Ἑλληνική), a Greek dialect that developed from the Attic dialect (of Athens) and became the spoken language of Greece at the time of the Empire of Alexander the Great. ... Bust of Thucydides Thucydides (between 460 and 455 BC–circa 400 BC, Greek Θουκυδίδης, Thoukudídês) was an ancient Greek historian, and the author of the History of the Peloponnesian War, which recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens. ... Bust of Herodotus at Naples Herodotus of Halicarnassus (Greek: Ήροδοτος, Herodotos) was a historian who lived in the 5th century BC (484 BC-ca. ... Archilochus (or Archilochos) (ca. ... Alcman (7th cent. ... Ibycus, of Rhegium in Italy, Greek lyric poet, contemporary of Anacreon, flourished in the 6th century BC. He was included in the canonical list of nine lyric poets by the scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria. ... Ancient Greek bust of Sappho the Eresian. ... Alcaeus may refer to several ancient Greek figures: in mythology, Alcaeus was the son of Perseus and the father of Amphitryon. ... Corinna (or Korinna) was an Ancient Greek poet, probably of the 6th century BC. She came from Tanagra in Boeotia, and according to later legend was the teacher of the much better-known Theban poet Pindar. ... Bust of Aristophanes Aristophanes (c. ... Bust of Homer in the British Museum For other uses, see Homer (disambiguation). ... Dio Chrysostom, Dion of Prusa or Dio Cocceianus ( 40 AD– 120 AD) was a Greek orator, writer, philosopher and historian of the Roman Empire in the first century. ...

The dialects of Classical Antiquity are grouped slightly differently by various authorities. Pamphylian is a marginal dialect of Asia Minor and usually left uncategorized. Note that Mycenaean was only deciphered in 1952, and is therefore missing from the earlier schemes presented here. It has been suggested that Greco-Roman be merged into this article or section. ... Pamphylia, in ancient geography, was the region in the south of Asia Minor, between Lycia and Cilicia, extending from the Mediterranean to Mount Taurus. ... Anatolia (Greek: ανατολη anatole, rising of the sun or East; compare Orient and Levant, by popular etymology Turkish Anadolu to ana mother and dolu filled), also called by the Latin name of Asia Minor, is a region of Southwest Asia which corresponds today to the Asian portion of Turkey. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Northwestern, Southeastern

Ernst Risch, Museum Helveticum (1955): This article is an overview of the history of Greek. ... Greek (Greek Ελληνικά, IPA — Hellenic) is an Indo-European language with a documented history of 3,500 years. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... The Proto-Greek language is the common ancestor of the Greek dialects, including the Mycenean language, the classical Greek dialects Attic-Ionic, Aeolic, Doric and North-Western Greek, and ultimately the Koine and Modern Greek. ... The Proto-Greek language is the common ancestor of the Greek dialects, including the Mycenean language, the classical Greek dialects Attic-Ionic, Aeolic, Doric and North-Western Greek, and ultimately the Koine and Modern Greek. ... The Ancient Macedonian language was the tongue of the ancient Macedonians. ... Map of Bronze Age Greece as described in Homers Iliad Mycenaean is the most ancient attested form of the Greek language, spoken on the Greek mainland and on Crete in the 16th to 11th centuries BC, before the Dorian invasion. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... Aeolic Greek is a linguistic term used to describe a set of rather archaic Greek sub-dialects, spoken mainly in Boeotia (a region in Central Greece), in Lesbos (an island close to Asia Minor) and in other Greek colonies. ... Arcadocypriot was an ancient Greek dialect spoken in Arcadia and Cyprus between ca. ... Attic Greek is the ancient dialect of the Greek language that was spoken in Attica, which includes Athens. ... Distribution of Greek dialects, ca. ... Ionic Greek was a sub-dialect of the Attic-Ionic dialectal group of Ancient Greek (see Greek dialects). ... Koine Greek () is an ancient Greek dialect which marks the 2nd stage in the history of the Greek language. ... Medieval Greek (Μεσαιωνική Ελληνική) is a linguistic term that describes the third period in the history of the Greek language. ... Modern Greek (Νεοελληνική, lit. ... Modern Greek (Νεοελληνική, lit. ... Cappadocian (SIL: CPG; ISO 639-2: ine), also known as Cappadocian Greek or Asia Minor Greek is a Greek-Turkish mixed language, formerly spoken in Cappadocia (Central Turkey). ... Modern Greek (Νεοελληνική, lit. ... Griko, sometimes spelled Grico, is a Modern Greek dialect which is spoken by people in the Magna Graecia region in southern Italy and Sicily, and it is otherwise known as the Grecanic language. ... Katharevousa (Greek Καθαρεύουσα, IPA: ) is a form of the Greek language, created during the early 19th century by Adamantios Korais (1748-1833). ... Pontic Greek is a Greek language which was originally spoken on the shores of the Black Sea (Pontus). Pontics linguistic lineage stems from Attic Greek, and contains influences from Byzantine Greek, Turkish influence and some Persian and Caucasian borrowings. ... Tsakonian (also Tsakonic) (Standard Greek Τσακωνική Διάλεκτος — Tsakonic language — is a dialect of, or language closely related to, Standard Modern Greek, spoken in the Tsakonian region of the Peloponnese, Greece. ... Yevanic, otherwise known as Yevanika, Romaniote and Judeo-Greek, was the language of the Romaniotes, the group of Greek Jews whose existence in Greece is documented since the 4th century BCE. Its linguistic lineage stems from Attic Greek and the Hellenistic Koine (Κοινή Ελληνική) and includes Hebrew elements as well. ... 1955 (MCMLV in Roman) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

• Northern Greek
  • Doric/North-Western Greek
  • Aeolic
  • Pamphylian?
• Southern Greek
  • Ionian-Arcadian-Cyprian-Mycenaean

Alfred Heubeck: Distribution of Greek dialects, ca. ... Aeolic Greek is a linguistic term used to describe a set of rather archaic Greek sub-dialects, spoken mainly in Boeotia (a region in Central Greece), in Lesbos (an island close to Asia Minor) and in other Greek colonies. ... Pamphylian is a little-attested dialect of Ancient Greek which was spoken in Pamphylia, on the southern coast of Asia Minor. ... Ionic Greek was a sub-dialect of the Attic-Ionic dialectal group of Ancient Greek (see Greek dialects). ... Arcadocypriot was an ancient Greek dialect spoken in Arcadia and Cyprus between ca. ... Map of Bronze Age Greece as described in Homers Iliad Mycenaean is the most ancient attested form of the Greek language, spoken on the Greek mainland and on Crete in the 16th to 11th centuries BC, before the Dorian invasion. ...

• Northwestern group
  • Doric/North-Western Greek
  • Aeolic?
• Southeastern group
  • Ionian-Attic
  • Arcadocypriot

Distribution of Greek dialects, ca. ... North-Western Greek (NW Greek) was a Greek dialect spoken in the North-West of Greece (modern Epirus, West Greece, western Central Greece and the modern Ionian Islands) in Classical Antiquity. ... Aeolic Greek is a linguistic term used to describe a set of rather archaic Greek sub-dialects, spoken mainly in Boeotia (a region in Central Greece), in Lesbos (an island close to Asia Minor) and in other Greek colonies. ... Ionic Greek was a sub-dialect of the Attic-Ionic dialectal group of Ancient Greek (see Greek dialects). ... Attic Greek is the ancient dialect of the Greek language that was spoken in Attica, which includes Athens. ... Arcadocypriot was an ancient Greek dialect spoken in Arcadia and Cyprus between ca. ...

Western, Central, Eastern

A. Thumb, E. Kieckers, Handbuch der griechischen Dialekte (1932): 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ...

• Western Greek
  • Doric dialects
  • dialect of Achaia
  • dialect of Elis
  • North-Western Greek
• Central Greek
  • Aeolic
    • Boiotic
    • Thessalic
    • Lesbian
  • Arcadocyprian
• Eastern Greek (compare "Proto-Ionians")
  • Ionic
  • Attic
• Pamphylian

W. Porzig, Die Gliederung des indogermanischen Sprachgebiets (1954): Distribution of Greek dialects, ca. ... This article is about the modern Greek district Achaea. ... Elis, or Eleia (Greek, Modern: Ήλιδα Ilida, Ancient/Katharevousa: Ήλις, also Ilis, Doric: Άλις) is an ancient district within the modern prefecture of Ilia. ... North-Western Greek (NW Greek) was a Greek dialect spoken in the North-West of Greece (modern Epirus, West Greece, western Central Greece and the modern Ionian Islands) in Classical Antiquity. ... Aeolic Greek is a linguistic term used to describe a set of rather archaic Greek sub-dialects, spoken mainly in Boeotia (a region in Central Greece), in Lesbos (an island close to Asia Minor) and in other Greek colonies. ... Distribution of Greek dialects, ca. ... Map showing Thessaly periphery in Greece Thessaly (Θεσσαλια; modern Greek Thessalía; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is one of the 13 peripheries of Greece, and is further sub-divided into 4 prefectures. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Aeolic Greek. ... Arcadocypriot was an ancient Greek dialect spoken in Arcadia and Cyprus between ca. ... The Proto-Ionians are a hypothetical Early Bronze Age Hellenic people, whose existence has been postulated by Jean Faucounau. ... Ionic Greek was a sub-dialect of the Attic-Ionic dialectal group of Ancient Greek (see Greek dialects). ... Attic Greek is the ancient dialect of the Greek language that was spoken in Attica, which includes Athens. ... Pamphylian is a little-attested dialect of Ancient Greek which was spoken in Pamphylia, on the southern coast of Asia Minor. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

• Western Greek
  • North-Western Greek
  • Doric
• Aeolic
• Eastern Greek
  • Ionian-Attic
  • Arcadocyprian

North-Western Greek (NW Greek) was a Greek dialect spoken in the North-West of Greece (modern Epirus, West Greece, western Central Greece and the modern Ionian Islands) in Classical Antiquity. ... Distribution of Greek dialects, ca. ... Aeolic Greek is a linguistic term used to describe a set of rather archaic Greek sub-dialects, spoken mainly in Boeotia (a region in Central Greece), in Lesbos (an island close to Asia Minor) and in other Greek colonies. ... Ionic Greek was a sub-dialect of the Attic-Ionic dialectal group of Ancient Greek (see Greek dialects). ... Attic Greek is the ancient dialect of the Greek language that was spoken in Attica, which includes Athens. ... Arcadocypriot was an ancient Greek dialect spoken in Arcadia and Cyprus between ca. ...

Western, Thessalian, Boiotic, Eastern

C.D. Buck, The Greek Dialects (1973): 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1973 calendar). ...

• Western Greek
  • North-Western Greek
  • Doric
• Eastern Greek
  • Ionian-Attic
  • Lesbian
  • Arcadocyprian
• Thessalian
• Boiotic
• Pamphylian

North-Western Greek (NW Greek) was a Greek dialect spoken in the North-West of Greece (modern Epirus, West Greece, western Central Greece and the modern Ionian Islands) in Classical Antiquity. ... Distribution of Greek dialects, ca. ... Ionic Greek was a sub-dialect of the Attic-Ionic dialectal group of Ancient Greek (see Greek dialects). ... Attic Greek is the ancient dialect of the Greek language that was spoken in Attica, which includes Athens. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Aeolic Greek. ... Arcadocypriot was an ancient Greek dialect spoken in Arcadia and Cyprus between ca. ... Distribution of Greek dialects, ca. ... Pamphylian is a little-attested dialect of Ancient Greek which was spoken in Pamphylia, on the southern coast of Asia Minor. ...

Post-Hellenistic

• Attic Greek
  • Koine
    • Byzantine Greek language
      • Modern Greek
        • Dhimotiki
        • Katharevousa
      • Yevanic
      • Cypriot Greek
      • Griko (possibly with Doric elements)
  • Pontic Greek
  • Cappadocian Greek
  • Romano-Greek
• Doric Greek
  • Tsakonian

Tsakonian is the only modern Greek dialect that is not descended from Attic or the Koine. Attic Greek is the ancient dialect of the Greek language that was spoken in Attica, which includes Athens. ... The literal meaning of the Greek word koine (κοινή) is common. It is used in several senses: Koiné Greek (Κοινή Ἑλληνική), a Greek dialect that developed from the Attic dialect (of Athens) and became the spoken language of Greece at the time of the Empire of Alexander the Great. ... Byzantine Greek is an archaic variant of Greek language derived from Koine which was used by the administration of the Byzantine Empire from 395 until the fall of Constantinople in 1453. ... Modern Greek (Νεοελληνική, lit. ... Modern Greek (Νεοελληνική, lit. ... Katharevousa (Greek Καθαρεύουσα, IPA: ) is a form of the Greek language, created during the early 19th century by Adamantios Korais (1748-1833). ... Yevanic, otherwise known as Yevanika, Romaniote and Judeo-Greek, was the language of the Romaniotes, the group of Greek Jews whose existence in Greece is documented since the 4th century BCE. Its linguistic lineage stems from Attic Greek and the Hellenistic Koine (Κοινή Ελληνική) and includes Hebrew elements as well. ... The Cypriot dialect of Greek is spoken by more than half a million people in Cyprus and several hundred thousands abroad. ... Griko, sometimes spelled Grico, is a Modern Greek dialect which is spoken by people in the Magna Graecia region in southern Italy and Sicily, and it is otherwise known as the Grecanic language. ... Pontic Greek is a Greek language which was originally spoken on the shores of the Black Sea, the Pontus. ... Cappadocian (SIL: CPG; ISO 639-2: ine), also known as Cappadocian Greek or Asia Minor Greek is a Greek-Turkish mixed language, formerly spoken in Cappadocia (Central Turkey). ... Distribution of Greek dialects, ca. ... Tsakonian (also Tsakonic) (Standard Greek Τσακωνική Διάλεκτος — Tsakonic language — is a dialect of, or language closely related to, Standard Modern Greek, spoken in the Tsakonian region of the Peloponnese, Greece. ...

Note

1. ^{^}  It is as yet undetermined whether Macedonian was a separate yet sibling language which was most closely related to Greek, a dialect of Greek, or an independent Indo-European language not especially close to Greek.

A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος, dialektos) is a variety of a language used by people from a particular geographic area. ... The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred languages and dialects (443 according to the SIL estimate), including most of the major languages of Europe, as well as many in West, Central and Southern Asia. ...

External links

• http://titus.fkidg1.uni-frankfurt.de/didact/idg/grie/grdial.htm
• http://www.friesian.com/archon.htm
• Ethnologue report on Greek languages