Hellenistic

[ hel-uh-nis-tik ]

adjective

1. pertaining to Hellenists.
2. following or resembling Greek usage.
3. of or relating to the Greeks or their language, culture, etc., after the time of Alexander the Great, when Greek characteristics were modified by foreign elements. Compare Hellenic ( def 1 ).
4. of or relating to the architecture of Greece and Greek territories from the late 3rd century through the 1st century b.c., characterized by deviations of various sorts from the proportions and arrangements of the mature Greek orders, particularly in the attenuation of the Doric order, and by innovations in plan and ornamentation.
5. pertaining to or designating the style of the fine arts, especially sculpture, developed in the area conquered by Alexander the Great from the end of the 4th to the 1st century b.c., chiefly characterized by delicate and highly finished modeling, dramatic, often violent movement of forms in space, representations of extreme emotion, highly individuated characterization, and a wide variety of subject matter. Compare archaic ( def 4 ), classical ( def 6 ).

Hellenistic

/ ˌhɛlɪˈnɪstɪk /

adjective

1. characteristic of or relating to Greek civilization in the Mediterranean world, esp from the death of Alexander the Great (323 bc ) to the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra (30 bc )
2. of or relating to the Greeks or to Hellenism

Derived Forms

• ˌHellenˈistically, adverb

Other Words From

• Hellen·isti·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of Hellenistic¹

First recorded in 1700–10; Hellene + -istic

Example Sentences

As with Plotinus, the Hellenistic founder of Neoplatonic philosophy, Viola’s installation proposes memory as a perceptual function that allows a human soul to acknowledge its own existence.

From Los Angeles Times

Like Pompeii, this ancient city has yielded many great discoveries, and serves as a window into the world of the ancient Hellenistic, Parthian, and Roman periods.

From Science Daily

Sitaridou's most important findings include the conclusion that Romeyka descends from Hellenistic Greek not Medieval Greek, making it distinct from other Modern Greek dialects.

From Science Daily

At “Winged Victory of Samothrace,” a white marble statue from Hellenistic Greece, better known as “Niké,” for example, Ms. Firestone noted that the figure’s wings had inspired the sportswear empire’s Swoosh logo.

From New York Times

The museum called the figure simply a “Bronze statue of a nude male figure” and said in a wall label that it “may depict a god, a hero, a Hellenistic ruler, or a Roman emperor.”

From New York Times