The Greek language is the official language of the Hellenic Republic and has a total of 15 million speakers worldwide; it is an Indo-European language. The Greek language is particularly remarkable in the depth of its continuity from its beginnings in pre-history as the Linear A script associated with Minoa Civilization, on to the more recognizable Linear B script, and then eventually the dialects of Ancient Greek, of which Attic Greek bears the most resemblance to Modern Greek.

Understanding Our Hellenic Roots and Heritage

The Greek Language

Papyrus fragment of Alkiviades by Plato

The Greek language is the official language of the Hellenic Republic and has a total of 15 million speakers worldwide; it is an Indo-European language. The Greek language is particularly remarkable in the depth of its continuity from its beginnings in pre-history as the Linear A script associated with Minoa Civilization, on to the more recognizable Linear B script, and then eventually the dialects of Ancient Greek, of which Attic Greek bears the most resemblance to Modern Greek. The history of the language spans 3000 years. Greek has had enormous impact on other languages both directly on the Romance Languages, and indirectly through its influence on the emerging Latin language during the early days of Rome. Signs of this influence, and its many developments, can be seen throughout the family of Western European languages. The Internet and "Greeklish". More recently, due to the rise of internet-based communication services as well as cell phones, a distinctive form of Greek written partially and sometimes fully in Latin characters has emerged; this is known as Greeklish, a form that has spread across the Greek Diaspora and even to the two nations with majority Greek speaking populations, Cyprus and Greece. Katharévousa. Katharévousa is a purified form of the Greek Language midway between modern and ancient forms set in train during the early 19th century by Greek intellectual and revolutionary leader Adamantios Korais, intended to return the Greek language closer to its ancient form. Its influence, in recent years, evolved toward a more formal role, and it came to be used primarily for official purposes such as diplomacy, politics and other forms of official documentation. It has nevertheless had significant effects on the Greek language as it is still written and spoken today, and both vocabulary and grammatical and syntactical forms have re-entered Modern Greek via Katharevousa. Dialects. There are a variety of dialects of the Greek language; the most notable include Cappadocian, Cypriot Greek, Pontic Greek, the Greco Language spoken in Southern Italy, and Tsakonian, still spoken in the modern prefecture of Arcadia and widely noted as a surviving regional dialect of Doric Greek. Literature. Greece has a remarkably rich and resilient literary tradition, extending over 2800 years and through several eras. The Classical era is that most commonly associated with Greek Literature, beginning in 800 BCE and maintaining its influence through to the beginnings of Byzantine period, where after the influence of Christianity began to spawn a new development of the Greek written word. The many elements of a millennia-old tradition are reflected in Modern Greek literature, including the works of the Nobel laureates Odysseus Elytis and George Seferis. Classical Greece. The first recorded works in the western literary tradition are the epic poems of Homer and Hesiod. Early Greek Lyric Poetry, as represented by poets such as Sappho and Pindar, was responsible for defining the lyric genre as it is understood today in western literature. Aesop wrote his Fables in the 6^th century BC. These innovations were to have a profound influence not only on Roman poets, most notably Virgil in his epic poem on the founding of Rome, the Aeneid, but one that flourished throughout Europe. Classical Greece is also judged the birthplace of theatre. Aeschylus introduced the ideas of dialogue and interacting characters to playwriting and in doing so, he effectively invented "drama": his Oresteia trilogy of plays is judged his crowning achievement. Other refiners of playwriting were Sophocles and Euripides. Aristophanes, a comic playwright, defined and shaped the idea of comedy as a theatrical form.

An 11 century Byzantine Gospel, its beautiful presentation perfectly illustrates the decorative style employed by scholars of that age.

Herodotus and Thucydides are often attributed with developing the modern study of history into a field worthy of philosophical, literary, and scientific pursuit. Polybius first introduced into study the concept of military history. Philosophy entered literature in the dialogues of Plato, while his pupil Aristotle, in his work the Poetics, formulated the first set criteria for Literary Criticism. Both these literary figures, in the context of the broader contributions of Greek philosophy in the Classical and Hellenistic eras, were to give rise to idea of Political Science, the study of political evolution and the critique of governmental systems.