hellenism · noun — any of the characteristics of ancient Greek culture, civilization, principles and ideals, including humanism, reason, the pursuit of knowledge and the arts, moderation and civic responsibility. It carries an Arena rating of 1689, earned across 7 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, hellenism ranks #3,231 of 17,136 for Most Malleable Words, #3,273 of 17,128 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #4,156 of 17,132 for Most Beautiful Words, #5,379 of 17,106 for Most Storied Words.
hellenism is pronounced /ˈhɛlənɪzm/.
Why “hellenism” is a great word
HELLENISM — [Noun] The principles, ideals, and culture of ancient Greece, especially the secular humanism, rationalism, and artistic excellence characteristic of classical civilization. From Ancient Greek Ἑλληνισμός (Hellēnismós, "imitation of the Greeks"), from Ἕλλην (Héllēn, "a Greek"). First recorded in English c. 1600 in a linguistic sense; the cultural sense was popularized in 1865 by Matthew Arnold. Unlike "Hellenistic" (which specifies the post-Alexandrian, cosmopolitan era) or "Classicism" (which implies a formal, often Roman-inflected veneration of antiquity), Hellenism is the original spirit—the radiant core. It is the stark geometry of a Doric column against an Attic sky, the relentless logic of a Socratic dialogue, and the tragic, lucid acceptance of fate in a chorus’s lament—the human mind, for one brilliant epoch, believing it could measure the cosmos with reason and beauty.
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Etymology
Either via French hellénisme or Latin Hellēnismus or directly from Ancient Greek Ἑλληνισμός (Hellēnismós, “imitation of the Greeks”), from Ἕλλην (Héllēn, “a Greek”).
noun
- Any of the characteristics of ancient Greek culture, civilization, principles and ideals, including humanism, reason, the pursuit of knowledge and the arts, moderation and civic responsibility.
- The national character or culture of Greece.
- The culture and civilization of the Hellenistic period.
- The culture and civilization of the Hellenistic period.; The admiration for and adoption of ancient Greek culture, ideas and civilization.
- A Greek idiom or turn of phrase.
- The modern-day revival of the polytheistic religious system of Ancient Greece.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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