Editing Hellenic Languages

The Hellenic language family is somewhat unusual, in that its principal member is <u>Greek</u>. Most classifications consider it to be the ''only'' language in the family, but some consider it to also contain a few other varieties that are different enough to be differentiated as separate languages (though this is always with varying degrees of controversy). 

The Hellenic languages might have been most closely related to ancient <u>Macedonian</u> (either an ancient <u>Greek</u> dialect or a separate related language) and <u>Phrygian</u>, but neither are documented well enough to permit realistic comparison. Among modern languages, <u>Greek</u> is often argued to have the closest genetic ties with <u>Armenian</u> and <u>[[Indo-Iranian Languages|Indo-Iranian]]</u> languages.

== Ancient Greek Dialects ==
In the <u>Hellenistic period</u>, the dialect now known as <u>Koine Greek</u> became the lingua franca across <u>Greek</u>-speaking regions and overtook almost all other dialects; it arose first within the armies of '''Alexander''' the Great. Before its development, a number of now-defunct dialects were pervasive across the region, though there is some dispute as to how they are classified geographically and/or temporally. 

=== Mycenean ===
The earliest known dialect was <u>Mycenean Greek</u>, which occupied the southern and eastern parts of <u>Greece</u> and is attested from Linear B tablets of ~1500-1100 BCE. Most of the written evidence comes from the palace complex at '''Knossos''' in <u>Central Crete</u>, and '''Pylos''' (in the <u>southwest Peloponnese</u>), but some additional proofs have been discovered at '''Mycenae''' (in <u>Argolis</u>), '''Tiryns''' (in <u>Argolis</u>), '''Thebes''' (in <u>Boeotia</u>), and '''Chania''' (in <u>Western Crete</u>).