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希腊的名字咋来的? - 知乎
希腊的名字咋来的? - 知乎首页知乎知学堂发现等你来答切换模式登录/注册希腊希腊经济危机希腊文明希腊的名字咋来的?关注者4被浏览8,662关注问题写回答邀请回答好问题添加评论分享4 个回答默认排序灵魂收割者的礼赞第二故乡是希腊的懒人 关注希腊其实是指的Hellas,希腊人的自称。Greece的词源是拉丁文Graeceo,是罗马人对希腊的称呼。你可以理解为,中国和China的区别。发布于 2019-12-01 20:10赞同 34 条评论分享收藏喜欢收起奋斗记者 关注喜欢欧洲的人,一定喜欢希腊,那里处处充满了浪漫。那么,希腊的名字是怎么来的呢?今天,每日汉字编辑就和大家聊聊希腊名字的起源!希腊今天,我们提到的希腊,指的是希腊共和国。这个国家位于欧洲东南角、巴尔干半岛的南端,全国由半岛南部的伯罗奔尼撒半岛和爱琴海中的3000余座岛屿共同构成。希腊的国土面积为13.1957万平方公里,人口1079万人。我们可以做个对比,吉林省的面积是18.74万平方公里,人口2704万。从土地面积和人口数量,希腊都没有吉林省大。不过,古希腊文明,则是太牛了。时至今日,持续了约650年的古希腊还被认为是西方文明的源头之一。主要是因为古希腊人在哲学、思想、诗歌、建筑、科学、文学、戏剧、神话等诸多方面有很深的造诣。这一文明遗产在古希腊灭亡后,被古罗马人延续下去,从而成为整个西方文明的精神源泉。那么,为啥叫做希腊呢?普罗米修斯希腊的名字来源于一个名人—赫楞(Hellen)。我们快读一下Hellen这个单词,会发现与希腊非常像。这就是翻译的问题,Hellen到中国后,就变成了希腊。那么,赫楞是谁呢?为啥会成为希腊的国名呢?我们先说说赫楞的爷爷。太牛了,就是希腊神话中的普罗米修斯。就是他从太阳神阿波罗那里盗走火种送给人类,给人类带来了光明,是一位让人敬仰的神。他因此而受到宙斯的处罚,被绑在高加索山,每日忍受风吹日晒和鹫鹰啄食。赫楞的父亲是希腊神话中的丢卡利翁,母亲是皮拉。两人的影响,丝毫不亚于普罗米修斯,古希腊人对丢卡利翁崇敬、赞美至极,认为他是最纯粹、最应该尊敬的人。传说,宙斯对潘多拉向凡人释放出来的烦恼与折磨并不感到满足,于是决定用一场大洪水来毁灭他们,以此作为对凡人不敬诸神及其邪恶多端的惩罚。此前,丢卡利翁听从了父亲普罗米修斯的劝告,建造了一艘方舟。当大洪水到来之际,丢卡利翁与皮拉夫妻两个便藏在方舟内,在波浪上漂浮了9天9夜。所以,洪水过后,幸存者只有丢卡利翁和皮拉。丢卡利翁与中国的女娲造人类似,丢卡利翁与皮拉也开始造人。他们向法律女神忒弥斯祷告并祈求恢复种族的旧观,女神感动了便谕示他们夫妻把“他们母亲的骸骨”扔到脑袋后面去。夫妻二人将忒弥斯的谕示理解为:他们应该边走边将石块扔到身后去。他们照着做了;于是男人从丢卡利翁所扔的石头中长了出来,女人则从皮拉所扔的石头中长了出来。就这样,新的人类诞生了。根据赫西奥德的记载,这些从石头中诞生的人便是莱莱吉人,而真正由丢卡利翁与皮拉所诞育的孩子是赫愣(Hellen),正是他让希腊有了名字!希腊赫愣做了什么事呢?记载很少。不过,爷爷、父亲都很有名。更主要的是,赫愣的儿子更有名。根据资料记载,赫愣每一个儿子都创建了一个主要的种族:埃俄罗斯创建了埃俄利亚族,多洛斯创建了多利安族,克苏托斯创建了亚该亚族等等。更主要的是这些人儿子及儿子的子孙又非常有战斗力,征服了希腊的佛提亚地区,随后将他们的统治范围扩展到其他的希腊城市,逐步发展成为古希腊的统治者。这些有着血缘关系的赫愣后代,用了统一的符号,都称呼自己是赫愣的后代。后来,那些地区的人,便因为他们祖先赫愣的名字,而被称为赫愣人。赫楞(Hellen)传到中国后,因为翻译的原因,就成了希腊。此后,希腊就成为了民族的代指。希腊美女从公元前8世纪初至前6世纪末,古代希腊世界的大部分地区处于和平环境之中,没有受到外族的严重威胁。到了公元前546年,波斯帝国进攻位于小亚细亚的希腊城邦,希腊数百个城邦卷入了规模空前的“希腊世界大战”,战火几乎波及当时整个地中海文明世界。公元前299年,罗马势力开始侵入巴尔干半岛。随着希腊化诸王国陆续灭亡,罗马人逐渐成为希腊人命运的主宰。公元前30年,罗马灭亡了最后一个希腊化国家——统治埃及的托勒密王朝,古代希腊的历史随之告终。公元395年,罗马帝国皇帝狄奥多西去世,他把帝国一分为二,东部分给长子阿卡狄乌斯,西部分给幼子霍诺里乌斯。从此,希腊归东罗马帝国管辖。东罗马帝国灭亡后,从1460年起,希腊被奥斯曼帝国统治。 1821年3月25日,希腊爆发反侵略军的独立战争,同时宣布独立。 【作者:每日汉字】发布于 2019-12-01 07:45赞同 12添加评论分享收藏喜欢收起
Helen(希腊神话中常用女性名字(希腊语代表光))_百度百科
n(希腊神话中常用女性名字(希腊语代表光))_百度百科 网页新闻贴吧知道网盘图片视频地图文库资讯采购百科百度首页登录注册进入词条全站搜索帮助首页秒懂百科特色百科知识专题加入百科百科团队权威合作下载百科APP个人中心Helen是一个多义词,请在下列义项上选择浏览(共9个义项)添加义项收藏查看我的收藏0有用+10Helen播报讨论上传视频希腊神话中常用女性名字(希腊语代表光)Helen,希腊神话中常用女性名字,光的意思。人们认为helen是美丽的上流社会的女子,有着黑发与黑眸,优雅,聪明,受过高等教育。外文名Helen神话体系希腊神话象 征光目录1起因2特洛伊之战起因播报编辑丽达Leda非常的美丽,宙斯Zeus看见她后就立刻爱上了她。宙斯Zeus化身为一只天鹅,依偎到美丽的Sparta斯巴达王后 丽达Leda身边。完事之后,Leda丽达生下了两颗天鹅蛋,一颗孵出 卡斯托尔Castor, 波吕克斯 Polydeuces (Pollux) 两兄弟,另一颗诞生了Clytaemnestra克丽泰梅丝特拉、及天下第一美女Helen海伦。虽然四个兄弟姐妹是出生自同一个母亲,可是他们却有着不同的父亲。Castor卡斯托尔 及Clytaemnestra克丽泰梅丝特拉的父亲就是原本的Sparta斯巴达国王廷达柔斯Tyndareus,而 波吕克斯Pollux及Helen海伦的父亲才是宙斯Zeus。不过斯巴达国王对他们都如同亲生。Helen 海伦 实在太漂亮了,追求者不知凡几,斯巴达国王不堪其扰,最後采纳奥德赛斯之建议,凡追求者必需尊重Helen 海伦的抉择,并保护Helen及她所选择的对象。最后Helen选择了Menelaus美尼劳斯/米耐劳斯,Menelaus并因此继承王位,当上了斯巴达国王。而海伦Helen的天鹅蛋姐姐Clytaemnestra嫁给了Menelaus的哥哥Mycenae迈锡尼的国王Agamemnon 阿加门农。海伦的美貌冠绝希腊,连阿提卡半岛(Attica)的英雄忒修斯(Theseus)也曾尝试去劫走她。求婚者接踵而来,而内讧争斗令廷达柔斯不知所措,最后机智的求婚者Ithaca国王Odysseus奥德修斯向廷达柔斯进言:“让海伦自己决定,并让所有求婚者起誓,他们对海伦的丈夫永不拿起武器攻击他,并且要求援时全力帮助他。”所有求婚者应允后,海伦就挑选了阿特柔斯(Atreus)的英俊儿子墨涅拉奥斯(Menelaus)。后来,特洛伊王子帕里斯奉命出使希腊,在斯巴达国王那里做客,他在爱与美之神阿芙罗狄忒的帮助下,趁着墨涅俄斯外出之际,诱走Helen,还带走了很多财宝。特洛伊之战播报编辑此事激起了希腊各部族的公愤,墨涅俄斯发誓说,宁死也要夺回Helen,报仇雪恨。为此,在希腊各城邦英雄的赞助下,调集十万大军和1180条战船,组成了希腊联军,公推墨涅俄斯的哥哥阿枷门农(Agamemnon)为联军统帅,浩浩荡荡,跨海东征,攻打特洛伊城,企图用武力夺回Helen。双方大战10年,死伤无数,许多英雄战死在沙场。甚至连奥林匹斯山的众神也分成2个阵营,有些支持希腊人,有些帮助特洛伊人,彼此展开了一场持久的恶斗。最后希腊联军采用足智多谋的奥德修斯(Odusseus)的“木马计”,里应外合才攻陷了特洛伊。希腊人进城后,大肆杀戮,帕里斯王子也被杀死,特洛伊的妇女、儿童全部沦为奴隶。特洛伊城被掠夺一空,烧成了一片灰烬。战争结束后,希腊将士带着大量战利品回到希腊,墨涅俄斯抢回了美貌的Helen重返故土。这就是特洛伊战争的起因。新手上路成长任务编辑入门编辑规则本人编辑我有疑问内容质疑在线客服官方贴吧意见反馈投诉建议举报不良信息未通过词条申诉投诉侵权信息封禁查询与解封©2024 Baidu 使用百度前必读 | 百科协议 | 隐私政策 | 百度百科合作平台 | 京ICP证030173号 京公网安备110000020000海伦(希腊神话人物)_百度百科
腊神话人物)_百度百科 网页新闻贴吧知道网盘图片视频地图文库资讯采购百科百度首页登录注册进入词条全站搜索帮助首页秒懂百科特色百科知识专题加入百科百科团队权威合作下载百科APP个人中心海伦是一个多义词,请在下列义项上选择浏览(共35个义项)展开添加义项海伦播报讨论上传视频希腊神话人物收藏查看我的收藏0有用+10海伦是古希腊神话中第三代众神之王宙斯跟勒达所生的女儿,在她的后父斯巴达国王廷达瑞俄斯的宫里长大。她是在人间里最漂亮的女人。在她出生时,神赋予她可以模仿任意一个女人的声音的能力。长大后,她和特洛伊王子帕里斯私奔,引发了长达十年的特洛伊战争。中文名海伦外文名古希腊语:Ἑλένη, Helénē,英语:Helen of Troy家庭背景宙斯跟勒达所生的女儿特 征在人间里最漂亮的女人神话体系希腊神话目录1故事概括2个人生活故事概括播报编辑海伦是宙斯跟勒达所生的女儿,在她的后父斯巴达国王廷达瑞俄斯的宫里长大。忒修斯和庇里托俄斯远征斯巴达,他们在阿耳忒弥斯神庙里看见她跳舞。两个人都抵挡不住爱情的欲火,便大胆地闯进神庙,把她抢走,带到亚加狄亚的特格阿。他们在这里抽签决定海伦归谁。两人约好,抽中签的一定要帮未抽中签的再去抢一个美女。结果忒修斯抽中了签,他把海伦带到阿提喀地区的阿弗得纳,由母亲埃特拉照料海伦,并让一个朋友保护她。然后,他又跟自己的朋友计划去进行一场伟大而又惊人的冒险。庇里托俄斯在失去海伦后,决定从地府里拐走冥王哈迪斯的妻子珀耳塞福涅,并占有她,以求得安慰。可是他们的计划彻底失败了。两人被哈迪斯永远拘押在地府里。赫拉克勒斯想要救出他们两人,但结果只救出了忒修斯。当忒修斯被关在哈得斯的地府里的时候,海伦的两个哥哥卡斯托耳和波吕丢刻斯,来到雅典。他们有礼貌地要求归还海伦。但雅典人说年轻的公主不在雅典,而且也不知道忒修斯把她藏在哪里。兄弟俩勃然大怒,威胁说要动用武力。雅典人十分害怕,其中有一人名叫阿卡特摩斯,他知道忒修斯的秘密,于是告诉他们,海伦藏在阿弗得纳。卡斯托耳和波吕丢刻斯立即围攻该城,并很快攻陷了城池。同时,雅典城里也发生了一件不利于忒修斯的事。厄瑞克透斯的孙子梅纳斯透斯自立为人民的领袖。他想篡夺王位,因此,蛊惑城里的贵族们,说国王让他们从乡村迁移到城市,实际上是控制他们,奴役他们。他对那些自由民说,他们放弃了乡间的神庙和神祇,不再依赖当地的大小贵族,却服从一个外地的暴君,以此煽动民众对国王不满的情绪。阿弗得纳被廷达瑞俄斯的族人攻占了,雅典人惊恐不安,梅纳斯透斯利用人民的恐慌情绪,劝居民给廷达瑞俄斯的两个儿子打开城门,友好地迎接他们入城,因为卡斯托耳和波吕丢刻斯只是反对忒修斯抢去了他们的妹妹。事实也证明了梅纳斯透斯说的话。那些外来的士兵虽然从打开的城门里冲了进来,控制了城内所有的地区,但他们并没有伤害一个人。他们救出了海伦,在市民的护送下离开了雅典,回到故乡去了。长大后的海伦越发地迷人,引得求婚的人络绎不绝,因为担心最后选出一位女婿会得罪那么多的求婚者,她的父亲斯巴达国王廷达瑞俄斯让所有求婚者都当众立誓,誓言内容是将来跟有幸选中的新郎建立同盟,共同反对任何因为对这场婚姻不满而企图加害国王的求婚人。后来,他选中了墨涅拉奥斯。墨涅拉奥斯是阿伽门农的兄弟,亚各斯人的国王,他与海伦结婚后,也继承了斯巴达的王权,海伦还为墨涅拉奥斯生了一个女儿,名叫赫耳弥奥涅。恰逢特洛伊国王普里阿摩斯委托了一项任务给王子帕里斯,让他前往萨拉密斯接回国王的姐姐——萨拉密斯的女君主赫西俄涅,帕里斯带领大队人马浩浩荡荡往锡西拉岛进发。帕里斯受到阿芙罗狄忒的唆使,乘船到斯巴达找海伦,普里阿摩斯另一位儿子、预言家赫勒诺斯(Helenus)警告帕里斯,他却置若罔闻。他来到拉科尼亚(Laconia)的海岸,和他的朋友埃涅阿斯(Aeneas)上了岸,作为客人探访斯巴达国王墨涅拉奥斯(Menelaus),宴上帕里斯及海伦已互生情愫。过了几天,墨涅拉奥斯说要到克里特岛(Crete),临行前嘱咐海伦好好招呼客人。墨涅拉奥斯一走,帕里斯就唆使海伦离开丈夫,跟他同赴特洛伊,海伦为了爱情抛弃了一切,包括她的女儿赫尔弥奥涅。回程途中,海神涅柔斯(Nereus)突然将船停住,告诉他们要付出代价,然而阿芙罗狄忒安慰他们,三天后他们就回到了特洛伊。为了夺回海伦,希腊军队越过海峡,将特洛伊城紧紧包围。一天正当海伦静静地将自己的经历编织成一块金色的毯时,有人叫她在特洛伊城上观看墨涅拉奥斯和帕里斯的决斗。墨涅拉奥斯决心杀死帕里斯。坐在普里阿摩斯国王旁边,她将希腊一方的首领告诉了国王。当她看到城墙下前夫的身影时,爱的热泪流满了眼帘。帕里斯战败逃离战场后,她既感到爱,又感到卑视。她鼓励海格特和帕里斯再次走上战场,并真诚地为真正的英雄海格特的死而哀痛。但当奥德修斯和狄俄墨德斯化装后来偷窃雅典娜神像时,她竭尽全力帮助了她们。帕里斯战死后,她成了普里阿摩斯国王另一个儿子的妻子。 [1]与此同时墨涅拉奥斯焦急地在毁坏的特洛伊宫中寻找海伦。爱神阿芙罗狄忒使海伦变得更美丽了。结果当墨涅拉奥斯终于发现躲在角落中发抖的海伦时,极不情愿将利剑刺向她那迷人的面孔。而他内心正为夺回海伦暗自高兴,海伦跟随墨涅拉奥斯穿过特洛伊城的废墟,她深为自己的不洁行为感到耻辱。一想到自己将在希腊军营中遭受的命运,她就心惊胆颤。她的美丽再次拯救了她。没有人能忍心将剑刺向令人销魂,妩媚动人的女子之身。在墨涅拉奥斯的帐篷中,海伦跪在斯巴达国王的脚下,乞求饶恕。看到眼前的情形,墨涅拉奥斯深受感动,他扶起海伦,让她忘掉过去的一切。墨涅拉奥斯将她抱起来时,海伦的两眼流出幸福与悲伤的泪水。他们俩像以前那样相爱,一同消失在遥远的西方。个人生活播报编辑海伦是宙斯跟勒达所生的女儿,她的后父是斯巴达国王廷达瑞俄斯。新手上路成长任务编辑入门编辑规则本人编辑我有疑问内容质疑在线客服官方贴吧意见反馈投诉建议举报不良信息未通过词条申诉投诉侵权信息封禁查询与解封©2024 Baidu 使用百度前必读 | 百科协议 | 隐私政策 | 百度百科合作平台 | 京ICP证030173号 京公网安备110000020000Hellen | Titans, Olympians & Pantheon | Britannica
Hellen | Titans, Olympians & Pantheon | Britannica
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Hellen
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Hellen
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Hellen, in Greek mythology, king of Phthia (at the northern end of the Gulf of Euboea), son of Deucalion (the Greek Noah) and Pyrrha and grandson of the Titan Prometheus; he was the eponymous ancestor of all true Greeks, called Hellenes in his honour. The Hellenes consisted of the Aeolians, Dorians, Ionians, and Achaeans, traditionally descended from and named for Hellen’s sons, Aeolus and Dorus, and his grandsons (by his third son, Xuthus), Ion and Achaeus.
Why Were the Ancient Greeks Called Hellenes?
Why Were the Ancient Greeks Called Hellenes?
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Why Were the Ancient Greeks Called Hellenes?
Hellenes Have Nothing to Do With Helen of Troy
Hellen was the son of Deucalion and Pyrrha. According to Ovid's Metamorphoses, Deucalion and Pyrrha threw throw stones which turn into people. the first stone they threw becomes their son, Hellen.
Peter Paul Rubens/Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
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By
N.S. Gill
N.S. Gill
Ancient History and Latin Expert
M.A., Linguistics, University of Minnesota
B.A., Latin, University of Minnesota
N.S. Gill is a Latinist, writer, and teacher of ancient history and Latin. She has been featured by NPR and National Geographic for her ancient history expertise.
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Updated on January 31, 2019
If you read any ancient Greek history, you'll see references to the "Hellenic" people and the "Hellenistic" period. These references describe only a relatively brief period between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE and the defeat of Egypt by Rome in 31 BCE. Egypt, and particularly Alexandria, came to be the center of Hellenism. The end of the Hellenistic World came when the Romans took over Egypt, in 30 B.C., with the death of Cleopatra.
Origin of the Name Hellene
The name comes from Hellen who was not the woman famed from the Trojan War (Helen of Troy), but the son of Deucalion and Pyrrha. According to Ovid's Metamorphoses, Deucalion and Pyrrha were the only survivors of a flood similar to the one described in the story of Noah's Ark. To repopulate the world, they throw stones which turn into people; the first stone they throw becomes their son, Hellen. Hellen, the male, has two l's in his name; whereas Helen of Troy has only one.
Ovid did not come up with the idea of using the name Hellen to describe the Greek people; according to Thucydides:
"Before the Trojan war there is no indication of any common action in Hellas, nor indeed of the universal prevalence of the name; on the contrary, before the time of Hellen, son of Deucalion, no such appellation existed, but the country went by the names of the different tribes, in particular of the Pelasgian. It was not till Hellen and his sons grew strong in Phthiotis, and were invited as allies into the other cities, that one by one they gradually acquired from the connection the name of Hellenes; though a long time elapsed before that name could fasten itself upon all. The best proof of this is furnished by Homer. Born long after the Trojan War, he nowhere calls all of them by that name, nor indeed any of them except the followers of Achilles from Phthiotis, who were the original Hellenes: in his poems they are called Danaans, Argives, and Achaeans." (Richard Crawley's translation of Thucydides Book I)
Who the Hellenes Were
After the death of Alexander, some city-states came under Greek influence and were thus "Hellenized." The Hellenes, therefore, were not necessarily ethnic Greeks as we know them today. Instead, they included groups we now know of as Assyrians, Egyptians, Jews, Arabs, and Armenians among others. As Greek influence spread, Hellenization even reached the Balkans, the Middle East, Central Asia, and parts of modern India and Pakistan.
What Happened to the Hellenes
As the Roman Republic became stronger, it began to flex its military might. In 168 BCE, the Romans defeated Macedon; from that point forward, Roman influence grew. In 146 BCE the Hellenistic region became a Protectorate of Rome; it was then that Romans began imitating Hellenic (Greek) clothing, religion, and ideas.
The end of the Hellenistic Era came in 31 BCE. It was then that Octavian, who later became Augustus Caesar, defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra and made Greece a part of the new Roman Empire.
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Gill, N.S. "Why Were the Ancient Greeks Called Hellenes?" ThoughtCo, Sep. 9, 2021, thoughtco.com/why-are-the-greeks-called-hellenes-117769.
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请问helen与hellen有区别吗? - 知乎
请问helen与hellen有区别吗? - 知乎首页知乎知学堂发现等你来答切换模式登录/注册英文名请问helen与hellen有区别吗?孩子的英文名字叫helen (海伦),但是考试填写自己名字时老师非说名字应该写成:hellen 卷子扣了一分,我在网上查询了一般女孩名字写成helen…显示全部 关注者3被浏览6,552关注问题写回答邀请回答好问题添加评论分享1 个回答默认排序puih 关注别信你们老师的。Hellen是神话中希腊人的祖先,是个男的,希腊这个中译名就源于他,写hellen在老外看来相当于李月给写成李跃一样。helen是女的,这两者差别比伏羲与女娲差别还大。发布于 2020-03-25 21:49赞同 1添加评论分享收藏喜欢收起
Hellen_百度百科
en_百度百科 网页新闻贴吧知道网盘图片视频地图文库资讯采购百科百度首页登录注册进入词条全站搜索帮助首页秒懂百科特色百科知识专题加入百科百科团队权威合作下载百科APP个人中心收藏查看我的收藏0有用+10Hellen播报讨论上传视频英文单词本词条缺少概述图,补充相关内容使词条更完整,还能快速升级,赶紧来编辑吧!Hellen是英文单词,光的意思。女性名,中文名为“海伦”,象征光明。中文名Hellen释 义光的意思1.(希腊)光的意思,人们认为hellen是美丽的上流社会的女子,有著黑发与黑眸,优雅,聪明受过高等教育的。2. 女性名,中文名为“海伦”,象征光明。新手上路成长任务编辑入门编辑规则本人编辑我有疑问内容质疑在线客服官方贴吧意见反馈投诉建议举报不良信息未通过词条申诉投诉侵权信息封禁查询与解封©2024 Baidu 使用百度前必读 | 百科协议 | 隐私政策 | 百度百科合作平台 | 京ICP证030173号 京公网安备110000020000Just a moment...
a moment...Enable JavaScript and cookies to contiHellen – Ancestor of All Hellenes - Symbol Sage
Hellen – Ancestor of All Hellenes - Symbol Sage
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Home » Mythologies » Greek Mythology » Hellen – Ancestor of All Hellenes
Hellen – Ancestor of All Hellenes
Dani Rhys
October 21, 2023
Table of Contents
The Birth of Hellen
The ‘Hellenes’
What Became of the Hellenes?
In Brief
In Greek mythology, Hellen was the mythical ancestor of all ‘Hellenes’, the true Greeks who were named after him in his honor. He was the King of Phthia and the son of Deucalion and Pyrrha. However, in newer renditions of the story, he’s said to be the son of Zeus. There’s very little information about Hellen, most of which center around his birth and the establishment of the primary tribes. Beyond that, we know little of this important legendary figure.
The Birth of Hellen
Hellen’s parents were Deucalion, the son of Prometheus, and Pyrrha, the daughter of Pandora and Epimetheus. His parents were the only ones who survived a terrible flood that wiped out all of humanity. Zeus had caused the flood since he wanted to destroy all of humanity after witnessing their debauched ways.
However, Deucalion and his wife constructed an ark in which they lived during the flood, and finally landed on Mt. Parnassus. Once the flood was over, they began offering sacrifices to the gods, asking for a way to repopulate the Earth.
The couple were ordered to throw the bones of their mother behind them which they interpreted to mean that they should throw the stones from the hillside behind them. The stones Deucalion threw turned into men and those thrown by Pyrrha turned into women. The very first stone they threw turned into their son who they decided to name ‘Hellen’.
In honor of Hellen, his name came to be another word for ‘Greek’ meaning a person who’s of Greek descent or pertaining to the Greek culture.
Although Hellen is one of the lesser known Greek mythological characters, he and his children played an important role in the founding of the primary Greek tribes. He had three sons, each of whom founded primary tribes.
Aeolus – founded the Aeolian tribe
Dorus – founded the Dorian tribe
Xuthus – through his sons Achaeus and Ion, founded the Achaeans and Ionian tribes
Without Hellen’s children, especially his sons, it’s possible that the Hellenic race would never have existed.
The ‘Hellenes’
As stated by Thucydides, an Athenian general and historian, the descendants of Hellen conquered the Greek region of Phthia and their rule spread to the other Greek cities. People who came from those areas were named Hellenes, after their ancestor. In Iliad, ‘Hellenes’ was the name of tribe also known as the Myrmidones, that settled in Phthia and was led by Achilles. Some sources say that Hellen was the grandfather of Dotus who named Dotium after him in Thessaly.
After the death of Alexander the Great, the King of Macedonia, some cities and states came under the influence of the Greeks and were ‘Hellenized’. Therefore, it can be said that the Hellenes weren’t just the ethnic Greeks that we know today. Instead, they included certain groups who we now know as Egyptians, Assyrians, Jews, Armenians and Arabs, to name a few.
As the Greek influence gradually spread, Hellenization reached as far as the Balkans, Central Asia, the Middle East and parts of Pakistan and modern India.
What Became of the Hellenes?
Rome eventually became stronger and in 168 BCE, the Roman Republic gradually defeated Macedon after which the Roman influence began to grow.
The Hellenistic region came under the protection of Rome and the Romans began to imitate Hellenic religion, clothing and ideas.
In 31 BCE, the Hellenistic Era came to its end, when Augustus Caesar defeated Cleopatra and Mark Antony and made Greece part of the Roman Empire.
In Brief
There are hardly any records of Hellen which tell us about who he was or how he lived. However, what we do know is that without him as the eponymous ancestor of the Hellenes, the Hellenic race as we know it in Greek mythology wouldn’t have existed.
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Dani Rhys
Dani Rhys has worked as a writer and editor for over 15 years. She holds a Masters degree in Linguistics and Education, and has also studied Political Science, Ancient History and Literature. She has a wide range of interests ranging from ancient cultures and mythology to Harry Potter and gardening. She works as the chief editor of Symbol Sage but also takes the time to write on topics that interest her.
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