LEXICON > Hellas, hellen, hellenic
names for greeks: Hellen, Graecus (greek), Romios.
their ancient phyla: Aeolian, Dorian, Ionian.
homeric names: Achaean, Danaan, Argive.
- Hellas, Hellen, hellenic = Greece, Greek, greek. Hellen is not the only word to describe the greek people through some 30 centuries of its history.
- ↑ Hellas endonym of the country: exonyms: eng: Greece, fre: la Grèce, ger: Griechenland, tur: Yunanistan. (MAP GREECE REGIONS)
- gre.n.f: nom: Eλλάδα [eˈlaða], gen: Eλλάδας [eˈlaðas]
- old gre.n.f. scr.poly: nom: ῾Eλλὰς mod.gre.pronunc. [eˈlas] erasmic: [helˈlas]
- old gre.n.f. scr.poly: gen: ῾Eλλάδoς mod.gre.pronunc: [eˈlaðos] erasmic: [helˈlados]
- More ABOUT GREECE.
- ↑ Hellen: adjective. = eng: greek (person) = fre.masc: grec, fre.fem: grecque = lat.masc-f-neu: graecus, graeca, graecum.
- gre.n.male: nom: Έλληνας [ˈelinas], gen: Έλληνα [ˈelina]
- gre.n.female: nom: Eλληνίδα [eliˈniða], gen: Eλληνίδας [eliˈniðas]
- old gre.n.male scr.poly: nom: Ἕλλην mod.gre.pronunc: [ˈelin] erasmic: [ˈhellɛn], gen: Ἕλληνoς mod.gre.pronunc:[ˈelinos] erasmic: [ˈhellɛnos]
- old gre.n.female scr.poly: nom: ῾Eλληνίς mod.gre.pronunc: [eliˈnis] erasmic: [hellɛˈnis], gen: ῾Eλληνίδoς mod.gre.pronunc: [eliˈniðos] erasmic: [hellɛˈnidos]
- MEANING: The person that belongs to the greek nation, or lives in Greece, or originates from Greece. But, according to the ancient orator Isocrates anyone may be a greek... (see text).
- Etymological discussion of the word is long. In the poems by Homer and Pindarus we find the people called ῾Eλλoί [hel`li] or Σελλoί [sel`li]. Many opinions exist about their geographical position. The philosopher Aristotle writes (Meteorological I.352a) that the Selli inhabited central Greece, they were called Γραικoί (Graeci) and later, called Έλληνες (Hellenes).
From that graec- root, the romans called us: Graeci. The same root is used by all european languages. The arabic world named us after the Ions, the greeks of Athens and central Asia Minor.
- In mythology, Ἕλλην mod.gre.pronunc: [ˈelin] erasmic:[ˈhellɛn] was son of Deukalion and Pyrra. They are the couple that, after the flood, created the new humans.
- In classic ancient times the word hellen and panhellenic takes its broad meaning: it describes all greeks, at all places that used greek language and had greek custom. During hellenistic times the hellenic mentality spread into broad areas and populations.
- During the first christian centuries, the word hellen acquired the meaning of idolatrous, non-christian and was used rather as a synonym to unbeliever. During the byzantine times, the greeks called themselves Romaeoi but in the last period, especially after 1204 (fall of Constantinople to the 4th crusade) the word hellen regained its panhellenic broad meaning.
- More names for greeks: (in latin/eng: masculine, singular, nominativus)
• in Homer: Argivus, Danaus, Achaeus, Graecus.
• Ancient greek phyla: Ion, Dorian, Aeoleus.
• Historians use the terms Mycenaean and Minoan to describe the two civilizations of Mycaenae (city of Peloponnese area MAP) and Crete (from its king Minos MAP GREECE REGIONS). The Minoans were prehellenic people. The Mycenaeans were the newcomers.
• in Middle times: Romios from Romaeos > Roman.
• in New Times: We call ourselves Ellines (hellenes). Westerners use the name greek and Greece from graecus, the name chosen by the romans for us. The arabs use the root Ion, and call us Yunanii.
- ↑ hellenic adjective = greek/grecian
- gre.n. scr.mono: m: ελληνικός [eliniˈkos], f: ελληνική [eliniˈci], neu: ελληνικό [eliniˈko]
- old gre.n. scr.poly: m: ἑλληνικὸς mod.gre.pronunc: [eliniˈkos] erasmic: [hellɛniˈkos], f: ἑλληνική [hellɛniˈcɛ], neu: ἑλληνικὸν mod.gre.pronunc: [eliniˈkon] erasmic: [hellɛniˈkon]
- Something that comes, originates from Greece (if we refer to a person, we use the adjective hellen).
- ↑ hellenistic
- The word, the historical period, the language KOINE: at hellenistic.
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- names for greeks
- ↑ Achaean pl. Achaeans. or: transliteration: Akhaioi.
- gre.scr.capital letters: AXAIOΣ plural: AXAIOI.
- gre.scr.mono: Aχαιός [açeˈos], plural: Aχαιoί [açeˈi]
- gre.scr.poly: Ἀχαιὸς erasmic: [açæˈos], plural: Ἀχαιoὶ
- In Iliad, Homer uses interchangeably the names Danai (Danaans), Argheioi (Argives) and Akhaeoi (Achaeans) for all greeks. Today, the name survives in the name of Achaïa, a prefecture at northern part of Peloponnesus (MAP GREECE REGIONS).
- ↑ Aeolian plural: Aeolians
- gre: AIOΛEIΣ Aιoλείς
- gre.pronunciation: mod.gre:[eo`lis] erasmic pron:[aio`leis]
- One of the main ancient hellenic peoples. They inhabited mostly Thessaly (MAP GREECE REGIONS), northeastern Aegean and Asia Minor. The root of the word aeol- means 'swift'. They considered Aeolus, the god of winds, son of Hellen, as their mythical forefather.
- Poets Sappho and Alceus wrote beautiful lyrical poems in the aeolic dialect.
- Aeolian mode in music was the diatonic scale from A to A.
Aeolian mode (music) @wikipedia
- ↑ Danaans lat: Danaus, plural: Danai gre: Δαναός [δana`os] erasmic: [dana`os].
- Remember the famous quotation from the Aeneid epic poem of Virgilius? Timeo Danaos...
- Homer uses interchangeably the names Danai (Danaans), Argheioi (Argives) and Akhaeoi (Achaeans) for all greeks.
- In mythology, Danaus was twin brother of Aegyptus. He fled from Aegypt to the city of Argos (see Argives).
- ↑ Dorians
gre. singular: Δωριεύς mode.gre: [δori`efs] plural: Δωριείς [δori`is]
- One of the three main ancient hellenic peoples (Ions, Aeolians, Dorians). They were the last wave of greek indoeuropean incoming peoples who invaded the area (1100 a.e.v.), carrying IRON and defeating most of the other greek populations. Mainly inhabited Sparta and the Peloponnesus (MAP). Also: colonies in Asia Minor and Sicily.
- doric Their dialect (doric) appears in many texts -mainly poetry- used by all greeks. Also: doric style of architecture, doric mode in music. Even today, the adjective 'doric' would describe a very austere, unornamented and noble style.
- The 'Tsaconic' modern dialect is probably a survivor of the ancient doric that was spoken till this last century at a small area in Peloponnesus. Deffner was the philologist that studied it.
- ↑ Graecus, Greek, Greece
- Latin root grae- of uncertain etymon for greece, greeks.
- ETYMOLOGY: see hellen.
Greek www.etymonline.com
- In greek: gre.adj.masc: Γραικός [γre`kos] = greek male person.
- The term was not used by greeks but by romans. After the european enlightenment it was used by westerners to describe the hellenes.
- ↑ Ion
- Ion: gre.adj. scr.mono: .Iων [ˈion]
scr.poly: Ἴων
- In greek mythology, Ion was grandson of Hellen. Ionians/Ions were the greeks of Attica who spread to the islands and central coast of Asia Minor c. 700 a.e.v. Their style in language, art, architecture, political life was the most refined in all greek antiquity. Today one would call Ion, a greek of Asia Minor (moved to Greece in 1924-6 during the exchange of populations with Turkey). All the islamic world uses the Ion root for Greece and greek: arabic: Yunanii = greek.
- ionic mod.gre.adj. scr.mono. m: ιωνικός [ioniˈkos], f: ιωνική [ioniˈci], neu: ιωνικό [ioniˈko]
- anc.gre.adj. scr.poly. m: ἰωνικός [ioniˈkos], f: ἰωνική [ioniˈci], neu: ἰωνικόν [ioniˈkon]
- was one of the main ancient greek dialects, also called attic. It is the language of the great classical writers.
- NOTE: The Ionian Sea (MAP) at the west of Greece is written with omikron gre.adj.neu: Iόνιo [iˈonio] = ionian (sea), but gre.n.f: Iωνία [io`nia] = Ionia, coast of Asia Minor is written with omega (ω). Etymology of the two words indicates the same root.
- ↑ Romios
- mod.gre. male person: Pωμιός [romˈɲos]
- mod.gre. female person: Pωμιά [romˈɲa]
- We got this name from romaeocracy times. After the fall of the western part of Roman Empire (c. 5th century e.v.) the adjective gre.scr.poly. male: Ῥωμαῖoς mod.gre.pronunc:[roˈmeos] = Roman, referred to the citizens of the Eastern byzantine part. During turkocracy, the term meant: the greek eastern orthodox christian. (Rum in turkish, but the Rum Empire is not to be confused: it was the pre-ottoman Seljuk Empire).
- 'Romios' is still used in colloquial greek. It denotes the greek psyche, or the greek that relates himself to the historical continuum of new times, not just the classic ancient ideal of a greek.
- Do not confuse the root rom- with the name of the nation: Rom plural: Roma. The etymon is unknown.