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How Ancient Greek Became the World’s Lingua Franca
Greek is considered one of the oldest languages. And is a living language, unlike the later Latin. Its earliest dialect, Mycenaean Greek, originated from the Indo-European language family around 1600 BCE. Six dialects emerged from Greece’s Ancient and Classical periods, with Attic from Athens the dominant. Athens’ rise to power and cultural prestige ensured the outcome.
Attic’s rising star was a result of Athens’ cultural growth. It would be the language of Athens’ intellectual life and basis for lingua franca.
Alexander the Great’s Hellenistic Expansion
Hellenistic Greek Greek-speaking areas c. 323 to 31 BCE. Source: Wikimedia
Greek expansion into the world began with Alexander the Great’s conquests. In 334 BCE, at the age of twenty-two, Alexander and his army crossed into Asia Minor. From there, a series of successful campaigns took the Greeks to Egypt, Persia, Mesopotamia, and even to Pakistan and India. Alexander’s rapid victories knitted together a vast group of cultures under a single political system. Alexander’s victories made Greek as the official language for diplomacy, government, and trade.
With this new ruling elite, Greek became the administrative medium. Soon, Alexander and his successors founded cities across the conquered territories. These deliberate settlements allowed for control and governance. Locations for building were never random. Each became a strategic port, a caravan route, or a farming center. While built for control, another consequence spread Greek at the local level. Soon, a hybrid system developed as local elites bought in, spreading Greek culture and language further.
Antioch at Orontes, the capital of the Seleucid Empire following the loss of eastern provinces, by Jean Golvin. Source: jeanclaudegolvin.com
Besides tying the Greek world together, the cities enabled Greeks to find familiar cultural centers abroad. For local populations, the cities represented new economic and administrative opportunities. Of these cities, three became the greatest.
Alexandria, with its legendary Pharos Lighthouse and Library, evolved into the intellectual and commercial capital. Strategically located on the Nile, scholars like Euclid dwelled here. The Ptolemies later ruled Egypt after Alexander’s passing. Other major Hellenistic centers included Antioch in Syria, a central commercial hub. Seleucia on the Tigris, founded after Alexander’s death, became the Hellenistic center in the East, controlling trade with the Persian Gulf.
Koine: Greek for the Rest of Us
The Gospel of Matthew in Koine Greek, 4th Century. Source: University of Cologne
As Greeks moved in with or after Alexander’s armies, the Greek dialects came too. Despite Greek being the administrative language, dialect differences could be vast. Plus, Greek proved difficult for non-native speakers to learn. Time and cultural interactions cured this problem. Slowly, Koine, common in Greek, materialized by 300 BCE. Based mainly on the Attic dialect of Ancient Greek, Koine had a natural advantage. Alexander’s generals and bureaucrats wrote this simplified Greek.
More Than For Administration
Euclid of Alexandria. Source: Heinrich Heine University
Alexander’s armies and bureaucrats no doubt helped establish Greek as lingua franca. Yet other factors drove acceptance and usage. First came religion, specifically in translation. Around the 3rd-2nd century BCE, Jewish scholars produced the Septuagint. This Greek translation of Hebrew scripture was intended to help Jews worship, study, and build community. Many Jews only knew Greek, having forgotten Hebrew. Christians later called the Septuagint the “Old Testament.” Future Christian texts, or the “New Testament,” would be written in Greek.
For thought and philosophy, Greek had no rivals. To know or debate in these schools, one had to learn Greek. Famous classical thinkers like Aristotle (logic and ethics) and Plato (justice, the Republic) laid the foundations. Greek enabled a vast reach by providing the vehicle to spread this knowledge. Being knowledgeable in Greek carried a certain prestige. Again, its acceptance enabled communication and expertise.
A New Power Same Language
Ring with Greek Inscription to Hera. Source: J. Paul Getty Museum
30 BC proved a fateful year with Rome’s defeat and annexation of Ptolemaic Egypt. This marked the century-long rise of Imperial Rome, which ended the Hellenistic world. Greek’s lingua franca status changed, but did not end. Latin replaced Greek in the West, but the older tongues remained in place. The dividing line between the Greek and Latin provinces ran through the Balkans.
Under the Romans, Greek remained an elite and practical language. Many educated Romans learned Greek to study Greek philosophy and literature. For Eastern provinces, Greek acted as a medium as Rome didn’t force the widespread use of Latin.
A Legacy and the Why
With Alexander the Great’s conquests, Greek assumed a global reach. As the Mediterranean’s first lingua franca, Greek would be the language for diplomats, traders, and kings. Later Islamic and European scholars would translate Greek works into Arabic or Latin.
The secret to Ancient Greek evolved from its universality. In the Hellenistic era and for centuries after, to engage intellectually or just for daily use, one needed to know Greek.
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