Koine Greek is the common form of the Greek language used over the nine centuries of the postclassical period ( c. 300 BCE-600 CE). A synchronically and diachronically complex category, its evidence is preserved not only in literature, but also in remarkably rich documentary sources. These ancient textual artefacts were most typically written with pen and ink on papyri, ostraca and other supports or inscribed on stone, metal, and other surfaces. Linguistic analysis of the documents is a research sphere that after a long period of limited exploration has developed with remarkable dynamism in recent times. This book contains a set of studies on aspects of Koine Greek involving the evidence of documentary sources. It features the work of both established scholars and emerging talent. Our aim is to demonstrate the current state of research and to illustrate the vital and continuing contribution investigation of the documents is making to our understanding of ancient Greek in general.
