Chapter 1: The Decline of Ancient Greek

As Gaia completes her orbit around Helios, Ancient Greek becomes increasingly obscured by the passage of time, alongside the transitional forms that lie between ancient and contemporary monotonic Greek, such as the common polytonic Greek.

Modern Greek exemplifies a transformation into a simplified version that contrasts sharply with Goethe’s description of Ancient Greek as the ‘language of angels.’ In the 1980s, the controversial Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou initiated significant linguistic reforms that many view as detrimental.

He ordered the removal of three of the four tonal distinctions in Greek—this action has been termed a linguistic transgression. The result was a phonetic flattening of the language, eliminating the nuanced long and short vowel sounds that are prevalent in English. Over time, many of us lost the ability to pronounce Greek correctly, and numerous exquisite Ancient Greek terms faded into obscurity, supplanted by fashionable foreign counterparts.

Papandreou’s justification for these changes was to simplify Greek for non-native speakers. Ironically, this led to a widening gap between modern and ancient Greek, a divergence that has only intensified with the advent of the internet.

The internet has accelerated language evolution. For example, in Japan, many words that were traditionally expressed in kanji are now often spelled out in hiragana, their phonetic alphabet.

Just as it is common in Greek to refer to a superior as ‘boss,’ a similar usage exists in Japanese with the term ‘bosu’ (ボス). Google Translate often prioritizes ‘bosu’ as the translation for 'boss,' reflecting popular usage, even though the kanji form is recognized as the accurate one.

This phenomenon shows that language evolution often moves towards simplification rather than elegance. For instance, American English is a more straightforward version of British English, which in turn has simplified Shakespearean English. The speakers of a language ultimately determine its characteristics and direction.

The fate of languages hangs in the balance as speakers choose which will thrive, which will fade away, and which new forms will emerge from the remnants of extinct languages. The decline of Latin, for example, gave rise to many of the European languages we know today.

Despite understanding this, I still feel a sense of loss when I pass by what was once my favorite café, just a few meters from the site of the tragic murder of singer Pavlos Fyssas. This café, once named 'Μέλι Ρέει' (Honey Flows), has been reduced to simply ‘Sense’—a name deemed more appealing to a younger crowd by the new owner.

The aesthetic changes have also been unfortunate; the café now appears darker and less inviting. Despite these shifts, the original café was always bustling, while 'Sense' remains relatively empty. This observation gives a glimmer of hope to those of us who still cherish the beauty and elegance of the Ancient Greek language.

Interestingly, once you delve into Ancient Greek, it reveals itself to be less complex than its modern counterpart, conveying profound meaning with fewer words. In fact, I’ve never composed a poem in Ancient Greek—I must rectify this, even if current AI tools do not support the language.

A reflection by Nikolaos Skordilis, inspired by Lucy Dan's prompt: