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The Greeks (Greek: Έλληνες) have been identified by many ethnonyms.The most common native ethnonym is Hellene (Ancient Greek: Ἕλλην), pl. Hellenes (Ἕλληνες); the name Greeks (Latin: Graeci) was used by the ancient Romans and gradually entered the European languages through its use in Latin.
According to the historian Georg Busolt, the Graecians were among the first to colonize Italy (i.e., Magna Graecia) in the 9th century BC when they established the city of Cumae; they were the first Greeks with whom the Latins came into contact, which then made them adopt the name of Graeci by synecdoche as the name of the Hellenes. [2]
The English names Greece and Greek are derived, via the Latin Graecia and Graecus, from the name of the Graeci (Γραικοί, Graikoí; singular Γραικός, Graikós), who were among the first ancient Greek tribes to settle southern Italy (the so-called "Magna Graecia").
The name of Greece differs in Greek compared with the names used for the country in other languages and cultures, just like the names of the Greeks.The ancient and modern name of the country is Hellas or Hellada (Greek: Ελλάς, Ελλάδα; in polytonic: Ἑλλάς, Ἑλλάδα), and its official name is the Hellenic Republic, Helliniki Dimokratia (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία ...
In Greek mythology, Hellen (/ ˈ h ɛ l ɪ n /; Ancient Greek: Ἕλλην) is the eponymous progenitor of the Hellenes. He is the child of Deucalion (or Zeus) and Pyrrha, and the father of three sons, Dorus, Xuthus, and Aeolus, by whom he is the ancestor of the Greek peoples.
In the east, Greek was the dominant language, a legacy of the Hellenistic period. [9] Greek was also the language of the Christian Church and trade. [10] Most of the emperors were bilingual but had a preference for Latin in the public sphere for political reasons, a practice that first started during the Punic Wars. [11]
Map showing the Hittite Empire, Ahhiyawa (Achaeans) and Wilusa (Troy) in c. 1300 BC. Some Hittite texts mention a nation to the west called Ahhiyawa (Hittite: 𒄴𒄭𒅀𒉿 Aḫḫiyawa). [14] In the earliest reference to this land, a letter outlining the treaty violations of the Hittite vassal Madduwatta, [15] it is called Ahhiya.
As for the Hellenes, it seems obvious to me that ever since they came into existence they have always used the same language. They were weak at first, when they were separated from the Pelasgians, but they grew from a small group into a multitude, especially when many peoples, including other barbarians in great numbers, had joined them.