Ancient Greek includes the forms of Greek used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from

around the 9th century BC to the 6th century AD. It is often roughly divided into the Archaic period
(9th to 6th centuries BC), Classical period (5th and 4th centuries BC), and Hellenistic period (3rd
century BC to 6th century AD). It is antedated in the second millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek.
The language of the Hellenistic phase is known as Koine (common), while the language from the
late period onward features no considerable differences from Medieval Greek. Koine is regarded as
a separate historical stage of its own, although in its earlier form, it closely resembled the Classical.
Prior to the Koine period, Greek of the classic and earlier periods included several regional dialects.
Ancient Greek was the language of Homer and of classical Athenian historians, playwrights,
and philosophers. It has contributed many words to English vocabulary and has been a standard
subject of study in educational institutions of the West since the Renaissance. This article primarily
contains information about the Epic and Classical phases of the language.