Proto-Greek language

Proto-Greek
Proto-Hellenic
Reconstruction ofHellenic languages / Ancient Greek dialects
RegionSouthern Balkan Peninsula
Era
  • c.2200–1900 BC (appearance in the Greek peninsula)
  • c.1700 BC (diversification)
Reconstructed
ancestor

The Proto-Greek language (also known as Proto-Hellenic) is the Indo-European language which was the last common ancestor of all varieties of Greek, including Mycenaean Greek, the subsequent ancient Greek dialects (i.e., Attic, Ionic, Aeolic, Doric, Arcadocypriot, and ancient Macedonian—either a dialect or a closely related Hellenic language) and, ultimately, Koine, Byzantine and Modern Greek (along with its variants). Proto-Greek speakers entered Greece sometime between 2200 and 1900 BC, with the diversification into a southern and a northern group beginning by approximately 1700 BC.