Hellenistic

adjective

Hel·​le·​nis·​tic ˌhe-lə-ˈni-stik How to pronounce Hellenistic (audio)
1
: of or relating to Greek history, culture, or art after Alexander the Great
2
: of or relating to the Hellenists
Hellenistically adverb

Examples of Hellenistic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Other artifacts being returned include a Hellenistic statuette of the mythical heroine Atalanta, an aryballos depicting a battle scene from 600-500 BCE, and a Dionysian kantharos from the 4th century BCE. Karen K. Ho For Artnews, Robb Report, 26 Feb. 2025 Petra’s location linking East and West—which swiftly enriched the city and, by extension, the entire Nabataean Kingdom—is reflected in its distinctive rock-cut architecture, which infuses Nabataean architecture with Hellenistic and Byzantine features. Hannah Edgar, ARTnews.com, 25 Feb. 2025 Greece’s three-century-long Hellenistic era was marked by cultural expansion and exchange. Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Jan. 2025 The statue that dates back to the Hellenistic period, which covers the time between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the conquest of Egypt by Rome in 30 BC, according to the History Channel. Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY, 23 Jan. 2025 In a press release that was translated from Hebrew to English, the university explained that the artifacts date back to the Hellenistic period. Andrea Margolis, Fox News, 6 Jan. 2025 Mintz said that during the early Roman Empire, when Jews were in a position of strength, at least some of them actively worked to convert people in the Hellenistic world. Jeannie Suk Gersen, The New Yorker, 2 Dec. 2024 But come the Hellenistic age, which began around 323 B.C.E., the Greeks started depicting satyrs as half-man, half-goat, with caprine legs, hooves and horns—the anatomy found in Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson children’s novels. Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Aug. 2024 The statue is a replica of the original created in the 16th century by sculptor Giambologna, who was influenced by Hellenistic sculpture and the works of Michelangelo and who settled in Florence in 1552. Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN, 17 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1678, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of Hellenistic was in 1678

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Cite this Entry

“Hellenistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Hellenistic. Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

Hellenistic

adjective
Hel·​le·​nis·​tic ˌhel-ə-ˈnis-tik How to pronounce Hellenistic (audio)
: of or relating to the widespread Greek-based culture that developed after the conquests of Alexander the Great
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