Hellenist

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. A Jew of the ancient diaspora who spoke Greek and adopted aspects of Greek culture ; a scholar devoted to the study of classical Greek language and civilization ; a person who admires and follows Hellenism, the spread of Greek thought and style
2. A Jewish person living outside Palestine in the Hellenistic age who used the Greek tongue ; an expert in the language, literature and history of ancient Greece ; someone who embraces Greek ideas, arts and customs
3. Greek-speaking Jews of the post-classical world were called Hellenists ; specialists who study ancient Greek culture bear the same name ; followers of Hellenism who adopt Greek manners and philosophy are also Hellenists

Etymology: The word's most surprising feature is that its earliest sense had nothing to do with religion. In ancient Greek, "hellēnistēs" meant simply "someone who speaks Greek," formed from "hellēnizein," "to speak Greek, to behave like a Greek," itself built on "Hellēn," the Greek word for a Greek. Speaking the language was the defining test, so a non-Greek who had mastered it could be called a "hellēnistēs" just as a native speaker could. The sense narrowed over time. Among Jewish writers of the period, the word came to describe Greek-speaking Jews of the Mediterranean diaspora, people who lived in a Greek cultural world while keeping their ancestral faith. The contrast was with Hebrew- or Aramaic-speaking Jews of Judea, and the word carried a shade of distinction between the two groups.

Synonyms: philhellene