Greek: educating constituents

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The Greek language, one of recorded history's most ancient, dates back many millennia. In its early days it evolved considerably, influenced by variations from island and mainland communities, and by trade and conflict with other civilizations. The establishment of Alexander's rule in the 4th century BC brought with it widespread uniformity in the language, a form termed Koine, or he koine dialektos: "the common language". This form changed slowly over the next thousand years, undergoing the most change during the Byzantine era (circa 14th century AD). Modern Greek, however, retains great similarity to the Koine.

The earliest written Greek was traced to Knossos, on the island of Crete. Dating back as far as 1900 BC, this written form known as 'Linear Script of Class B' indicates the influence of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, and was not believed to be related to the Greek language of the time. Linear B remained a mystery until 1953 when it was finally translated and shown to be an ancient written form of the region's Greek dialect. The script fell out of use around 1200 BC (coinciding with the Dorian invasions), presumably leaving Greece illiterate until the appearance of the Greek alphabet sometime before the 8th century BC.

The Greek alphabet has roots in the Phoenician alphabet. Greece borrowed the Phoenician system to assist in their commercial contacts, and introduced the innovation of the written vowels a, e, i, o, and u. Similar to the changes in the spoken form, the written Greek language evolved, partially in response to the needs of diverse Greek-speaking communities in Egypt, Syria and Asia Minor. The written form has undergone few changes since the Byzantine era, and texts from that time can still be read by modern Greek speakers.

The epic Homeric poems The Iliad and The Odyssey were composed in Greek, perhaps around 900 BC, and for hundreds of years they were recorded only mentally and communicated by song. They were written in part as early as the 7th century BC, but it took another five centuries for conventions of scholars and storytellers to record the entire works—which have been subject to interpretation and change ever since. The Iliad and The Odyssey are regarded as the foundation for classical Greek education and culture, and hence have had remarkable, though subtle, influence on all of Western thought.

Today, a literate adult would need up to four weeks to read a typical urban Sunday newspaper cover to cover. How do you connect people to your expertise and your offerings? How do you help people make decisions? How do you clarify your position? How do you differentiate your organization? How do you educate your constituents? Effective communications can make a difference.

Throughout our nearly quarter century of helping organizations achieve their goals, we have developed communication programs that educate people about the value and offerings for organizations of diverse scale and scope—start-up to centenarians. Explore our client credentials, learn more about how we think, follow the trail below to more information about the Greek language, or contact us to learn how we can help you build effective communications systems.

For more information

Wrixon, Fred B. Codes, ciphers & other cryptic & clandestine communication: making and breaking secret messages from hieroglyphics to the Internet. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc., 1998.

"Languages of the World" Encyclopedia Britannica. 15th ed. 2002.

"The Homeric Epics" Encyclopedia Britannica. 15th ed. 2002.

"Greek Language" Encyclopedia Britannica. 15th ed. 2002.

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