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The language problem in the Greek language begins during the ancient times with the well-known tendency of Atticism. In modern times, the language problem has developed into a confrontation among different interest groups regarding which version of Greek will become the national language, with negative consequences affecting all areas of social and intellectual life in Greece.The controversy that emerged in Greece in the beginning of the19th century over the choice of the nation’s official language, either the demotic Greek (modern vernacular) or the cultivated imitation of Ancient Greek (Katharevousa) was the language issue. The linguistic issue has affected Greece from the pre-revolutionary years, throughout the establishment of the Greek State and continues until the present day. The aim of this paper is to present and approach the main aspects of the language issue, focusing on three different time periods· antiquity, the Byzantine (medieval) era and modern Greece, emphasizing the negative impact that this particular controversy had on language and education.