Greek is the official language of Greece and the main language of modern Greek literature.
Greek belongs to its own independent branch of the Indo-European language family. Its documented history stretches back more than 3,000 years, making it one of the world’s longest-recorded languages. Ancient, Koine, Byzantine, and Modern Greek are stages in this long development.
Modern Greek is spoken throughout Greece and is also an official language of Cyprus, where it shares that status with Turkish. The language uses the Greek alphabet, which influenced the development of both the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets.
A common mix-up is treating Ancient Greek and Modern Greek as identical. They are historically related, but their grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary differ substantially. The New Testament was largely written in Koine Greek, while today’s Greek speakers use the modern form in everyday life.