Ionic Greek ( grc, Ἑλληνική Ἰωνική, Hellēnikē Iōnikē) was a

subdialect Subdialect (from Latin , "under", and Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the used in and the from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: (), Dark Ages (), the period (), and t ...

of the Attic–Ionic or Eastern dialect group of

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language Greek ( el, label=Modern Greek Modern Greek (, , or , ''Kiní Neoellinikí Glóssa''), generally referred to by speakers simply as Greek (, ), refers collectively to the diale ...

History

The Ionic dialect appears to have originally spread from the Greek mainland across the

Aegean Aegean may refer to: *Aegean Sea *Aegean Islands *Aegean Region (geographical), Turkey *Aegean Region (statistical), Turkey *Aegean civilizations *Aegean languages, a group of ancient languages and proposed language family *Aegean Sea (theme), a n ...

Aegean

at the time of the

Dorian invasion The Dorian invasion is a concept devised by historians of Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a civilization belonging to a period of History of Greece, Greek history from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th ce ...

s, around the 11th century BC during the early

Greek Dark Ages The Greek Dark Ages is the period of Greek history The history of Greece encompasses the history of the territory of the modern nation-state of Greece Greece ( el, Ελλάδα, , ), officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country locate ...

. By the end of

Archaic Greece Archaic Greece was the period in Greek history The history of Greece encompasses the history of the territory of the modern nation-state of Greece Greece ( el, Ελλάδα, , ), officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country located in ...

and early

Classical Greece Classical Greece was a period of around 200 years (the 5th and 4th centuries BC) in Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a civilization belonging to a period of History of Greece, Greek history from the Greek Dar ...

in the 5th century BC, the central west coast of

Asia Minor Anatolia,, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau. also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula A peninsula ( la, paeninsula from 'almost' and 'island') is a landform A landform is a natural or artificial feature of ...

, along with the islands of

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Khíos ) is the fifth largest of the Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, islands, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of Mast ...

Chios

and

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greece, Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a sep ...

, formed the heartland of

Ionia Ionia (; Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the used in and the from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: (), Dark Ages (), the period (), and the period (). Ancient ...

proper. The Ionic dialect was also spoken on islands across the central Aegean and on the large island of

Euboea Euboea (, ) or Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια Euboea (, ) or Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια ; grc, Εὔβοια ) is the second-largest List of islands of Greece, Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from Boeotia ...

Euboea

north of Athens. The dialect was soon spread by Ionian colonization to areas in the northern Aegean, the

Black Sea , with the skyline of Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the second largest city of Georgia Georgia usually refers to: * Georgia (country) Georgia ( ka, საქართველო; ''Sakartvelo''; ) is a country locat ...

, and the western Mediterranean, including

Magna Graecia Magna Graecia (, ; Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken in the area around Rome, known as Latium. Through the power of the Roman Republic ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

Sicily

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic ( it, Repubblica Italiana, links=no ), is a country consisting of a peninsula delimited by the Alps The Alps ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps; sl, Alpe ) are the highest ...

Italy

. The Ionic dialect is generally divided into two major time periods, Old Ionic (or Old Ionian) and New Ionic (or New Ionian). The transition between the two is not clearly defined, but 600 BC is a good approximation. The works of

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') was an ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language Greek ( el, label=Modern Greek Modern Greek (, , or , ''Kiní Neoellinikí Glóssa''), generally re ...

(''

The Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, ', ; sometimes referred to as the ''Song of Ilion'' or ''Song of Ilium'') is an ancient Greek epic poem in dactylic hexameter, traditionally attributed to Homer. Usually considered to have been written down cir ...

'', ''

The Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC ...

'', and the

Homeric Hymns The ''Homeric Hymns'' () are a collection of thirty-three anonymous ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language Greek ( el, label=Modern Greek Modern Greek (, , or , ''Kiní Neoellinikí Glóssa''), gener ...

) and of

Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'', 'he who emits the voice') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēr ...

were written in a literary dialect called

Homeric Greek Homeric Greek is the form of the Greek language that was used by Homer in the ''Iliad'' and ''Odyssey'' and in the Homeric Hymns. It is a literary dialect of Ancient Greek consisting mainly of Ionic Greek, Ionic and Aeolic Greek, Aeolic, with a fe ...

Epic Greek Homeric Greek is the form of the Greek language that was used by Homer in the ''Iliad'' and ''Odyssey'' and in the Homeric Hymns. It is a literary dialect of Ancient Greek consisting mainly of Ionic Greek, Ionic and Aeolic Greek, Aeolic, with a few ...

, which largely comprises Old Ionic, with some borrowings from the neighboring

Aeolic In linguistics, Aeolic Greek (), also known as Aeolian (), Lesbian or Lesbic dialect, is the set of dialects of Ancient Greek spoken mainly in Boeotia; in Thessaly; in the Aegean island of Lesbos; and in the Greek colonies of Aeolis in Anatolia ...

dialect to the north. The poet

Archilochus :''For the hummingbird, see Archilochus (genus).'' Archilochus (; grc-gre, Ἀρχίλοχος ''Arkhilokhos''; c. 680–645 BC) was a Greek lyric poet of the Archaic Greece, Archaic period from the island of Paros. He is celebrated for his ver ...

wrote in late Old Ionic. The most famous New Ionic authors are

Anacreon Anacreon (; grc-gre, wikt:Ἀνακρέων, Ἀνακρέων ὁ Τήϊος; BC) was a Greece, Greek lyric poetry, lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and erotic poems. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine Lyric Po ...

Theognis Theognis of Megara ( grc-gre, Θέογνις ὁ Μεγαρεύς, ''Théognis ho Megareús'') was a Greek lyric poet active in approximately the sixth century BC. The work attributed to him consists of gnomic poetry quite typical of the time, f ...

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, Ἡρόδοτος, Hēródotos, ; BC) was an Classical Greece, ancient Greek writer, geographer, and historian born in the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey). He ...

Hippocrates Hippocrates of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἱπποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, Hippokrátēs ho Kôios; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek#REDIRECT Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece Greece ( el, Ε ...

, and, in Roman times,

Aretaeus

Arrian Arrian of Nicomedia (; Ancient Greek, Greek: ''Arrianos''; la, Lucius Flavius Arrianus; ) was a Greek people, Greek historian, public servant, military commander and philosopher of the Roman Greece, Roman period. ''The Anabasis of Alex ...

Arrian

, and the Lucianic or Pseudo-Lucianic '' On the Syrian Goddess''. Ionic acquired prestige among Greek speakers because of its association with the language used by both

and

and the close linguistic relationship with the Attic dialect as spoken in Athens. This was further enhanced by the writing reform implemented in Athens in 403 BC, whereby the old Attic alphabet was replaced by the Ionic alphabet, as used by the city of

Miletus Miletus (; gr, Μῑ́λητος, Mīlētos; Hittite language, Hittite transcription ''Millawanda'' or ''Milawata'' (Exonym and endonym, exonyms); la, Miletus; tr, Milet) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the western coast of Ana ...

. This alphabet eventually became the standard Greek alphabet, its use becoming uniform during the

Koine Koine Greek (;. Modern , ), also known as Alexandrian dialect, common Attic, Hellenistic or Biblical Greek, was the common supra-regional form of Greek#REDIRECT Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece Gre ...

era. It was also the alphabet used in the Christian

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel#REDIRECT The gospel In Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism, monotheistic religion based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, life and Te ...

Gospel

s and the book of

Acts The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum), often referred to simply as Acts, or formally the Book of Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament The New Te ...

Phonology

Vowels

Proto-Greek The Proto-Greek language (also known as Proto-Hellenic) is the Indo-European language The Indo-European languages are a language family native to western and southern Eurasia. It comprises most of the languages of Europe together with t ...

''ā'' > Ionic ''ē''; in

DoricDoric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric C ...

, ''ā'' remains; in

Attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a ''loft 's Near West Side A loft is a building's upper storey or elevated area in a room directly under the roof (American usage), or just an attic: a storage space under the roof usually accessed by a lad ...

, ''ā'' after ''e, i, r'', but ''ē'' elsewhere. * Attic νεᾱνίᾱς ''neāníās'', Ionic νεηνίης ''neēníēs'' "young man" * original and Doric ἁ (ᾱ) ''hā'' > Attic-Ionic ἡ ''hē'' "the" (feminine nominative singular) * original and Doric μᾱτηρ ''mātēr'' > Attic-Ionic μητήρ ''mētḗr'' "mother" Proto-Greek ''e, o'' > East/Central Ionic '' ei, ou'':Among Greek dialects, Ionic was the fondest of long vowels and was thus considered especially suited to solo singing; the more austere, broad-sounding Doric was preferred in choral singing.

compensatory lengthening Compensatory lengthening in phonology Phonology is a branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds (or signs, in sign languages). The term also refers to the sound system of any particular la ...

after loss of ''w'' in the sequences ''enw-, erw-, onw-, orw-''. In Attic and West Ionic, ''e, o'' are not lengthened. (“East” refers to the Ionic of Anatolia, “Central” refers to the Ionic of the Cyclades, and “West” refers to the Ionic of Euboea.) * Proto-Greek ''*kórwā'' > Attic κόρη ''kórē'', East Ionic κούρη ''koúrē'' "girl" * ''*órwos'' > ὄρος ''óros'', οὖρος ''oúros'' "mountain" * ''*ksénwos'' > ξένος ''xénos'', ξεῖνος ''xeĩnos'' "guest, stranger" East Ionic generally removes initial aspiration (Proto-Greek h

- > Ionic V-). * Proto-Greek ''*hāwélios'' > Attic ''hēlios'', Homeric (early East Ionic) ''ēélios'' "sun" Ionic contracts less often than Attic. * Ionic γένεα ''génea'', Attic γένη ''génē'' "family" (neuter nominative plural)

Consonants

Proto-Greek ''*kʷ'' before ''o'' > Attic, West/Central Ionic ''p'', some East Ionic ''k''. * Proto-Greek ''*hókʷōs'' > East Ionic ὅκως ''hókōs'', Attic ὅπως ''hópōs'' "in whatever way, in which way" Proto-Greek ''*ťť'' > East/Central Ionic ''ss'', West Ionic, Attic ''tt''. This Ionic feature made it into Koine Greek. * Proto-Greek ''*táťťō'' > Ionic τάσσω ''tássō'', Attic τάττω ''táttō'' "I arrange"

Grammar

Word order

* Ionic had a very analytical word-order, perhaps the most analytical one within ancient Greek dialects.

Glossary

*
ábdês
' scourge (

Hipponax Hipponax ( grc, Ἱππῶναξ; ''gen''.: Ἱππώνακτος; fl. late 6th c. BC), of Ephesus and later Clazomenae, was an Ancient Greek Iambus (genre), iambic Greek lyric, poet who composed verses depicting the vulgar side of life in Ionian so ...

.98) *
áethlon
' (Attic athlon prize) *
aeinaûtai
'

archon ''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, meanin ...

archon

tes in

and

Chalcis Chalcis (; Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Myce ...

Chalcis

(''aeí'' always + ''naûtai'' sailors) *
algeíē
' illness (Cf.Attic algēdṓn pain) Algophobia *
ámpōtis
' ebb, being sucked back, i.e. of sea (Attic anápōtis, verb anapínō) (Koine, Modern Greek ampotis) *
anou
' (Attic ánō, up) * Apatoúria Pan-ionic festival ( see also

Panionium 250px, Poseidon's head (identified by an inscription), detail from a scene representing Athena and Poseidon. Side B from an Attic Black-figure pottery, black-figure neck amphora, neck-amphora, c. 550–530 BC. From Vulci. Signed by the Amasis Painte ...

) *
appallázein
' (Attic ekklesiázein gather together,decide) (Doric

apella The Apella ( el, Ἀπέλλα) was the popular deliberative assembly A deliberative assembly is a meeting of Collective, members who use parliamentary procedure. Etymology In a speech to the electorate at Bristol in 1774, Edmund Burke descri ...

zein) *
achántion
' (Attic akánthion small thorn acanthus) *
báthrakoi
' (Attic bátrachoi, frogs) in Pontusbr>babakoi
*
broûkos
' species of

locust Locusts (derived from the Vulgar Latin Vulgar Latin, also known as Popular or Colloquial Latin, is non-literary Literature broadly is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considere ...

locust

(Attic akrís) (

Cypriots Cypriot (in older sources often "Cypriote") refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the country of Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially called the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island nation i ...

call the green locust broúka) *
byssós
' (Attic bythós depth, bottom, chaos) *
gánnos
'

Ephesian

(Attic

huaina

(glanos

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher A philosopher is someone who practices philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the study of general and fundamental questio ...

.HA594a31.) ( Phrygian and Tsakonian ganos * eídē (Attic hýle forest) (

Aeolic Greek In linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language, meaning that it is a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise study of language. Linguistics encompasses the analysis of every aspect of language, as well as the ...

eide also) (Greek Eidos) *
enthaûta
' here (''entoutha'' also) (Attic entaûtha) (

Elean Elis or Eleia ( el, Ήλιδα, Ilida, grc-att, Ἦλις, Ēlis ; Elean Elis or Eleia ( el, Ήλιδα, Ilida, grc-att, Ἦλις, Ēlis ; Elean: , ethnonym An ethnonym (from the el, ἔθνος, ''éthnos'', "nation" and , ''ó ...

entaûta) *
ergýlos
' (Atti
ergátēs
worker) *
hestiâchos
' ionic epithet for Zeus, related to

Hestia In the Ancient Greek religion Ancient Greek religion encompasses the collection of beliefs, rituals, and mythology Myth is a folklore genre Folklore is the expressive body of culture shared by a particular group of people; it encompa ...

Hestia

(oikourós, housekeeper, ''oikônax'') *''
ēgós
(Attic eudaímon happy) (Hesychius s.v. ) (τ 114) *
êélios
' (Attic

hḗlios

sun) (Cretan abelios) * Iastí, "the ionic way" ( , ''Iáones'', Ionians; , ''Iás'', old name of Attica,

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus Strabismus is a condition in which the eyes do not properly align with each other when looking at an object. The eye that is focused on an object can alternate. The condition may be pre ...

Strabo

IX, 1.5 ) * ídē forested mountain (Attic drymôn óros) (

4,109,2) (

Mount Ida In Greek mythology, two sacred mountains are called Mount Ida, the "Mountain of the Goddess": Mount Ida (Crete), Mount Ida in Crete, and Mount Ida (Turkey), Mount Ida in the ancient Troad region of western Anatolia (in modern-day Turkey), which wa ...

) *
iētrós, iētēr
' (Attic iatrós, iatēr doctor) *
íkkos
' (Attic híppos, horse) ( Mycenaean i-qo ) *
kárē
' head (Common kara) (Poeti
kras
*
kithṓn
' (Attic chitṓn) *
koeîn
' (Attic noeîn to think)

noesis Noesis is a philosophical term, referring to the activity of the intellect or nous. Noesis may also refer to: Philosophy * Noesis (phenomenology), technical term in the Brentano–Husserl "philosophy of intentionality" tradition * Noetics, a branc ...

*
koîos
' (Attic poîos who?) *
kýthrē
' (Attic chýtra cooking pot) *
mýttax
' (Attic pṓgōn beard) * Xouthidai Ionians from

Xuthus In Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myth Myth is a folklore genre Folklore is the expressive body of culture shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the tradition A tradition is a belief A belief ...

*
odmḗ
' (Attic ''osmḗ'' scent, smell) *
pēlós
' thick wine, lees (Attic πηλός pelós mud,

silt Silt is granular material A granular material is a conglomeration of discrete solid, macroscopic scale, macroscopic particles characterized by a loss of energy whenever the particles interact (the most common example would be friction when gra ...

) ( proverbial phrase ''mê dein ton Oinea Pêlea poiein'', don't make wine into lees, Ath.9.383c, cf. Demetr.Eloc.171) *
rhêchíê
' flood-tide, loanword to Attic as ''rhachía'' (Homeric, Koine, Modern Greek plêmmurís -ída) *
sabakís
' (Attic sathrís decayed)

Chian

* ''sármoi''

lupin ''Lupinus'', commonly known as lupin, lupine, or regionally bluebonnet etc., is a genus Genus /ˈdʒiː.nəs/ (plural genera /ˈdʒen.ər.ə/) is a taxonomic rank In biological classification In biology Biology is the natur ...

s (Atti
thermoi
Carystian *
skorpízô
' scatter, disperse (probably from skorpios

scorpion Scorpions are predatory Predation is a biological interaction In ecology Ecology (from el, οἶκος, "house" and el, -λογία, label=none, "study of") is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including hum ...

and an obsolete ver
skerpô
penetrate) *Athenaeus Deipnosophist

/ref>
taûroi
' (Attic bulls) ( Ephesian word, the youths who acted as cupbearers at the local festival of

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν, ) was one of the Twelve Olympians upright=1.8, Fragment of a relief Relief is a sculptural technique where the sculpted elements remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The ...

) *
phoinikḗia
grámmata''

Lydians The Lydians (known as ''Sparda'' to the Achaemenids The Achaemenid Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, translit=Xšāça, translation=The Empire), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran ...

and Ionians called so the

letters Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet) A letter is a segmental symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, Object (philosophy ...

*
chlossós
' (Attic ichthús fish) * ô oioî exclamation of discontent

Notes

References

Sources

* ''A History of Ancient Greek: From the Beginnings to Late Antiquity'' by A. Panayotou
Ionic and Attic
* ''A Grammar of the Greek Language'' by Benjamin Franklin Fisk
Ionic