Of or relating to Greece or Greek culture, especially ancient Greece. Pertaining to the Greek people, language, or civilization.
From Greek 'Hellenikos' meaning Greek, derived from 'Hellen,' the mythical ancestor of the Greeks. The term became standard in scholarly and cultural contexts during the 19th century revival of classical studies.
The Greeks never called themselves 'Greeks' - they called themselves 'Hellenes' after their mythical forefather Hellen, making 'Hellenic' more authentically Greek than 'Greek' itself, which comes from the Roman term 'Graeci.' This distinction reflects the difference between self-identification and external naming in cultural history.
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