Greek language has the longest history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records.

Greek was also the language in which many of the foundational texts of Western philosophy, such as the Platonic dialogues and the works of Aristotle. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world which was profoundly influenced by ancient Greek society, the study of the Greek texts and society of antiquity constitutes the discipline of Classics.

In its modern form, it is the official language of Greece and Cyprus and one of the 23 official languages of the European Union. The language is spoken by approximately 13 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, and in Greek communities around the world.

English has over 50,000 words in its lexicon which are derived from the Greek language, especially in the sciences and medicine.