Greek and Iranian

The history of the interaction between the Greek and Iranian civilizations is complex, largely due to issues regarding the timeframe of the contact, the diversity and reciprocity of such contact, and its ultimate effects. This interaction is, in fact, present throughout the diachrony of Greek from Archaic Greece to the Hellenistic period. Greek sources regarding the contact of mainland Greece with Persia only occasionally contain original Iranian words. Nevertheless, the number of loanwords that Greek borrowed from Iranian, often indirectly through the (oral) mediation of indigenous speakers, is far greater than the number of borrowings made in the other direction. The most plentiful evidence of Greek-Iranian contact is provided by personal names found in Greek literature and in inscriptions. In the classical period Greek-Iranian linguistic mingling was more intense in border zones, above all in Asia Minor. In the Hellenistic Period Greek became the common language throughout the whole Iranian region, used in an environment of bilingualism, not only in administration, but also by the local élite.