With the empire of Alexander the Great, Greek became the official language of a huge empire. Greek became the lingua franca of the Near East and remained so when the eastern Mediterranean came under Roman rule. An important characteristic of this historical period is the increased Hellenization, the penetration of the Orient by Greek culture, and in return the growing influence of Oriental culture on the Greeks. The Hellenistic world encompassed a vast area that stretched from Sicily and Lower Italy (Magna Graecia) to Greece and India, and from the Black Sea to Egypt and today's Afghanistan.
Hellenism meant the development from classical Greek culture to a civilization with global dimensions, which was now open to everyone. Accordingly, the concept of the "Hellenic" evolved from the meaning of ethnic Greek to a cultural concept that included those who subjected their lives to Greek values.
With the beginning of Christianisation, Greek also gained importance as the language of the Church in the west of the Roman Empire.