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Friends and scholars....! Do enlighten me on this one bothering me.. Greek and Persian languages 2,000 and more years ago, were poles apart. The Persians were speaking Aramaic, Avestan and some other dialects.. Greeks ofcourse spoke Greek.. Now since we know that a sizeable number of Greek mercenaries were always serving the Persian king ( a regiment actually fought against Alexander ). How did the Greeks and Persians communicate with each other..? what was the link language...?? and how did Alexander command his Persian soldiers...? sinhakumara.

Sorry that it's taken so long to give an answer to this question.

I don't think it's any great mystery. The Greeks and Persians had been communicating for nearly 200 years, and so there will have been many Greeks who spoke Persian, and many Persians who spoke Greek. Ever since the Persians had conquered Ionia there would have been people from both cultures who learned the others' language - and probably other languages besides, considering the number of other groups in Asia Minor particularly.

And we also have specific examples from the 4th century - Artabazus and his family, who spent time in Macedonia and who clearly spoke Greek; and the Rhodians Mentor and Memnon, who undoubtedly spoke Persian and who married into Artabazus' family.

Then, of course, there were interpreters ...

Marcus, you are logical....that indeed may have happened. But if there is any record of this linguistic comfort level between the 'civilised' and the 'barbarians'.....I would be interested to know....thanks..!

sinhakumara wrote:Marcus, you are logical....that indeed may have happened. But if there is any record of this linguistic comfort level between the 'civilised' and the 'barbarians'.....I would be interested to know....thanks..!

Off the top of my head, we already know about Artabazus and his family (and it is recorded that Barsine spoke Greek), and we can make a pretty good assumption about Mentor and Memnon.

On the Macedonian side, we know that Peucestas learned Persian, because it was for that reason that Alexander made him satrap of Persis. When he learned it, however, we don't know, but certainly by 324BC he spoke it. But we also know that Laomedon spoke Persian because he was put in charge of the Persian captives after Issus for that reason.

We also have sporadic mention of interpreters.

ATB