Around 800 BC, numerous Greek Poleis founded colonies in the entire Mediterranean area, including the Black Sea. Mostly these colonies were friendly connected to the mother city (Metropolis), but politically independent city states. Through this colonization, the Greek language, culture and polis order were spread, especially in the coastal areas of the Mediterranean and Black Sea.
Gradually, with the increasing cultural and economic importance of the Poleis and its colonies throughout the Mediterranean, Greek became a world language of the ancient world. It is estimated that at the beginning of the 4th century B.C., the number of Greek speakers was about 7 million people, at the time of Alexander the Great about 9 million.