Ancient Greek. In Encyclopedia of Linguistics, 2 vols., ed. Philipp Strazny. New York: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2005, 58-62 (original) (raw)

Ancient Greek (AG) is an Indo-European language recognized for its conservative features and significant historical span, which extends from its earliest written records around the 13th century BCE through various dialects and later forms, including Byzantine and Modern Greek. The language showcases substantial dialectal variation, with prominent literary dialects such as Ionic and Attic, culminating in a common koiné developed during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The study of Mycenean Greek, deciphered in the 20th century, highlights AG's early written forms and their linguistic characteristics.