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Who were the first Greek speakers? Where did they come from? Basic grammar and morphology, with examples. The development of the Greek Alphabet. Classics links as well as others of interest. |
The term Indo-European refers to a group of people that dwelt in the area north of the Black Sea in what is now knownb as southern Russia. These People existed around the time of 3000 B.C. Linguistic reconstruction of the Indo-European language reveals the presence of advanced vocabulary. This leads scholars to believe that the Indo-Europeans possessed agriculture, metals, and domestic animals. At some point, these people split up and migrated across the continent. The time and cause of this migration remains unclear. Some of these people made their way to the area that is now known as Greece. A race of people known as the Pelasgians was already inhabiting this area when the Indo-Europeans arrived. It is from these people that many believe the Greek language acquired its uniqueness and distinction from Indo-European. However, this is mostly speculation. The anthropological development of the Greek language remains a point of some dispute. The first texts were discovered at Knossos. These tablets were part of some sort of record system. The language of the Knossos tablets was Linear B, the earliest form of written Greek. These tablets have been dated to approximately 1375 B.C., or 500 years prior to the Homeric epics. The Linear B tablets represent one of the oldest examples of a descendent of the Indo-European language. Linear B was the language of the Mycenaean civilization. It is the earliest form of known Greek. This civilization ius thought to have been extremely advanced. However, it ceased to control Greece around the beginning of the twelfth century. At this point, all written records ceased until the appearance of Homer 500 years later. |