philhellene
/ˈfɪlhɛˌliːn
/ /fɪlˈhɛliːn /noun
1A lover of Greece and Greek culture: a romantic philhellene...
- Universal classical literacy beckons in the wake of the Athens Olympics, and philhellenes the world over must already be entertaining shy hopes for a 21st-century rebirth of neo-classicism.
- Dreamy days by the beach, hunting for shells and watching fishermen mend their nets may well convert them into confirmed philhellenes by the time you leave.
- One philhellene whom Roessel discusses very well is his former professor, Edmund Keeley, whose experience of Greece dates back to his childhood in the thirties.
1.1 historical A supporter of Greek independence.Resistance to the Junta had been growing within Greece and overseas amongst Greeks abroad and their philhellene and pro-democracy supporters.
Derivatives
philhellenic
- Philhellenic aid societies in Western Europe sent large sums of money and even volunteers to Greece during the war.
- She took part in a number of battles and sent letters to women's philhellenic circles so as to gain sympathy for Greece and boost the philhellenic tide.
philhellenism
- It is precisely the unspoiled and Arcadian aspect of Greece that, in the twentieth century, provided new shadings of philhellenism.
- Hadrian went from Egypt to Lycia; by the winter of 131-2 he was back at Athens, to inaugurate the Olympieum and founded the Panhellenion (an organization of Greek cities), the culmination of his philhellenism.
- Shelley's preface, his last great appeal for political liberty in Europe, remains a classic statement of English philhellenism: ‘We are all Greeks.’
philhellenist
Origin
Early 19th century: from Greek philellēn 'loving the Greeks' (see phil-, Hellene).