Names of the Greeks

The Greeks have been known by a number of different names throughout history. The soldiers that fell at Thermopylae did so as Hellenes, while centuries later when Jesus preached his beliefs any person of non-Jewish faith was a Hellene. Instead, by the time Constantine the Great became Emperor they were known as Romans, and all the while their neighbours in the West would call them Greeks, while those in the East would call them Yunans. The onset of every historical era was accompanied by a new name, either completely new or old and forgotten, extracted from tradition or borrowed from foreigners. Every single one of them was significant in its own time and all can be used interchangeably, which is perhaps why the Greeks are such a polyonymous people.

Related Topics:
Greeks - Names - Thermopylae - Jesus - Jew - Constantine the Great - Emperor

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