[1] In the late 330s BCE, Alexander the Great invaded the Middle East (including the area which is now Israel), during his campaigns against the Achaemenid Empire.
The landscape during this period was markedly changed by extensive growth and development that included urban planning and the establishment of well-built fortified cities.
Hellenistic pottery, trade and commerce flourished, particularly in the most Hellenized areas, such as Ashkelon, Jaffa, Jerusalem, Gaza, and ancient Nablus (Tell Balatah).
[2] When the Hasmonean Kingdom was absorbed into the Roman Empire, the area remained under the influence of the Greek language and culture.
The 1922 census of Palestine lists 1,315 Greek speakers in Mandatory Palestine (7 in Southern, 1,044 in Jerusalem-Jaffa, 19 in Samaria, and 245 in Northern), including 1,230 in municipal areas (760 in Jerusalem, 161 in Jaffa, 205 in Haifa, 4 in Gaza, 1 in Hebron, 6 in Nablus, 1 in Safad, 1 in Lydda, 12 in Nazareth, 20 in Ramleh, 1 in Tiberias, 29 in Bethlehem, 11 in Acre, 2 in Tulkarem, 1 in Ramallah, 4 in Beit Jala, 10 in Jenin, 1 in Beersheba, and 1 in Baisan).