koine

Koine Greek, also known as Hellenistic Greek, is the historical form of Ancient Greek that developed in the wake of Alexander the Great’s conquests and served as the common dialect and literary language of the eastern Mediterranean and Near East from roughly the 3rd century BCE to the 4th century CE. The name koine comes from the Greek word for “common,” reflecting its role as a lingua franca across diverse populations.

Koine arose from the blending and leveling of the major Classical dialects—Attic, Ionic, Doric, and others—under the cultural and political reach of the Hellenistic kingdoms and later Roman rule. It was not a single uniform dialect but a continuum of related speech varieties that gradually standardized grammar and vocabulary while retaining many underlying Classical features.

In usage, Koine spread widely through literature, administration, and everyday communication. It is the language of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, and of inscriptions and papyri across Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean. It also became the primary language of the New Testament and most early Christian writings. Its phonology and morphology show simplifications relative to Classical Greek, with changes in verb forms and reduced inflection over time; it borrowed vocabulary from Aramaic, Hebrew, Persian, and later Latin.

Regional varieties existed, including Egyptian Koine and Palestinian Koine, reflecting local influences. By late antiquity, Koine gradually evolved into what is typically called Byzantine or Medieval Greek, the direct predecessor of later forms of Greek used in the Byzantine Empire. Koine’s historical significance lies in its role as the common medium of communication, administration, religion, and culture across a wide sphere in antiquity.