ˈheləˌnizəm noun
( -s )
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: Greek Hellēnismos imitation of things Greek, use of pure Greek language, from hellēnizein to speak Greek, imitate the Greeks, from Hellēn + -izein -ize
1. : grecism 1
2.
a. : conformity to or imitation of ancient Greek thought, customs, or styles
the Hellenism of some Seleucid Jews with their Greek hats and gymnasium exercises
Hellenism in the art of the classical revival of the 18th century
b. : devotion to Greece or to Greek culture or ideals
an Attic poet noted for his intense Hellenism
3. : Greek civilization especially as modified in the Hellenistic period by oriental influences
4. : a body of humanistic and classical ideals associated with ancient Greece and including reason, the pursuit of knowledge and the arts, moderation, civic responsibility, and bodily development
a revival of Hellenism fostered by some British Victorians
— compare hebraism 2
5. : the Greeks as a national or cultural group