The Language
Greek: The Language of Civilisation
Greek is one of the oldest recorded languages in the world, with a documented history spanning more than 3,400 years. It is the language of Homer, Plato, the New Testament, and the Byzantine Empire — and it is spoken today by approximately 13 million people worldwide.
Modern Greek is directly descended from ancient Greek, and a speaker of modern Greek can read texts from 2,500 years ago with some effort. No other living language has this depth of documented history.
Literature
From Homer to the Present
Greek literature begins with Homer — the Iliad and the Odyssey, composed in the 8th century BCE, are the foundational texts of Western literature. The tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides; the comedies of Aristophanes; the histories of Herodotus and Thucydides; the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle — these works have shaped human thought for 2,500 years.
Modern Greek literature has produced two Nobel Prize winners: Giorgos Seferis (1963) and Odysseas Elytis (1979). Constantine Cavafy, Nikos Kazantzakis, and Stratis Haviaras are among the most significant Greek writers of the 20th century.