View source for Proto-Greek language

{{short description|Last common ancestor of all varieties of Greek}}
{{distinguish|Pre-Greek substrate}}
{{protection padlock|small=yes}}
{{cleanup lang|date=May 2019}}
{{Infobox proto-language
| name        = Proto-Greek
| altname     = Proto-Hellenic
| region      = Southern Balkan Peninsula
| era         = {{ubl|{{circa|2200–1900 BC}} (appearance in the Greek peninsula)<ref name="Drews"/><ref name=West>{{cite book |last1=West |first1=M. L. |title=The East Face of Helicon: West Asiatic Elements in Greek Poetry and Myth: West Asiatic Elements in Greek Poetry and Myth |date=23 October 1997 |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=978-0-19-159104-4 |page=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fIp0RYIjazQC |language=en |quote="the arrival of the Proto-Greek -speakers took place at various sites in central and southern Greece at the beginning and end of the Early Helladic III period. |access-date=28 September 2020 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326113551/https://books.google.com/books?id=fIp0RYIjazQC |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Filos|2014|p=175}}<ref name="BryantPatton2005" />|{{circa|1700 BC}} (diversification)<ref name=":0" />}}
| familycolor = Indo-European
| ancestor    = [[Proto-Indo-European]]
| target     = [[Hellenic languages]] / [[Ancient Greek dialects]]
}}
{{Indo-European topics}}
[[File:Proto.Greek.Area.220.1900.svg|upright=1.2|thumb|Hypothetical Proto-Greek area of settlement (2200/2100–1900 BC) suggested by Katona (2000), Sakellariou (2016, 1980, 1975) and Phylaktopoulos (1975)]]
[[File:Proto Greek Area reconstruction.png|upright=1.2|thumb|View about "Proto-Greek area" in the 3rd millennium BC, reconstructed by [[Vladimir I. Georgiev]] (1973 & 1981). The boundaries are based on the high concentration of archaic Greek place-names in the region in contrast to southern Greece which preserves many [[pre-Greek]].<ref name=Georgiev156>{{harvnb|Georgiev|1981|loc=p. 156: "The Proto-Greek region included Epirus, approximately up to Αὐλών in the north including Paravaia, Tymphaia, Athamania, Dolopia, Amphilochia, and Acarnania), west and north Thessaly (Hestiaiotis, Perrhaibia, Tripolis, and Pieria), i. e. more or less the territory of contemporary northwestern Greece)."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Crossland|first1=R. A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MUkbAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Thus,+in+the+region%22|title=Bronze Age Migrations in the Aegean; Archaeological and Linguistic Problems in Greek Prehistory: Proceedings of the First International Colloquium on Aegean Prehistory, Sheffield|last2=Birchall|first2=Ann|date=1973|publisher=Duckworth|isbn=978-0-7156-0580-6|page=248|language=en|quote=Thus in the region defined just above, roughly northern and north-western Greece, one finds only archaic Greek place-names. Consequently, this is the proto-Hellenic area, the early homeland of the Greeks where they lived before they invaded central and southern Greece.|access-date=2021-02-11|archive-date=2023-03-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326113547/https://books.google.com/books?id=MUkbAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Thus,+in+the+region%22|url-status=live}}</ref> Modern consensus is that pre-Proto-Greek and other IE languages split from PIE only after 2500{{nbsp}}BC, with proto-Greek forming in the proto-Greek area during the Early Helladic III period ({{circa|2200–2000 BC}}).<ref name="Anthony82">{{harvnb|Anthony|2010|p=82}}.</ref>]]

The '''Proto-Greek language''' (also known as '''Proto-Hellenic''') is the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language]] which was the last common ancestor of all varieties of [[Greek language|Greek]], including [[Mycenaean Greek]], the subsequent [[ancient Greek dialects]] (i.e., [[Attic Greek|Attic]], [[Ionic Greek|Ionic]], [[Aeolic Greek|Aeolic]], [[Doric Greek|Doric]], [[Arcadocypriot Greek|Arcadocypriot]], and [[Ancient Macedonian language|ancient Macedonian]]—either a dialect or a closely related [[Hellenic languages|Hellenic language]]) and, ultimately, [[Koine Greek|Koine]], [[Medieval Greek|Byzantine]] and [[Modern Greek]] (along with its [[Varieties of Modern Greek|variants]]). Proto-Greek speakers entered Greece sometime between 2200 and 1900{{nbsp}}BC,<ref name="Drews" /><ref name="West" /><ref name="BryantPatton2005" /> with the diversification into a southern and a northern group beginning by approximately 1700{{nbsp}}BC.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Hall|first=Jonathan M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F4Am6gcP0GsC&pg=PA160|title=Ethnic Identity in Greek Antiquity|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1997|isbn=978-0-521-78999-8|page=160|language=en|access-date=2021-02-11|archive-date=2023-03-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326113549/https://books.google.com/books?id=F4Am6gcP0GsC&pg=PA160|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Woodard|first=Roger D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aPEENAEp938C&q=north%20versus%20south&pg=PA52|title=The Ancient Languages of Europe|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2008|isbn=978-1-139-46932-6|page=52|language=en|access-date=2021-02-11|archive-date=2023-03-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326113548/https://books.google.com/books?id=aPEENAEp938C&q=north%20versus%20south&pg=PA52|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Horrocks|first=Geoffrey|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BwHPKIUXKGsC&q=east%20greek&pg=PA19|title=Greek: A History of the Language and its Speakers|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|year=2010|isbn=978-1-4443-1892-0|pages=19–20|language=en|access-date=2021-02-11|archive-date=2023-03-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326113548/https://books.google.com/books?id=BwHPKIUXKGsC&q=east%20greek&pg=PA19|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Parker|first=Holt N.|date=2008|title=The Linguistic Case for the Aiolian Migration Reconsidered|journal=Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens|publisher=[[American School of Classical Studies at Athens]]|volume=77|issue=3|pages=443–444|doi=10.2972/hesp.77.3.431|jstor=40205757|s2cid=161497388|issn=0018-098X}}</ref><ref>A comprehensive overview is in J. T. Hooker's ''Mycenaean Greece'' ({{harvnb|Hooker|1976|loc=Chapter 2: "Before the Mycenaean Age", pp. 11–33 and passim}}); for a different hypothesis excluding massive migrations and favoring an autochthonous scenario, see Colin Renfrew's "Problems in the General Correlation of Archaeological and Linguistic Strata in Prehistoric Greece: The Model of Autochthonous Origin" ({{harvnb|Renfrew|1973|pp=263–276, especially p. 267}}) in ''Bronze Age Migrations'' by R. A. Crossland and A. Birchall, eds. (1973).</ref>

==Origins==
Proto-Greek emerged from the diversification of the late [[Proto-Indo-European language]] (PIE); a process whose last phase gave rise to the later language families and occurred {{circa|2500 BC}}.<ref name="Anthony81">{{harvnb|Anthony|2010|p=81}}.</ref> Pre-Proto-Greek, the Indo-European dialect from which Proto-Greek originated, emerged {{circa|2400|2200 BC}}, in an area which bordered pre-[[Proto-Indo-Iranian language|Proto-Indo-Iranian]] to the east and pre-[[Proto-Armenian language|Proto-Armenian]] and pre-Proto-[[Phrygian language|Phrygian]] to the west, at the eastern borders of southeastern Europe; according to the [[Kurgan hypothesis]].{{sfn|Anthony|2010|p=51}}{{sfn|Anthony|2010|p=369}} Speakers of what would become Proto-Greek, [[Indo-European migrations|migrated]] from their [[Proto-Indo-European homeland|homeland]] (which could have been northeast of the [[Black Sea]]), and reached Greece in a date set around the transition of the Early Bronze Age to the Middle Bronze Age.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Demand |first1=Nancy |title=The Mediterranean Context of Early Greek History |date=2012 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-1-4051-5551-9 |page=49 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z6rsLG3NbSgC&pg=PA49 |access-date=2020-08-20 |archive-date=2023-03-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326113548/https://books.google.com/books?id=Z6rsLG3NbSgC&pg=PA49 |url-status=live }}</ref> The evolution of Proto-Greek could be considered within the context of an early [[Paleo-Balkan languages|Paleo-Balkan]] [[sprachbund]] that makes it difficult to delineate exact boundaries between individual languages.<ref>{{harvnb|Renfrew|2003|p=35: "''Greek'' The fragmentation of the Balkan Proto-Indo-European Sprachbund of phase II around 3000{{nbsp}}BC led gradually in the succeeding centuries to the much clearer definition of the languages of the constituent sub-regions."}}</ref> The characteristically Greek representation of word-initial [[Laryngeal theory|laryngeals]] by [[Prothesis (linguistics)|prothetic vowels]] is shared, for one, with the [[Armenian language]], which also seems to share some other phonological and morphological peculiarities of Greek; this has led some linguists to propose a [[Graeco-Armenian|hypothetically closer relationship between Greek and Armenian]], although evidence remains scant.<ref>{{harvnb|Clackson|1995}}.</ref>

According to Filos (2014), the emergence of Proto-Greek was a long and continuous linguistic evolution, as the predecessors of Greek speakers were migrating towards the outskirts of Greece, somewhere to the north(-west) of the Greek peninsula proper, where they eventually merged with pre-Greek populations to form the Proto-Greek language.<ref>{{harvnb|Filos|2014|p=175}}: "The emergence of Proto-Greek happened during a long, continuous linguistic process which involved numerous changes in all major linguistic fields ({{arrow}} phonology, morphology, {{arrow}} syntax, lexicon), as a migrating population of (soon-to-become) Greek speakers were en route to/on the outskirts of Greece, i.e., somewhere to the north(-west) of the Greek peninsula proper. But Proto-Greek was practically formed after the arrival of its speakers in Greece and their merger with pre-Greek populations ({{arrow}} Pre-Greek Languages; {{arrow}} Pre-Greek Substrate), as is indicated, inter alia, by the high number of loanwords (e.g. sûkon 'fig') and suffixes (e.g. -nthos, -s(s)os/-ttos) which were borrowed into Proto-Greek (see (6), (7) below)."</ref> A. L. Katona (2000) places the beginning of the migration from Ukraine towards the south {{circa|2400|2300 BC}}. Their proposed route of migration passed through Romania and the eastern Balkans to the [[Maritsa|Evros]] river valley from where their main body moved west.{{sfn|Katona|2000|p=84|ps=: "The time of the departure of the Proto-Greeks semel is mid EH II (2400/2300 B.C) (L and A available). Their route between Ukraine and Greece can be supposed to have led through Rumania and East Balkans towards the Hebros-vallev (North-Eastern Greece). Here they turned to the West (A available)."}} As such Katona as well as M.V Sakellariou agree that the main body of Greek speakers settled in a region that included southwestern Illyria, Epirus, northwestern Thessaly and western Macedonia.{{sfn|Katona|2000|pp=84–86|ps=: "Contacts must have existed, too, until 1900 B.C., when Western tribes lived in Epirus, Southwest Illyria and Western Macedonia, i.e. in the western neighborhood of the Ionians... The main body of the Proto-Greeks – as seen already in Sakellariou 1980 – had settled in southwest Illyria, Epirus, Western Macedonia, and northwestern Thessaly."}}

Older theories like those of [[Vladimir I. Georgiev]] placed Proto-Greek in northwestern Greece and adjacent areas (approximately up to the Aulon river to the north), including [[Parauaea]], [[Tymphaia]], [[Athamanians|Athamania]], [[Dolopia]], [[Amphilochia]], and [[Acarnania]], as well as west and north [[Ancient Thessaly|Thessaly]] ([[Histiaeotis]], [[Perrhaebia|Perrhaibia]], [[Tripolis Larisaia|Tripolis]]), and Pieria in Macedonia, during the [[Late Neolithic]].<ref name=Georgiev156/><ref>{{harvnb|Georgiev|1981|loc=p. 192: "''Late Neolithic Period'': in northwestern Greece the Proto-Greek language had already been formed: this is the original home of the Greeks."}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Coleman|2000|pp=101–153}}.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Feuer |first1=Bryan |title=Mycenaean Civilization: An Annotated Bibliography through 2002, rev. ed. |date=2 March 2004 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-1748-3 |page=67 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3SQTBQAAQBAJ |language=en |quote=Supports an interpretation of Marija Gimbutas' Kurgan theory involving the migration of a proto-Greek population which arrived in Greece during the Early Helladic period. |access-date=28 September 2020 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326113552/https://books.google.com/books?id=3SQTBQAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> The boundaries are based on the high concentration of archaic Greek place-names in the region, in contrast to southern Greece which preserves many [[pre-Greek]].<ref name=Georgiev156 /> [[Radoslav Katičić]] considered these findings highly significant, and agreed that due to the minimal traces of pre-Greek toponymy in the region, Epirus and western Thessaly must have formed the region of concentration of Proto-Greek speakers, before their spread southwards.<ref>{{cite book |last=Katicic |first=Radoslav |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kSkjAAAAQBAJ |title=Ancient Languages of the Balkans (Part 1) |publisher=[[De Gruyter|De Gruyter Mouton]] |isbn=978-3-11-156887-4 |editor-last=Winter |editor-first=Werner |editor-link=Werner Winter (linguist) |series=Trends in Linguistics: State-of-the-art Reports |volume=4 |publication-date=2012 |orig-date=1976 |pages=122–123 |language=en |author-link=Radoslav Katičić}}</ref> However, the dating of proto-Greek in Bronze Age Greece is compatible with the inherited lexicon from the common [[Proto-Indo-European language]], which excludes any possibility of it being present in [[Neolithic Greece]].<ref name="Mallory">{{cite book |last1=Mallory |first1=J.P. |editor1-last=Blench |editor1-first=Roger |editor2-last=Spriggs |editor2-first=Matthew |title=Archaeology and Language I: Theoretical and Methodological Orientations |date=2003 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=1-134-82877-2 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H9qJAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA101 |chapter=The Homeland of the Indo-Europeans |page=101 |access-date=2020-08-20 |archive-date=2023-03-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326113619/https://books.google.com/books?id=H9qJAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA101 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Anthony|2010|p=81}}

In modern bibliography, models about the settlement and development of proto-Greek speakers in the Greek peninsula place it in the region at the earliest around 2200–2000 BC, during the Early Helladic III.<ref name=West/><ref name="Drews"/> Asko Parpola and Christian Carpelan (2005) date the arrival of Proto-Greek speakers into the Greek peninsula to 2200{{nbsp}}BC,<ref name="BryantPatton2005">{{cite book|author1=Asko Parpola|author2=Christian Carpelan|chapter=The cultural counterparts to Proto-Indo-European, Proto-Uralic and Proto-Aryan : matching the dispersal and contact patterns in the linguistic and archaeological record|editor1=Edwin Bryant|editor2=Laurie L. Patton|title=The Indo-Aryan Controversy: Evidence and Inference in Indian History|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fHYnGde4BS4C&pg=PA131|year=2005|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-7007-1463-6|pages=107–141|access-date=2020-08-21|archive-date=2023-03-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326113550/https://books.google.com/books?id=fHYnGde4BS4C&pg=PA131|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|131}} while [[Carl Blegen]] (1928) dates it to {{circa|1900 BC}}.<ref name="Drews">{{cite book |last1=Drews |first1=Robert |title=The Coming of the Greeks: Indo-European Conquests in the Aegean and the Near East |date=1994 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=0-691-02951-2 |page=14 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fcVIcaJxgdUC}}</ref>

==Diversification==
[[Ivo Hajnal]] dates the beginning of the diversification of Proto-Greek into the subsequent Greek dialects to a point not significantly earlier than 1700{{nbsp}}BC.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last1=Hajnal |first1=Ivo |editor1-last=Hajnal |editor1-first=Ivo |editor2-last=Stefan |editor2-first=Barbara |title=Die altgriechischen Dialekte. Wesen und Werden. Akten des Kolloquiums, Freie Universität Berlin, 19.–22. September 2001 |date=2007 |publisher=Institut für Sprachen und Literaturen der Universität Innsbruck |location=Innsbruck, Austria |page=136 |url=https://www.academia.edu/2382692 |language=de |chapter=Die Vorgeschichte der griechischen Dialekte: ein methodischer Rück- und Ausblick |access-date=2020-05-06 |archive-date=2021-10-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028232020/https://www.academia.edu/2382692 |url-status=live }}</ref> The conventional division of the Greek dialects prior to 1955 differentiated them between a West Greek (consisting of Doric and Northwest Greek) and an East Greek (consisting of Aeolic, Arcado-Cypriot, and Attic-Ionic) group. However, after the decipherment of the [[Linear B]] script, Walter Porzig and [[Ernst Risch]] argued for a division between a Northern (consisting of Doric, Northwest Greek, and Aeolic) and a Southern (consisting of Mycenaean, Arcado-Cypriot, and Attic-Ionic) group, which remains fundamental until today.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" />

During this period of {{circa|1700 BC}}, South Greek-speaking tribes spread to Boeotia, Attica, and the Peloponnese, while North Greek was spoken in Epirus, Thessaly, parts of Central Greece, and perhaps also Macedonia.<ref>{{harvnb|van Beek|2022b|pp=189–190}}: "In sum, the most likely scenario is as follows (see the tentative tree in {{Plain link|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/indoeuropean-language-family/greek/D7ECB74210D90E01F00D41B9930BC70A#FIGm-fig-16 Figure 11.1}}). In the first centuries of the second millennium, Proto-Greek was undifferentiated, although there was no doubt some variation, as well as affinities with other Balkan languages.{{sup|37}} Around 1700, South Greek-speaking tribes penetrated into Boeotia, Attica, and the Peloponnese, while North Greek was spoken roughly in Thessaly, parts of Central Greece, and further North and West (up to Epirus, and perhaps also Macedonia). During the early Mycenaean period, South Greek diverged by the assibilation of *ti, the simplification of word-internal *ts and *ss, and a number of morphological innovations. {{sup|37}}{{nbsp}}Scholars often date the immigration into the Peloponnese to the end of the third millennium, but I would prefer a later date coinciding with the beginning of Late Helladic, in the seventeenth century BCE (cf. Hajnal 2005). This would fit the linguistic data best, as reconstructible differences between South Greek and North Greek in the late Mycenaean period are relatively small."</ref>

==Phonology==
{{Unreferenced section|date=November 2019}}
Proto-Greek is reconstructed with the following phonemes:
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-2}}
;Consonants
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Type !! Labial !! Alveolar !! Palatal !! Velar !! Labiovelar !! Glottal
|-
! Nasal 
| m || n || ɲ{{efn|name=fn1}} || || ||
|-
! Plosive 
| p b pʰ || t d tʰ || ť{{efn|name=fn1}} ď{{efn|name=fn1}} || k g kʰ || kʷ gʷ kʷʰ ||
|-
! Affricate
| || colspan=2 | ts{{efn|name=fn2}} dz{{efn|name=fn2}} || || ||
|-
! Fricative
| || s || || || || h
|-
! Liquid
| || l r || ľ{{efn|name=fn1}} ř{{efn|name=fn1}} || || ||
|-
! Semivowel
| || || j || || w ||
|}
{{Col-2}}
;Vowels
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Type !! Front !! Center !! Back
|-
! Close 
| i ī || || u ū
|-
! Mid 
| e ē || ə{{efn|name=fn2}} || o ō
|-
! Open 
| || a ā || 
|}
* Diphthongs are ''ai ei oi ui'', ''au eu ou'', ''āi ēi ōi'', and possibly ''āu ēu ōu''; all are [[allophone|allophonic]] with the corresponding sequences of vowel and semivowel.
* Exactly one vowel in each word bears a [[pitch-accent language|pitch accent]] (equivalent to the [[Attic Greek]] [[acute accent]]).
{{Col-end}}
{{notelist|refs=
{{efn|name=fn1|Occurs geminated only as the result of palatalization ''ČČ'' < ''Cy''; ''ť'' also occurs in the combination ''pť'' < ''py''}}
{{efn|name=fn2|Exact phonetic value uncertain}}
}}

===Proto-Greek changes===
The primary sound changes separating Proto-Greek from the [[Proto-Indo-European language]] include the following.

====Consonants====

* Delabialization of labiovelars next to {{IPA|/u/}}, the "[[boukólos rule]]". This was a phonotactic restriction already in Proto-Indo-European, and continued to be productive in Proto-Greek. It ceased to be in effect when labiovelars disappeared from the language in post-Proto-Greek.
* [[centum and satem languages|Centumization]]: Merger of palatovelars and velars.{{sfn|Filos|2014|pp=177–179}}
* Merging of sequences of velar + ''*w'' into the labiovelars, perhaps with compensatory lengthening of the consonant in one case: PIE ''*h₁éḱwos'' > PG ''*híkkʷos'' > Mycenaean ''i-qo'' {{IPA|/híkkʷos/}}, Attic ''híppos'', Aeolic ''íkkos''.
* [[Debuccalization]] of {{IPA|/s/}} to {{IPA|/h/}} in intervocalic and prevocalic positions (between two vowels, or if word-initial and followed by a vowel).{{sfn|Filos|2014|pp=177–179}} Loss of prevocalic ''*s'' was not completed entirely, evidenced by ''sȳ́s'' ~ ''hȳ́s'' "[[pig]]" (from PIE ''*suh₁-''), ''dasýs'' "dense" and ''dásos'' "dense growth, [[forest]]"; ''*som'' "with" is another example, contaminated with PIE ''*ḱom'' (Latin ''cum''; preserved in Greek ''kaí'', ''katá'', ''koinós'') to Mycenaean ''ku-su'' /ksun/, Homeric and Old Attic ''ksýn'', later ''sýn''. Furthermore, ''sélas'' "light in the sky, as in the [[aurora]]" and ''selḗnē/selā́nā'' "[[moon]]" may be more examples of the same if it derived from PIE ''*swel-'' "to burn" (possibly related to ''hḗlios'' "[[sun]]", Ionic ''hēélios'' < ''*sāwélios'').
* [[Fortition|Strengthening]] of word-initial ''y-'' to ''dy-'' > ''dz-'' (note that ''Hy-'' > ''Vy-'' regularly due to vocalization of laryngeals).
* Filos{{sfn|Filos|2014|pp=177–179}} argues for a "probable" early loss of final non-nasal<ref name=Fortson227/> stop consonants: compare Latin ''quid'' and Sanskrit ''cid'' with Greek ''ti''; however, Mycenaean texts are inconclusive in offering evidence on this matter, as the [[Linear B]] script did not explicitly mark final consonants.{{sfn|Filos|2014|pp=177–179}} However, it appears that these stops were preserved word finally for unstressed words, reflected in ''ek'' "out of".<ref name=Fortson227>{{cite book|page=227|author=Benjamin W. Fortson IV|title=Indo-European Language and Culture|date=2004|publisher=Blackwell Publishing Ltd}}</ref>
* Final {{IPA|/m/}} > {{IPA|/n/}}.
* [[Syllabic consonant|Syllabic]] resonants {{PIE|''*m̥''}} {{PIE|''*n̥''}} {{PIE|''*l̥''}} and {{PIE|''*r̥''}} that are not followed by a laryngeal are resolved to vowels or combinations of a vowel and consonantal resonant. This resulted in an epenthetic vowel of undetermined quality (denoted here as ''*ə''). This vowel then usually developed into ''a'' but also ''o'' in some cases. Thus:{{sfn|Filos|2014|p=178}}
** {{PIE|''*m̥''}}, {{PIE|''*n̥''}} > ''*ə'', but > ''*əm'', ''*ən'' before a sonorant. ''*ə'' appears as ''o'' in Mycenaean after a labial: ''pe-mo'' (''spérmo'') "seed" vs. usual ''spérma'' < ''*spérmn̥''. Similarly, ''o'' often appears in Arcadian after a velar, e.g. ''déko'' "ten", ''hekotón'' "one hundred" vs. usual ''déka'', ''hekatón'' < ''*déḱm̥'', ''*sem-ḱm̥tóm''.
** {{PIE|''*l̥''}}, {{PIE|''*r̥''}} > ''*lə'', ''*rə'', but ''*əl'', ''*ər'' before sonorants and analogously. ''*ə'' appears as ''o'' in Mycenaean, Aeolic and Arcadocypriot. Example: PIE ''*str̥-tos'' > usual ''stratós'', Aeolic ''strótos'' "army"; post-PIE ''*ḱr̥di-eh₂'' "heart" > Attic ''kardíā'', Homeric ''kradíē'', Pamphylian ''korzdia''.

=====Changes to the aspirates=====
Major changes included:
* Devoicing of voiced aspirates *bʰ, *dʰ, *ɡʰ, *ɡʷʰ to *pʰ, *tʰ, *kʰ, *kʷʰ.{{sfn|Filos|2014|pp=177–179}} This change preceded and fed both stages of palatalization.
* Loss of aspiration before ''*s'', e.g. ''heksō'' "I will have" < Post-PIE ''*seǵʰ-s-oh₂''.
* Loss of aspiration before ''*y'', detailed under "palatalization".

[[Grassmann's law]] was a process of [[dissimilation]] in words containing multiple aspirates. It caused an initial aspirated sound to lose its aspiration when a following aspirated consonant occurred in the same word. It was a relatively late change in Proto-Greek history, and must have occurred independently<ref name=Fortson227/> of the similar dissimilation of aspirates (also known as [[Grassmann's law]]) in [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]], although it may represent a common [[areal feature]]. The change may have even been post-Mycenaean:{{sfn|Filos|2014|pp=177–179}}
# It postdates the Greek-specific de-voicing of voiced aspirates;
# It postdates the change of {{IPA|/s/}} > {{IPA|/h/}}, which is then lost in the same environment: ''ékhō'' "I have" < ''*hekh-'' < PIE ''*seǵʰ-oh₂'', but future ''heksō'' "I will have" < ''*heks-'' < Post-PIE ''*seǵʰ-s-oh₂'';
# It postdates even the loss of aspiration before ''*y'' that accompanied second-stage palatalization (see below), which postdates both of the previous changes (as well as first-stage palatalization);
# On the other hand, it predates the development of the first aorist passive marker ''-thē-'' since the aspirate in that marker has no effect on preceding aspirates.

=====Laryngeal changes=====
{{see also|Laryngeal theory}}
Greek is unique among Indo-European languages in reflecting the three different [[Laryngeal theory|laryngeals]] with distinct vowels. Most Indo-European languages can be traced back to a dialectal variety of late Proto-Indo-European (PIE) in which all three laryngeals had merged (after colouring adjacent short {{IPA|/e/}} vowels), but Greek clearly cannot. For that reason, Greek is extremely important in reconstructing PIE forms.

Greek shows distinct reflexes of the laryngeals in various positions:

* Most famously, between consonants, where original vocalic ''*h₁'', ''*h₂'', ''*h₃'' are reflected as {{IPA|/e/}}, {{IPA|/a/}}, {{IPA|/o/}} respectively (the so-called ''triple reflex''). All other Indo-European languages reflect the same vowel from all three laryngeals (usually {{IPA|/a/}}, but {{IPA|/i/}} or other vowels in [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]]):
{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left:2em"
! Proto-Indo-European !! Greek !! Vedic Sanskrit !! Latin
|-
| ''*dʰh₁s-'' "sacred, religious" || θέσφατος (''thésphatos'') "decreed by God" || धिष्ण्य (''dhíṣṇya-'') "devout" || ''fānum'' "temple" < ''*fasnom'' < ''*dʰh̥₁s-no-''
|-
| ''*sth₂-to-'' "standing, being made to stand" || στατός (''statós'') || स्थित (''sthíta-'') || ''status''
|-
| ''*dh₃-ti-'' "gift" || δόσις (''dósis'') || दिति (''díti-'') || ''datiō''
|}
* An initial laryngeal before a consonant (a ''*HC-'' sequence) leads to the same triple reflex, but most IE languages lost such laryngeals and a few reflect them initially before consonants. Greek vocalized them (leading to what are misleadingly termed ''prothetic vowels''): Greek ''érebos'' "darkness" < PIE ''*h₁regʷos'' vs. [[Gothic language|Gothic]] ''riqiz-'' "darkness"; Greek ''áent-'' "wind" < ''*awent-'' < PIE ''*h₂wéh₁n̥t-'' vs. English ''wind'', [[Latin]] ''ventus'' "wind", [[Breton language|Breton]] ''gwent'' "wind".
* The sequence ''*CRHC'' (''C'' = consonant, ''R'' = resonant, ''H'' = laryngeal) becomes ''CRēC'', ''CRāC'', ''CRōC'' from ''H'' = ''*h₁'', ''*h₂'', ''*h₃'' respectively. (Other Indo-European languages again have the same reflex for all three laryngeals: ''*CuRC'' in [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]], ''*CiRˀC/CuRˀC'' with acute register in [[Proto-Balto-Slavic language|Proto-Balto-Slavic]], ''*CīRC/CūRC'' in [[Proto-Indo-Iranian language|Proto-Indo-Iranian]], ''*CRāC'' in [[Proto-Italic language|Proto-Italic]] and [[Proto-Celtic language|Proto-Celtic]].) Sometimes, ''CeReC'', ''CaRaC'', ''CoRoC'' are found instead: Greek ''thánatos'' "death" vs. [[Doric Greek]] ''thnātós'' "mortal", both apparently reflecting  ''*dʰn̥h₂-tos''. It is sometimes suggested that the position of the accent was a factor in determining the outcome.
* The sequence ''*CiHC'' tends to become ''*CyēC'', ''*CyāC'', ''*CyōC'' from ''H'' = ''*h₁'', ''*h₂'', ''*h₃'' respectively, with later palatalization (see below). Sometimes, the outcome ''CīC'' is found, as in most other Indo-European languages, or the outcome ''CiaC'' in the case of ''*Cih₂C''.

All of the cases may stem from an early insertion of {{IPA|/e/}} next to a laryngeal not adjacent to a vowel in the Indo-European dialect ancestral to Greek (subsequently coloured to {{IPA|/e/}}, {{IPA|/a/}}, {{IPA|/o/}} by the particular laryngeal in question) prior to the general merger of laryngeals:
* ''*CHC'' > ''*CHeC'' > ''CeC/CaC/CoC''.
* ''*HC-'' > ''*HeC-'' > ''eC-/aC-/oC-''.
* ''*CRHC'' > ''*CReHC'' > ''CRēC/CRāC/CRōC''; or, ''*CRHC'' > ''*CeRHeC'' > ''*CeReC/CeRaC/CeRoC'' > ''CeReC/CaRaC/CoRoC'' by [[assimilation (phonology)|assimilation]].
* ''*CiHC'' > ''*CyeHC'' > ''CyēC/CyāC/CyōC''; or, ''*Cih₂C'' > ''*Cih₂eC'' > ''*CiHaC'' > ''*CiyaC'' > ''CiaC''; or, ''*CiHC'' remains without vowel insertion > ''CīC''.

A laryngeal adjacent to a vowel develops along the same lines as other Indo-European languages:
* The sequence ''*CRHV'' (''C'' = consonant, ''R'' = resonant, ''H'' = laryngeal, ''V'' = vowel) passes through ''*CR̥HV'', becoming ''CaRV''.
* The sequence ''*CeHC'' becomes ''CēC/CāC/CōC''.
* The sequence ''*CoHC'' becomes ''CōC''.
* In the sequence ''*CHV'' (including ''CHR̥C'', with a vocalized resonant), the laryngeal colours a following short {{IPA|/e/}}, as expected, but it otherwise disappears entirely (as in most other Indo-European languages but not Indo-Iranian whose laryngeal [[aspiration (phonetics)|aspirates]] a previous stop and prevents the operation of [[Brugmann's law]]).
* In a ''*VHV'' sequence (a laryngeal between vowels, including a vocalic resonant ''R̥''), the laryngeal again colours any adjacent short {{IPA|/e/}} but otherwise vanishes early on. That change appears to be uniform across the Indo-European languages and was probably the first environment in which laryngeals were lost. If the first ''V'' was ''*i'', ''*u'' or a vocalic resonant, a consonantal copy was apparently inserted in place of the laryngeal: ''*CiHV'' > ''*CiyV'', ''*CuHV'' > ''*CuwV'', ''*CR̥HV'' possibly > ''*CR̥RV'', with ''R̥'' always remaining as vocalic until the dissolution of vocalic resonants in the various daughter languages. Otherwise, a [[hiatus (linguistics)|hiatus]] resulted, which was resolved in various ways in the daughter languages, typically by converting ''i'', ''u'' and vocalic resonants, when it directly followed a vowel, back into a consonant and merging adjacent non-high vowels into a single long vowel.

=====Palatalization=====
Consonants followed by consonantal ''*y'' were [[Palatalization (sound change)|palatalized]], producing various [[affricate consonant]]s (still represented as a separate sound in Mycenaean) and [[geminate]]d palatal consonants.{{sfn|Filos|2014|pp=177–179}} Any aspiration was lost in the process. The palatalized consonants later simplified, mostly losing their palatal character. Palatalization occurred in two separate stages. The first stage affected only dental consonants, and the second stage affected all consonants.

======First palatalization======
The first palatalization replaced post-PIE sequences of dental stop + ''*y'' with alveolar affricates:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! Before !! After
|-
| ''*ty'', ''*tʰy'' || ''*t͡s''
|-
| ''*dy'' || ''*d͡z''
|}

The affricate derived from the first palatalization of ''*ty'' and ''*tʰy'' merged with the outcome of the inherited clusters ''*ts'', ''*ds'' and ''*tʰs'', all becoming ''*t͡s''.<ref>{{harvnb|Sihler|1995|p=190}}.</ref>

======Restoration======
After the first palatalization changed ''*ty'' and ''*tʰy'' into ''*t͡s'', the consonant ''*y'' was restored  after original ''*t'' or ''*tʰ'' in morphologically transparent formations. The initial outcome of restoration may have been simply ''*ty'' and ''*tʰy'', or alternatively, restoration may have yielded an affricate followed by a glide, ''*t͡sy'', in the case of both original ''*t'' and original ''*tʰ''.{{sfn|Sihler|1995|p=191}} Either way, restored ''*t(ʰ)y'' would go on to merge via the second palatalization with the reflex of ''*k(ʰ)y'', resulting in a distinct outcome from the ''*t͡s'' derived from the first palatalization.{{sfn|Sihler|1995|p=191}} There may also have been restoration of ''*y'' after original ''*d'' in the same circumstances, but if so, it apparently merged with the ''*d͡z'' that resulted from the first palatalization before leaving any visible trace.{{sfn|Sihler|1995|p=191}}

However, restoration is not evident in [[Mycenaean Greek]], where the reflex of original ''*t(ʰ)y'' (which became a consonant transcribed as ⟨s⟩) is consistently written differently from the reflex of original ''*k(ʰ)y'' (which became a consonant transcribed as ⟨z⟩ via the second palatalization).{{sfn|Sihler|1995|p=191}}

======Second palatalization======
The second palatalization took place following the resolution of syllabic laryngeals and sonorants, and prior to Grassmann's law. It affected all consonants followed by the palatal glide ''*y''. The following table, based on American linguist [[Andrew Sihler]],{{sfn|Sihler|1995|p=189–196}} shows the outcomes of the second palatalization:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! Before (post-PIE) !! After
|-
| ''*py'', ''*pʰy'' || ''*pť''
|-
| ''*ty'', ''*tʰy'' (or ''*t͡sy'') || rowspan="3" | ''*ťť''
|-
| ''*ky'', ''*kʰy''
|-
| ''*kʷy'', ''*kʷʰy''
|-
| (''*d͡zy'') || rowspan="3" | ''*ďď''
|-
| ''*gy''
|-
| ''*gʷy''
|-
| ''*ly'' || ''*ľľ''
|-
| ''*my'', ''*ny'' || ''*ňň''
|-
| ''*ry'' || ''*řř''
|-
| ''*sy'' > ''*hy'' || ''*yy''
|-
| ''*wy'' || ''*ɥɥ'' > ''*yy''
|}

Sihler reconstructs the palatalized stops (shown in the above table as ''*ť'' ''*ď'') with a degree of assibilation and transcribes them as ''*č'' ''*ǰ''.{{sfn|Sihler|1995|p=192}}

The resulting palatal consonants and clusters of Proto-Greek were resolved in varying ways prior to the historical period.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! colspan="2" | Proto-Greek !! Homeric !! Attic !! West Ionic !! Other Ionic !! Boeotian, Cretan !! Arcadian !! Cypriot !! Lesbian, Thessalian !! Other
|-
| colspan="2" |''*pť'' || colspan="9" | ''pt''
|-
| rowspan="2" | ''*t͡s'' || final,{{sfn|Sihler|1995|p=205}} initial, after ''*n'',{{sfn|Sihler|1995|p=190–191}}<br> after long vowel or diphthong{{sfn|Woodard|1997|p=95}} || colspan="9" | ''s'' 
|-
| after short vowel || ''s'', ''ss''{{sfn|Sihler|1995|p=190}} || colspan="3" | ''s''{{sfn|Sihler|1995|p=190}} || ''tt''{{sfn|Sihler|1995|pages=190, 205}}{{sfn|Woodard|1997|p=95}} || colspan="2" | ''s''{{sfn|Skelton|2014|p=34}} || colspan="2" | ''ss''{{sfn|Sihler|1995|p=190}}
|-
| ''*ťť'' || medial intervocalic || ''ss'' || colspan="2" | ''tt'' || ''ss'' || ''tt'' || colspan="4" | ''ss''
|-
| colspan="2" | ''*d͡z'', ''*ďď'' || colspan="4" | ''zd'' || ''dd''{{sfn|Skelton|2014|pp=35, 39}} ||  colspan="4" | ''zd'' 
|-
| colspan="2" | ''*ľľ'' || colspan="6" | ''ll'' || ''i̯l''{{sfn|Skelton|2014|p=35}}{{sfn| Egetmeyer|2010|p=123}} || colspan=2 | ''ll''
|-
| rowspan="2" | ''*ňň'' || after α, ο || colspan="6" | ''i̯n'' || rowspan="2" | unattested{{sfn|Egetmeyer|2010|p=123}} || colspan="2" | ''i̯n''
|- 
| after ε, ι, υ || colspan="6" | ''ːn'' || ''nn''{{sfn|Sihler|1995|p=195}} || ''ːn''
|-
| rowspan="2" | ''*řř'' || after α, ο || colspan="9" | ''i̯r''
|-
| after ε, ι, υ || colspan="6" | ''ːr'' || unattested{{sfn|Egetmeyer|2010|p=123}} ||  ''rr''{{sfn|Sihler|1995|p=195}} || ''ːr''
|-
| colspan="2" | ''*yy'' || colspan="9" | ''i̯''
|}

The restoration of ''*y'' after original ''*t'' or ''*tʰ'' (resulting in ''*ťť'') occurred only in morphologically transparent formations, by analogy with similar formations in which ''*y'' was preceded by other consonants. In formations that were morphologically opaque, the restoration did not take place and the ''*t͡s'' that resulted from the first palatalization of ''*ty'' and ''*tʰy'' remained. Hence, depending on the type of formation, the pre-Proto-Greek sequences ''*ty'' and ''*tʰy'' have different outcomes in the later languages. In particular, medial ''*t(ʰ)y'' becomes Attic ''-s-'' in opaque formations but ''-tt-'' in transparent formations.

The outcome of PG medial ''*ts'' in Homeric Greek is ''s'' after a long vowel, and vacillation between ''s'' and ''ss'' after a short vowel: ''tátēsi'' dat. pl. "rug" < ''tátēt-'', ''possí(n)/posí(n)'' dat. pl. "foot" < ''pod-''. This was useful for [[Dactylic hexameter#Homer's meter|the composer of the Iliad and Odyssey]], since ''possí'' with double ''s'' scans as long-short, while ''posí'' with single ''s'' scans as short-short. Thus the writer could use each form in different positions in a line.

Examples of initial ''*t͡s'':
* PIE ''*tyegʷ-'' "avoid" > PG ''*t͡segʷ-'' > Greek ''sébomai'' "worship, be respectful" (Ved. ''tyaj-'' "flee")
* PIE ''*dʰyeh₂-'' "notice" > PG ''*t͡sā-'' > Dor. ''sā́ma'', Att. ''sêma'' "sign" (Ved. ''dhyā́-'' "thought, contemplation")

Examples of medial ''*t͡s'' (morphologically opaque forms, first palatalization only):
* PreG ''*tótyos'' "as much" > PG ''*tót͡sos'' > Att. ''tósos'', Hom. ''tósos/tóssos'' (cf. Ved. ''táti'', Lat. ''tot'' "so much/many")
* PIE ''*médʰyos'' "middle" > PG ''*mét͡sos'' > Att. ''mésos'', Hom. ''mésos/méssos'', Boeot. ''méttos'', other dial. ''mésos'' (cf. Ved. ''mádhya-'', Lat. ''medius'')

Examples of medial ''*ťť'' (morphologically transparent forms, first and second palatalization):
* PIE ''*h₁erh₁-t-yoh₂'' "I row" > PG ''*eréťťō'' > Attic ''eréttō'', usual non-Attic ''eréssō'' (cf. ''erétēs'' "oarsman")
* PIE ''*krét-yōs'' > PreG ''*krétyōn'' "better" > PG ''*kréťťōn'' > Attic ''kreíttōn'',<ref>Lengthened ''-ei'' {{PIE|/eː/}} due to Attic analogical lengthening in comparatives.</ref> usual non-Attic ''kréssōn'' (cf. ''kratús'' "strong" < PIE ''*kr̥tús'')

For comparison, examples of initial ''*ť'' from ''*k(ʰ)y'' by the second palatalization:
* PreG ''*ki-āmerom'' > PG ''*ťāmeron'' > Attic ''tḗmeron'', Ionic ''sḗmeron'',  Doric ''sā́meron''{{sfn|Sihler|1995|p=194}}
*  PreG ''*kyā-wetes'' > Attic ''têtes'', Ionic ''sêtes'', Mycenaean ''za-we-te''{{sfn|Sihler|1995|p=194}}

For words with original ''*dy'', no distinction is found in any historically attested form of Greek between the outcomes of the first and second palatalizations, and so there is no visible evidence of an opposition between ''*d͡z'' and a secondary restored cluster ''*d͡zy'' > ''*ďď''. However, it is reasonable to think that words with ''*dy'' originally underwent parallel treatment to words with original ''*ty'' and ''*tʰy''.<ref>{{harvnb|Sihler|1995|pp=191–192}}.</ref> The reflex of ''*dy'' also merged with the reflex of ''*g(ʷ)y'', with one of the two word-initial reflexes of PIE *y-, and with original ''*sd'',  as in PIE *h₃esdos/osdos > ''όζος'' 'branch' or PIE *si-sd- > ἵζω 'take a seat'.<ref>{{harvnb|Sihler|1995|p=194}}.</ref> The merger with ''*sd'' was probably post-Mycenaean, but occurred before the introduction of the Greek alphabet.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Teodorsson |first=Sven-Tage |year=1979 |title=On the Pronunciation of Ancient Greek Zeta |journal=Lingua |volume=47 |issue=4 |pages=323–332|doi=10.1016/0024-3841(79)90078-0 }}</ref>

====Vowels====
* [[Osthoff's law]]: Shortening of long vowels before a sonorant in the same syllable. E.g. {{PIE|*''[[Dyeus|dyēws]]''}} "skyling, sky god" > [[Attic Greek]] ''[[Zeus|Zeús]]'' {{IPA|/dzeús/}}.
* [[Cowgill's law of Greek|Cowgill's law]]: Raising of {{IPA|/o/}} to {{IPA|/u/}} between a resonant and a labial.{{sfn|Filos|2014|pp=177–179}}

=====Cowgill's law=====
{{Expand section|date=August 2022|with=Proto-Greek reconstructed forms}}
In [[Proto-Greek]], Cowgill's law{{sfn|Sihler|1995|pp=42–43}} says that a former {{IPA|/o/}} vowel becomes {{IPA|/u/}} between a [[sonorant|resonant]] ({{IPA|/r/}}, {{IPA|/l/}}, {{IPA|/m/}}, {{IPA|/n/}}) and a [[labial consonant]] (including [[Labialized velar consonant|labiovelar]]s), in either order.

Examples:
* {{langx|el|νύξ}} "night" < [[Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]] ''{{transliteration|Zxxx|*nokʷts}}'' (cf. ''{{langx|la|nox}}'', [[Vedic Sanskrit|Ved.]] ''{{transliteration|sa|IAST|nák}}'' < ''*nakts'', ''{{langx|got|nahts}}'', gen. sg. ''{{langx|hit|nekuz}}'' /nekʷts/)
* {{langx|el|φύλλον}} "leaf" < [[Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]] ''{{transliteration|Zxxx|*bʰolyom}}'' (cf. ''{{langx|la|folium}}'')
* {{langx|el|μύλη}} "mill" < [[Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]] ''{{transliteration|Zxxx|*mol-eh₂-}}'' (cf. ''{{langx|la|molīna}}'')
* {{langx|el|ὄνυξ}} "nail" (stem ''{{langx|el|ónukh-}}'') < early [[Proto-Greek|PG]] ''{{transliteration|Zxxx|*onokʷʰ-}}'' < [[Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]] ''{{transliteration|Zxxx|h₃nogʷʰ-}}'' (cf. ''{{langx|ang|nægl}}'' < [[Proto-Germanic|PGerm]] ''{{transliteration|Zxxx|*nag-laz}}'')

Note that when a labiovelar adjoins an {{IPA|/o/}} affected by Cowgill's law, the new {{IPA|/u/}} will [[boukólos rule|cause the labiovelar to lose its labial component]] (as in ''{{langx|el|núks}}'' and ''{{langx|el|ónuks/ónukh-}}'', where the usual Greek change ''*{{IPA|/kʷ/}}'' > ''{{IPA|/p/}}'' has not occurred).

==== Prosody ====
Proto-Greek retained the Indo-European [[pitch accent]], but developed a number of rules governing it:{{sfn|Filos|2014|p=180}}
* The [[law of limitation]], also known as the ''trisyllabicity law'', confined the freedom of the accents to the final three syllables. Alternatively, it can be analyzed as restraining the accent to be within the last four [[Mora (linguistics)|morae]] of the word.
* [[Ancient Greek accent#Wheeler's law|Wheeler's law]], which causes [[oxytone]] words to become paroxytone when ending in a syllable sequence consisting of heavy-light-light (ex. ''*poikilós'' > ''poikílos'').
* Loss of accent in finite verb forms. This probably began in verbs of independent clauses, a development also seen in [[Vedic Sanskrit]], where they behave as clitics and bear no accent.<ref name="Sihler 1995">{{harvnb|Sihler|1995}}.</ref> The accentless forms later acquired a default recessive accent, placed as far left as the law of limitation allowed.
** Certain imperative forms, such as ''idé'' "go!", regularly escaped this process and retained their accent.
* Many Proto-Greek suffixes bore lexical stress. Accentuation rules applied post-Proto-Greek such as [[Ancient Greek accent#Vendryes's law|Vendryes's law]] and [[Ancient Greek accent#Bartoli's law|Bartoli's law]] modified how and if this would surface.{{sfn|Filos|2014|p=180}}

===Post-Proto-Greek changes===
Sound changes that postdate Proto-Greek, but predate the attested dialects, including [[Mycenaean Greek]], include:
* Loss of ''s'' in consonant clusters, with [[compensatory lengthening]] of the preceding vowel ([[Attic Greek|Attic]], [[Ionic Greek|Ionic]], [[Doric Greek|Doric]]) or of the consonant ([[Aeolic Greek|Aeolic]]): ''*ésmi'' "I am" > ''ḗmi'', ''eîmi'' or ''émmi''.
* Creation of secondary ''s'' from earlier affricates, ''*nty'' > ''*nts'' > ''ns''. This was, in turn, followed by a change similar to the one described above, loss of the ''n'' with compensatory lengthening: ''*apónt-ya'' > ''apónsa'' > ''apoûsa'', "absent", feminine.
* In southern dialects (including Mycenaean, but not Doric), ''-ti-'' > ''-si-'' ([[assibilation]]).

The following changes are apparently post-Mycenaean because early stages are represented in [[Linear B]]:
* Loss of {{IPA|/h/}} (from original {{IPA|/s/}}), except initially, e.g. Doric ''níkaas'' "having conquered" < ''*níkahas'' < ''*níkasas''.
* Loss of {{IPA|/j/}}, e.g. ''treîs'' "three" < ''*tréyes''.
*[[Digamma#Classical Greek|Loss of {{IPA|/w/|cat=no}}]] in many dialects (later than loss of {{IPA|/h/}} and {{IPA|/j/}}). Example: ''étos'' "year" from ''*wétos''.
* Loss of [[Labialized velar consonant|labiovelars]], which were converted (mostly) into labials, sometimes into dentals (or velars next to {{IPA|/u/}}, as a result of an earlier sound change). See below for details. It had not yet happened in Mycenaean, as is shown by the fact that a separate letter {{angbr|''q''}} is used for such sounds.
* Contraction of adjacent vowels resulting from loss of {{IPA|/h/}} and {{IPA|/j/}} (and, to a lesser extent, from loss of {{IPA|/w/}}); more in [[Attic Greek]] than elsewhere.
* Rise of a distinctive [[circumflex]] accent, resulting from contraction and certain other changes.
* Loss of {{IPA|/n/}} before {{IPA|/s/}} (incompletely in Cretan Greek), with [[compensatory lengthening]] of the preceding vowel.
* Raising of ''ā'' to ''ē'' {{IPA|/ɛː/}} in Attic and Ionic dialects (but not Doric). In Ionic, the change was general, but in Attic it did not occur after /i/, /e/ or /r/. (Note Attic ''kórē'' "girl" < ''*kórwā''; loss of /w/ after /r/ had not occurred at that point in Attic.)
* [[Ancient Greek accent#Vendryes's Law|Vendryes's Law]] in Attic, where a penultimate circumflex accent was retracted onto a preceding light syllable if the final syllable was also light: light-circumflex-light > acute-heavy-light. For example, ''hetoîmos'' > Attic ''hétoimos''. 
* Analogical prosodic changes that converted a penultimate heavy acute accent to circumflex (retraction by one mora) if both the final and (if present) the preceding syllable were light.<ref name="Sihler 1995"/> This produced alternations within a paradigm, for example Attic ''oînos'' "wine" nominative singular, but genitive singular ''oínou''.

Note that {{IPA|/w/}} and {{IPA|/j/}}, when following a vowel and not preceding a vowel, combined early on with the vowel to form a diphthong and so were not lost.

Loss of {{IPA|/h/}} and {{IPA|/w/}} after a consonant was often accompanied by [[compensatory lengthening]] of a preceding vowel.

The development of labiovelars varies from dialect to dialect:
*Due to the PIE [[boukólos rule]], labiovelars next to {{IPA|/u/}} had already been converted to plain velars: ''boukólos'' "herdsman" < ''*gʷou-kʷólos'' (cf. ''boûs'' "cow" < ''*gʷou-'') vs. ''aipólos'' "goatherd" < ''*ai(g)-kʷólos'' (cf. ''aíks'', gen.  ''aigós'' "goat"); ''elakhús'' "small" < ''*h₁ln̥gʷʰ-ús'' vs. ''elaphrós'' "light" < ''*h₁ln̥gʷʰ-rós''.
*In Attic and some other dialects (but not, for example, Aeolic), labiovelars before some front vowels became dentals. In Attic, ''kʷ'' and ''kʷʰ'' became ''t'' and ''th'', respectively, before {{IPA|/e/}} and {{IPA|/i/}}, while ''gʷ'' became ''d'' before {{IPA|/e/}} (but not {{IPA|/i/}}). Cf. ''theínō'' "I strike, kill" < ''*gʷʰen-yō'' vs. ''phónos'' "slaughter" < *gʷʰón-os; ''delphús'' "womb" < ''*gʷelbʰ-'' ([[Sanskrit]] ''garbha-'') vs. ''bíos'' "life" < ''*gʷih₃wos'' ([[Gothic language|Gothic]] ''qius'' "alive"), ''tís'' "who?" < ''*kʷis'' ([[Latin]] ''quis'').
*All remaining labiovelars became labials, original ''kʷ kʷʰ gʷ'' becoming ''p ph b'' respectively. That happened to all labiovelars in some dialects like Lesbian; in other dialects, like Attic, it occurred to all labiovelars not converted into dentals. Many occurrences of dentals were later converted into labials by analogy with other forms: ''bélos'' "missile", ''bélemnon'' "spear, dart" (dialectal ''délemnon'') by analogy with ''bállō'' "I throw (a missile, etc.)", ''bolḗ'' "a blow with a missile".
*Original PIE labiovelars had still remained as such even before consonants and so became labials also there. In many other [[centum and satem languages|centum languages]] such as [[Latin]] and most [[Germanic languages]], the labiovelars lost their labialisation before consonants. (Greek ''pémptos'' "fifth" < ''*pénkʷtos''; compare [[Old Latin]] ''quinctus''.) This makes Greek of particular importance in reconstructing original labiovelars.

The results of vowel contraction were complex from dialect to dialect. Such contractions occur in the inflection of a number of different noun and verb classes and are among the most difficult aspects of Ancient Greek grammar. They were particularly important in the large class of ''contracted verbs'', denominative verbs formed from nouns and adjectives ending in a vowel. (In fact, the reflex of contracted verbs in [[Modern Greek]], the set of verbs derived from [[Ancient Greek]] contracted verbs, represents one of the two main classes of verbs in that language.)

==Morphology==
===Nouns===
Proto-Greek preserved the gender (masculine, feminine, neuter) and number (singular, dual, plural) distinctions of the nominal system of Proto-Indo-European.{{sfn|Filos|2014|pp=180–181}} However, the evidence from Mycenaean Greek is inconclusive with regard to whether all eight cases continued to see complete usage, but this is more secure for the five standard cases of Classical Greek (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative and vocative) and probably also the instrumental in its usual plural suffix -pʰi and the variant /-ṓis/ for o-stem nouns.{{sfn|Filos|2014|p=180}} The ablative and locative are uncertain; at the time of Mycenaean texts they may have been undergoing a merger with the genitive and dative respectively.{{sfn|Filos|2014|p=180}} It is thought that the syncretism between cases proceeded faster for the plural,{{sfn|Filos|2014|p=180}} with dative and locative already merged as ''-si'' (the Proto-Indo-European locative plural having been ''*-su-'').<ref>{{cite book|page=226|author=Benjamin W. Fortson IV|title=Indo-European Language and Culture|date=2004|publisher=Blackwell Publishing Ltd}}</ref>{{sfn|Filos|2014|p=180}} This merger may have been motivated by analogy to the locative singular ''-i-''.{{sfn|Filos|2014|p=180}} Nevertheless, seven case distinctions are securely attested in Mycenaean in some domain, with the status of the ablative unclear.<ref>Ramón, José Luis García (2017). "The morphology of Greek". In Klein, Joseph and Fritz (2017), ''Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics''. Page 654.</ref>

Significant developments attributed to the Proto-Greek period include:
* the replacement of PIE nominative plural ''*-ās'' and ''*-ōs'' by ''*-ai'' and ''*-oi''.{{sfn|Filos|2014|p=180}}
* the genitive and dative dual suffix ''*-oi(i)n'' (Arcadian ''-oiun'') appears to be exclusive to Greek.{{sfn|Filos|2014|p=180}}
* Genitive singular Proto-Indo-European ''*-āsyo'', if reconstructed as such, is reflected as ''-āo''{{sfn|Filos|2014|p=180}}

The Proto-Greek nominal system is thought to have included cases of gender change according to number, heteroclisy and stem alternation (ex. genitive form ''húdatos'' for ''húdōr'' "water").{{sfn|Filos|2014|p=180}}

The superlative in ''-tatos'' becomes productive.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

The peculiar oblique stem ''gunaik-'' "women", attested from the [[Thebes tablets]] is probably Proto-Greek. It appears, at least as ''gunai-'' in [[Armenian language|Armenian]] as well.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

==== Examples of noun declension ====
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+*agrós, agrójjo (field), ''m.''
!Case
!Singular
!Dual
!Plural
|-
|''Nom.''
|*agr'''ós''' < [[Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]] *h₂éǵr'''os'''
|*agr'''ṓ''' < [[Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]] *h₂éǵr'''oh₁'''
|*agr'''ói''' < [[Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]] *h₂éǵr'''oes'''
|-
|''Gen.''
|*agr'''óyyo''' < *h₂éǵr'''osyo'''
|*agr'''óyyun''' < ? 
|*agr'''ṓn''' < *h₂éǵr'''oHom'''
|-
|''Dat.''
|*agr'''ṓi''' < *h₂éǵr'''oey'''
|*agr'''óyyun''' < ? 
|*agr'''óis''' < *h₂éǵr'''omos'''
|-
|''Acc.''
|*agr'''ón''' < *h₂éǵr'''om'''
|*agr'''ṓ''' < *h₂éǵr'''oh₁'''
|*agr'''óns''' < *h₂éǵr'''oms'''
|-
|''Voc.''
|*agr'''é''' < *h₂éǵr'''e'''
|*agr'''ṓ''' < *h₂éǵr'''oh₁'''
|*agr'''ói''' < *h₂éǵr'''oes'''
|-
|''Loc.''
|*agr'''ói''', -'''éi''' < *h₂éǵr'''oy''', -'''ey'''
|?
|*agr'''óihi''' < *h₂éǵr'''oysu'''
|-
|''Instr.''
|*agr'''ṓ''' < *h₂éǵr'''oh₁'''
|?
|*agr'''ṓis''' < *h₂éǵr'''ōys'''
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+*pʰugā́, pʰugā́s (fugue), ''f.''
!Case
!Singular
!Dual
!Plural
|-
|''Nom.''
|*pʰug'''ā́''' < [[Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]] *bʰug'''éh₂'''
|*pʰug'''áe''' < [[Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]] *bʰug'''éh₂h₁(e)'''
|*pʰug'''ái''' < [[Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]] *bʰug'''éh₂es'''
|-
|''Gen.''
|*pʰug'''ā́s''' < *bʰug'''éh₂s'''
|*pʰug'''áyyun''' < ? 
|*pʰug'''ā́ōn''' < *bʰug'''éh₂oHom'''
|-
|''Dat.''
|*pʰug'''ā́i''' < *bʰug'''éh₂ey'''
|*pʰug'''áyyun''' < ? 
|*pʰug'''áis''' < *bʰug'''éh₂mos'''
|-
|''Acc.''
|*pʰug'''ā́n''' < *bʰug'''ā́m'''
|*pʰug'''áe''' < *bʰug'''éh₂h₁(e)'''
|*pʰug'''áns''' < *bʰug'''éh₂m̥s'''
|-
|''Voc.''
|*pʰug'''ā́''' < *bʰug'''éh₂'''
|*pʰug'''áe''' < *bʰug'''éh₂h₁(e)'''
|*pʰug'''ái''' < *bʰug'''éh₂es'''
|-
|''Loc.''
|*pʰug'''ā́i'''? < *bʰug'''éh₂i'''
|?
|*pʰug'''ā́hi''' < *bʰug'''éh₂su'''
|-
|''Instr.''
|*pʰug'''ā́''' < *bʰug'''éh₂h₁'''
|?
|*pʰug'''ā́is''' < *bʰug'''éh₂mis'''
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+*dzugón, dzugójjo (yoke), ''n.''
!Case
!Singular
!Dual
!Plural
|-
|''Nom.''
|*dzug'''ón''' < [[Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]] *yug'''óm'''
|*dzug'''ṓ''' < [[Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]] *yug'''óy(h₁)'''
|*dzug'''á''' < [[Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]] *yug'''éh₂'''
|-
|''Gen.''
|*dzug'''óyyo''' < *yug'''ósyo'''
|*dzug'''óyyun''' < ?
|*dzug'''ṓn''' < *yug'''óHom'''
|-
|''Dat.''
|*dzug'''ṓi''' < *yug'''óey'''
|*dzug'''óyyun''' < ?
|*dzug'''óis''' < *yug'''ómos'''
|-
|''Acc.''
|*dzug'''ón''' < *yug'''óm'''
|*dzug'''ṓ''' < *yug'''óy(h₁)'''
|*dzug'''á''' < *yug'''éh₂'''
|-
|''Voc.''
|*dzug'''ón''' < *yug'''óm'''
|*dzug'''ṓ''' < *yug'''óy(h₁)'''
|*dzug'''á''' < *yug'''éh₂'''
|-
|''Loc.''
|*dzug'''ói''', -'''éi''' < *yug'''óy''', *-'''éy'''
|?
|*dzug'''óihi''' < *yug'''óysu'''
|-
|''Instr.''
|*dzug'''ṓ''' < *yug'''óh₁'''
|?
|*dzug'''ṓis''' < *yug'''ṓys'''
|}

("Yoke" in later Proto-Hellenic and both Classical and Modern Greek is masculine due to a gender shift from *-ón to *-ós).

===Pronouns===
The pronouns ''hoûtos'', ''ekeînos'' and ''autós'' are created. The use of ''ho, hā, to'' as articles is post-Mycenaean.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
!Pronoun
!Proto-Hellenic < PIE
|-
|I
|*egṓ < [[Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]] *éǵh₂; ([[Homeric Greek]] egṓn < ''variant'' *eǵh₂óm)
|-
|You
|*tú < *túh₂
|-
|He
|*autós < *h₂ewtos (from ''*h₂ew'', "again", and *to, "that")
|-
|She
|*autā́ < *h₂ewtéh₂
|-
|It
|*autó < *h₂ewtó
|-
|We two
|*nṓwi < ?
|-
|You two
|*spʰṓwi < ?
|-
|They (two)
|*spʰо̄é < ?
|-
|We
|*əhmé(e)s < *usmé [accusative of *yū́(s)]
|-
|You (all)
|*uhmé(e)s
|-
|They (m.)
|? (Attic Greek: autoí)
|-
|They (f.)
|? (Attic Greek: autaí)
|-
|They (n.)
|? (Attic Greek: autá)
|}

===Verbs===
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2024}}
Proto-Greek inherited the augment, a prefix ''e-'', to verbal forms expressing past tense. That feature is shared only with Indo-Iranian and Phrygian (and to some extent, [[Armenian language|Armenian]]), lending some support to a "[[Graeco-Aryan]]" or "Inner Proto-Indo-European" proto-dialect. However, the augment down to the time of Homer remained optional and was probably little more than a free sentence particle, meaning {{gloss|previously}} in Proto-Indo-European, which may easily have been lost by most other branches. Greek, Phrygian,{{contradictory inline|article=Phrygian language|section=Verbs|reason=Phrygian has both r-endings and i-endings|date=November 2024}} and Indo-Iranian also concur in the absence of ''r''-endings in the [[middle voice]], in Greek apparently already lost in Proto-Greek.

The first person middle verbal desinences ''-mai'', ''-mān'' replace ''-ai'', ''-a''. The third singular ''phérei'' is an innovation by analogy, replacing the expected Doric ''*phéreti'', Ionic ''*phéresi'' (from PIE *{{PIE|''bʰéreti''}}).

The future tense is created, including a future passive as well as an aorist passive.

The suffix ''-ka-'' is attached to some perfects and aorists.

Infinitives in ''-ehen'', ''-enai'' and ''-men'' are created.

==== An example of verb in Proto-Hellenic ====
{| class="wikitable"
|+*ágō (I drive), ''thematic''
!Pronoun
!Verb (present)
|-
|''I''
|*ág'''ō''' < [[Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]] *h₂éǵ'''oh₂'''
|-
|''You''
|*ág'''ehi''' < *h₂éǵ'''esi'''
|-
|''He, she, it''
|*ág'''ei''' < *h₂éǵ'''eti'''
|-
|''We two''
|*ág'''owos''' < *h₂éǵ'''owos'''
(*ág'''owes''', *ág'''owen''')
|-
|''You two''
|*ág'''etes''' < *h₂éǵ'''etes'''
(*ág'''etos''', *ág'''eton''')
|-
|''They (two)''
|*ág'''etes''' < *h₂éǵ'''etes'''
(*ág'''etos''', *ág'''eton''')
|-
|''We''
|*ág'''omes''' < *h₂éǵ'''omos'''
(*ág'''omen''')
|-
|''You (all)''
|*ág'''ete''' < *h₂éǵ'''ete'''
|-
|''They''
|*ág'''onti''' < *h₂éǵ'''onti'''
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+*ehmí (to be), ''athematic''
!Pronoun
!Verb (present)
|-
|''I''
|*ehmí < [[Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]] *h₁ésmi
|-
|''You''
|*ehí < *h₁ési
|-
|''He, she, it''
|*estí < *h₁ésti
|-
|''We two''
|*eswén? < *h₁swós
|-
|''You two''
|*estón < *h₁stés
|-
|''They (two)''
|*estón < *h₁stés
|-
|''We''
|*esmén < *h₁smós
|-
|''You (all)''
|*esté < *h₁sté
|-
|''They''
|*ehénti < *h₁sénti
|}

==== An example of adjective in Proto-Hellenic ====
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+*néwos, -ā, -on (new)
!Case
(singular)
![[Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]]
(singular)
!PE
(singular)
|-
|''Nom.''
|*néw'''os''', néw'''eh₂''', néw'''om'''
|*néw'''os''', néw'''ā''', néw'''on'''
|-
|''Gen.''
|*néw'''osyo''', néw'''eh₂s''', néw'''osyo'''
|*néw'''oyyo''', néw'''ās''', néw'''oyyo'''
|-
|''Dat.''
|*néw'''oey''', néw'''eh₂ey''', néw'''oey'''
|*néw'''ōi''', néw'''āi''', néw'''ōi'''
|-
|''Acc.''
|*néw'''om''', néw'''ām''', néw'''om'''
|*néw'''on''', néw'''ān''', néw'''on'''
|-
|''Voc.''
|*néw'''e''', néw'''eh₂''', néw'''om'''
|*néw'''e''', néw'''a''', néw'''on'''
|-
|''Loc.''
|*néw'''oy/ey''', néw'''eh₂i''', néw'''oy/ey'''
|*néw'''oi/ei''', néw'''ai''', néw'''oi/ei'''
|-
|''Instr.''
|*néw'''oh₁''', néw'''eh₂h₁''', néw'''oh₁'''
|*néw'''ō''', néw'''ā''', néw'''ō'''
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
!Case
(plural)
![[Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]]
(plural)
!PE
(plural)
|-
|''Nom.''
|*néw'''oes''', néw'''eh₂es''', néw'''eh₂'''
|*néw'''oi''', néw'''ai''', néw'''a'''
|-
|''Gen.''
|*néw'''oHom''', néw'''eh₂oHom''', néw'''oHom'''
|*néw'''ōn''', néw'''āōn''', néw'''ōn'''
|-
|''Dat.''
|*néw'''omos''', néw'''eh₂mos''', néw'''omos'''
|*néw'''ois''', néw'''ais''', néw'''ois'''
|-
|''Acc.''
|*néw'''oms''', néw'''eh₂m̥s''', néw'''eh₂'''
|*néw'''ons''', néw'''ans''', néw'''a'''
|-
|''Voc.''
|*néw'''oes''', néw'''eh₂es''', néw'''eh₂'''
|*néw'''oi''', néw'''ai''', néw'''a'''
|-
|''Loc.''
|*néw'''oysu''', néw'''eh₂su''', néw'''oysu'''
|*néw'''oihi''', néw'''āhi''', néw'''oihi'''
|-
|''Instr.''
|*néw'''ōys''', néw'''eh₂mis''', néw'''ōys'''
|*néw'''ois''', néw'''ais''', néw'''ois'''
|}

==Numerals==

Proto-Greek numerals were derived directly from Indo-European.{{sfn|Filos|2014|pp=182–183}}
*"one": {{lang|grk-x-proto|héns}} (masculine), {{lang|grk-x-proto|hmía}} (feminine) (> {{abbr|Myc.|Mycenaean Greek}} {{Transliteration|grc|e-me}} {{IPA|/heméi/}} (dative); {{abbr|Att.|Attic Greek}}/{{abbr|Ion.|Ionian Greek}} {{lang|grc|εἷς (ἑνός), μία}}, {{Transliteration|grc|heîs}} ({{Transliteration|grc|henos}}), {{Transliteration|grc|mía}})
*"two": {{lang|grk-x-proto|dúwō}} (> {{abbr|Myc.|Mycenaean Greek}} {{Transliteration|grc|du-wo}} {{IPA|/dúwoː/}}; {{abbr|Hom.|Homeric Greek}} {{lang|grc|δύω}}, {{Transliteration|grc|dúō}}; {{abbr|Att.|Attic Greek}}-{{abbr|Ion.|Ionian Greek}} {{lang|grc|δύο}}, {{Transliteration|grc|dúo}})
*"three": {{lang|grk-x-proto|tréyes}} (> {{abbr|Myc.|Mycenaean Greek}} {{Transliteration|grc|ti-ri}} {{IPA|/trins/}}; {{abbr|Att.|Attic Greek}}/{{abbr|Ion.|Ionian Greek}} {{lang|grc|τρεῖς}}, {{Transliteration|grc|treîs}}; {{abbr|Lesb.|Lesbian Greek}} {{lang|grc|τρής}}, {{Transliteration|grc|trḗs}}; {{abbr|Cret.|Cretan Greek}} {{lang|grc|τρέες}}, {{Transliteration|grc|trées}})
*"four": nominative {{lang|grk-x-proto|kʷétwores}}, genitive {{lang|grk-x-proto|kʷeturṓn}} (> {{abbr|Myc.|Mycenaean Greek}} {{Transliteration|grc|qe-to-ro-we}} {{IPA|/kʷétroːwes/}} "four-eared"; {{abbr|Att.|Attic Greek}} {{lang|grc-x-attic|τέτταρες}}, {{Transliteration|grc|téttares}}; {{abbr|Ion.|Ionian Greek}} {{lang|grc-x-ionic|τέσσερες}}, {{Transliteration|grc|tésseres}}; {{abbr|Boeot.|Boeotic Greek}} {{lang|grc|πέτταρες}}, {{Transliteration|grc|péttares}}; {{abbr|Thess.|Thessalonian Greek}} {{lang|grc|πίτταρες}}, {{Transliteration|grc|píttares}}; {{abbr|Lesb.|Lesbian Greek}} {{lang|grc|πίσυρες}}, {{Transliteration|grc|písures}}; {{abbr|Dor.|Doric Greek}} {{lang|grc-x-doric|τέτορες}}, {{Transliteration|grc|tétores}})
*"five": {{lang|grk-x-proto|pénkʷe}} (> {{abbr|Att.|Attic Greek}}-{{abbr|Ion.|Ionian Greek}} {{lang|grc|πέντε}}, {{Transliteration|grc|pénte}}; {{abbr|Lesb.|Lesbian Greek}}, {{abbr|Thess.|Thessalonian Greek}} {{lang|grc|πέμπε}}, {{Transliteration|grc|pémpe}})
*"six":  {{lang|grk-x-proto|hwéks}} (> {{abbr|Att.|Attic Greek}} {{lang|grc|ἕξ}}, {{Transliteration|grc|héks}}; {{abbr|Dor.|Doric Greek}} {{lang|grc-x-doric|ϝέξ}}, {{Transliteration|grc|wéks}})
*"seven": {{lang|grk-x-proto|heptə́}} (> {{abbr|Att.|Attic Greek}} {{lang|grc-x-attic|ἑπτά}}, {{Transliteration|grc|heptá}})
*"eight": {{lang|grk-x-proto|oktṓ}} (> {{abbr|Att.|Attic Greek}} {{lang|grc-x-attic|ὀκτώ}}, {{Transliteration|grc|oktṓ}})
*"nine": {{lang|grk-x-proto|ennéwə}} (> {{abbr|Att.|Attic Greek}} {{lang|grc-x-attic|ἐννέα}}, {{Transliteration|grc|ennéa}}; {{abbr|Dor.|Doric Greek}} {{lang|grc-x-doric|ἐννῆ}}, {{Transliteration|grc|ennê}})
*"ten": {{lang|grk-x-proto|dékə}} (> {{abbr|Att.|Attic Greek}} {{lang|grc-x-attic|δέκα}}, {{Transliteration|grc|déka}})
*"hundred": {{lang|grk-x-proto|hekətón}} (> {{abbr|Att.|Attic Greek}} {{lang|grc-x-attic|ἑκατόν}}, {{Transliteration|grc|hekatón}})
*"thousand": {{lang|grk-x-proto|kʰéhliyoi}} (> {{abbr|Att.|Attic Greek}} {{lang|grc-x-attic|χίλιοι}}, {{Transliteration|grc|khílioi}})

=== Summary of numerals in Proto-Hellenic ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
!Number
!PH
![[Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]]
|-
|''One (1)''
|*óinos
|*h₁óynos
|-
|''Two (2)''
|*dúwō
|*dwóh₁
|-
|''Three (3)''
|*tréyes
|*tréyes
|-
|''Four (4)''
|*kʷétwores
|*kʷetwóres
|-
|''Five (5)''
|*pénkʷe
|*pénkʷe
|-
|''Six (6)''
|*hwéks
|*swéḱs
|-
|''Seven (7)''
|*heptə́
|*septḿ̥
|-
|''Eight (8)''
|*oktṓ
|*(h₁)oḱtṓw
|-
|''Nine (9)''
|*ennéwə
|*h₁néwn̥
|-
|''Ten (10)''
|*dékə
|*déḱm̥
|-
|''One hundred (100)''
|*hekətón
|*heḱm̥tóm ''or'' *h₁ḱm̥tóm
(*ḱm̥tóm: "100")
|-
|''One thousand (1000)''
|*kʰehliyoi
|*ǵʰesliyoy (< *ǵʰéslom, "1000")
|}

==See also==
*[[Greeks]]

==Footnotes==
{{reflist|2}}

==References==
{{refbegin|2}}
*{{cite book |last1=Anthony |first1=David |title=The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World |date=2010 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-3110-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0FDqf415wqgC }}
*{{cite book|last=Buck|first=Carl Darling|author-link=Carl Darling Buck|title=Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin|year=1933|location=Chicago|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-07931-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EHtfAAAAMAAJ}}
*{{cite book|last=Clackson|first=James|title=The Linguistic Relationship Between Armenian and Greek|year=1995|location=Oxford|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|isbn=978-0-631-19197-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nnStQgAACAAJ|access-date=2016-05-21|archive-date=2023-03-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326113551/https://books.google.com/books?id=nnStQgAACAAJ|url-status=live}}
*{{cite journal|last=Coleman|first=John E.|title=An Archaeological Scenario for the "Coming of the Greeks" ca. 3200 B.C.|journal=The Journal of Indo-European Studies|volume=28|number=1–2|date=2000|pages=101–153|url=https://www.academia.edu/4908240|access-date=2018-06-01|archive-date=2022-03-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308214654/https://www.academia.edu/4908240|url-status=live}}
*{{cite book|last=Egetmeyer|first=Markus|title=Le dialecte grec ancien de Chypre|year=2010|publisher=De Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-021752-0|language=fr}}
*{{cite book |last=Filos |first=Panagiotis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=joJkAQAACAAJ |title=Encyclopedia of Ancient Greek Language and Linguistics |date=2014 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |isbn=978-90-04-22597-8 |editor-last=Giannakis |editor-first=Georgios K. |volume=3 |pages=175–189 |language=en |chapter=Proto-Greek and Common Greek |editor-last2=Bubenik |editor-first2=Vit |editor-last3=Crespo |editor-first3=Emilio |editor-last4=Golston |editor-first4=Chris |editor-last5=Lianeri |editor-first5=Alexandra |editor-last6=Luraghi |editor-first6=Silvia |editor-last7=Matthaios |editor-first7=Stephanos}}
*{{cite book|last=Fortson|first=Benjamin W. IV|title=Indo-European Language and Culture|year=2004|location=Malden, MA|publisher=Blackwell Publishing|isbn=1-4051-0316-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5hOtPBF6XWwC|access-date=2016-02-23|archive-date=2023-03-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326113550/https://books.google.com/books?id=5hOtPBF6XWwC|url-status=live}}
*{{cite book|last=Georgiev|first=Vladimir Ivanov|title=Introduction to the History of the Indo-European Languages|year=1981|location=Sofia|publisher=Bulgarian Academy of Sciences|isbn=978-953-51-7261-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xmZiAAAAMAAJ|access-date=2016-02-23|archive-date=2023-03-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326113555/https://books.google.com/books?id=xmZiAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|last=Hooker|first=J.T.|title=Mycenaean Greece|year=1976|location=London|publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul|isbn=978-0-7100-8379-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s0YbAAAAYAAJ}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Katona |first1=A. L. |title=Proto-Greeks and the Kurgan Theory |url=http://www.andreas-l-katonis.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/2000_6_Proto-Greeks-and-the-Kurgan-Theory.pdf |journal=The Journal of Indo-European Studies |date=2000 |access-date=2021-01-22 |archive-date=2021-01-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126204140/http://www.andreas-l-katonis.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/2000_6_Proto-Greeks-and-the-Kurgan-Theory.pdf |url-status=live }}
*{{cite book|last=Renfrew|first=Colin|chapter=Problems in the General Correlation of Archaeological and Linguistic Strata in Prehistoric Greece: The Model of Autochthonous Origin|pages=263–276|editor-last1=Crossland|editor-first1=R. A.|editor-last2=Birchall|editor-first2=Ann|title=Bronze Age Migrations in the Aegean; Archaeological and Linguistic Problems in Greek Prehistory: Proceedings of the first International Colloquium on Aegean Prehistory, Sheffield|location=London|publisher=Gerald Duckworth and Company Limited|year=1973|isbn=0-7156-0580-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MUkbAAAAYAAJ}}
*{{cite book|last=Renfrew|first=Colin|chapter=Time Depth, Convergence Theory, and Innovation in Proto-Indo-European: 'Old Europe' as a PIE Linguistic Area|pages=17–48|editor-last1=Bammesberger|editor-first1=Alfred|editor-last2=Vennemann|editor-first2=Theo|title=Languages in Prehistoric Europe|year=2003|location=Heidelberg|publisher=Universitätsverlag Winter GmBH|isbn=978-3-82-531449-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_VxiAAAAMAAJ|access-date=2016-04-15|archive-date=2023-03-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326113552/https://books.google.com/books?id=_VxiAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}
*{{cite book|last=Schwyzer|first=Eduard|title=Griechische Grammatik: auf der Grundlage von Karl Brugmanns Griechischer Grammatik|year=1939|location=Munich|publisher=C.H. Beck|isbn=978-3-406-03397-1|language=de|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=di_nAAAAMAAJ}}
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*{{cite thesis |last=Skelton |first=Christina |year=2014 |title=A New Computational Approach to the Ancient Greek Dialects: Phylogenetic Systematics |degree=PhD |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8j97616p |publisher=University of California Los Angeles}}
*{{cite book |last=van Beek |first=Lucien |url=https://brill.com/display/title/60857 |title=The Reflexes of Syllabic Liquids in Ancient Greek: Linguistic Prehistory of the Greek Dialects and Homeric ''Kunstsprache'' |date=2022a |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |isbn=978-90-04-46973-0 |editor-last=Lubotsky |editor-first=Alexander |editor-link=Alexander Lubotsky |series=[[Leiden Studies in Indo-European]] |volume=22 |issn=0926-5856 |editor-last2=Kloekhorst |editor-first2=Alwin |editor-link2=Alwin Kloekhorst |editor-last3=Pronk |editor-first3=Tijmen |editor-link3=Tijmen Pronk}}
*{{cite book |last=van Beek |first=Lucien |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/indoeuropean-language-family/4B44B5ACF0D3BBA89B9408050F112A52 |title=The Indo-European Language Family: A Phylogenetic Perspective |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |date=2022b |isbn=978-1-108-49979-8 |editor-last=Olander |editor-first=Thomas |pages=173–201 |chapter=Greek |doi=10.1017/9781108758666 |chapter-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/D7ECB74210D90E01F00D41B9930BC70A/9781108499798c11_173-201.pdf |s2cid=161016819}}
*{{cite book |last=Woodard |first=Roger D. |year=1997 |title=Greek Writing from Knossos to Homer: A Linguistic Interpretation of the Origin of the Greek Alphabet and the Continuity of Ancient Greek Literacy |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=0-19-510520-6}}
{{refend|2}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|last=Beekes|first=Robert Stephen Paul|author-link=Robert S. P. Beekes|title=Comparative Indo-European Linguistics|year=1995|location=Amsterdam|publisher=John Benjamins|isbn=90-272-2150-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wFVwAAAAIAAJ}}

{{Ancient Greece topics}}
{{Greek language}}
{{Greek language periods}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Proto-Greek Language}}
[[Category:Greek language]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek]]
[[Category:Proto-languages|Greek]]
[[Category:Aegean languages in the Bronze Age]]
[[Category:History of the Greek language]]