Editing Hellenism (modern religion) (section)

== Naming and terminology ==
[[File:JulianusII-antioch(360-363)-CNG.jpg|thumb|left|[[Julian (emperor)|Emperor Julian the Philosopher]]]]
Hellenism (in Greek Ἑλληνισμός) has been used to refer to Greco-Roman Paganism since the time of [[Julian (emperor)|Emperor Julian the Philosopher]],<ref>{{cite web |title=S.V. Ἑλληνισμός |url=https://logeion.uchicago.edu/%E1%BC%99%CE%BB%CE%BB%CE%B7%CE%BD%CE%B9%CF%83%CE%BC%CF%8C%CF%82 |website=Logeion |access-date=2 December 2024}}</ref> who may have been the first to use the term as such in his letter to Ascanius:

{{blockquote| " '''The Hellenic religion''' does not yet prosper as I desire, and it is the fault of those who profess it; for the worship of the gods is on a splendid and magnificent scale, surpassing every prayer and every hope."|author=Emperor Julian, translated by Wilmer C. Wright <ref>{{Cite book|last=Wright|first=Wilmer C.|url=https://search.worldcat.org/title/32021949|title=Julian, Volume III|date=1923|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=9780674991736|location=Cambridge, MA}}</ref>}}

In the original Greek:

{{blockquote|'''Ὁ Ἑλληνισμὸς''' οὔπω πράττει κατὰ λόγον ἡμῶν ἕνεκα τῶν μετιόντων αὐτόν· τὰ γὰρ τῶν θεῶν λαμπρὰ καὶ μεγάλα, κρείττονα πάσης μὲν εὐχῆς, πάσης δὲ ἐλπίδος.}}

Thus some Hellenists use the term Hellenism or Hellenismos as a religious label in homage to Emperor [[Julian (emperor)|Julian]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mierzwicki |first=Tony |title=Hellenismos: Practicing Greek Polytheism Today |date=2018 |publisher=Llewellyn Publications |pages=6}}</ref> The late [[Vlassis Rassias|Vlassis G. Rassias]] defined Hellenism beyond religious simplification, explaining it to be the Hellenic "way of life" , or "worldview."<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qmuyry96kZc |title=What is Hellenismos? Simply explained by Vlassis G. Rassias |date=2019-11-22 |last=hellenismostv |access-date=2024-12-02 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

The phrase "Hellenic polytheistic reconstructionism" refers specifically to the methodology used by some practitioners to recreate the religion based on academic sources, rather than the religion itself, and not all Hellenists are reconstructionists. Other organizations, such as {{Lang|el-Latn|Dodekatheon}} ({{lang|el|Δωδεκάθεον}}),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dwdekatheon.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040105222011/http://www.dwdekatheon.org/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2004-01-05 |title=Δωδεκάθεον – Πύλη |publisher=Dwdekatheon.org |access-date=2014-06-10 }}</ref> the {{Lang|el-Latn|Helliniki Hetaireia Archaiophilon}} (Societas Hellenica Antiquariorum), and the {{Lang|el-Latn|Thyrsos}} ({{Lang|el|Θύρσος}}) use a combination of terms interchangeably, including "{{Lang|el-Latn|elliniki thriskia}}" ("{{lang|el|ἑλληνικὴ θρησκεία}}", "Hellenic religion"), "''Hellenic polytheistic religion''", and "''Hellenism.''"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/7773/eea2.html |title=Societas Hellenica Antiquariorum – Helliniki Hetaireia Archaiophilon |date=27 October 2009 |access-date=2014-06-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027121507/http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/7773/eea2.html |archive-date=27 October 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thyrsos.gr/englishindex.html |title=Thyrsos – Hellenes Gentiles |publisher=Thyrsos.gr |access-date=2014-06-10}}</ref>

Other terms in common usage by Hellenists include "Greek reconstructionism" and "Hellenic Traditionalism," but the two are not synonymous.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neokoroi.org/religion/articles/livinghellenicreconstructionism|title=Living Hellenic Reconstructionism|access-date=20 April 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151115021719/http://www.neokoroi.org/religion/articles/livinghellenicreconstructionism|archive-date=15 November 2015}}</ref> The American group Elaion uses the term "Dodekatheism" ({{Langx|el|δώδεκα}}, {{Lang|el-Latn|dodeka}}, "twelve" + {{lang|el|θεϊσμός}}, {{Lang|el-Latn|theïsmós}}, "belief in the gods") to describe their approach to the Hellenic religion, stating that the term "has been used for some time within and outside Greece to refer to ancient Greek religion and we feel that it is important for those of us outside Greece share a common name and identity with our co-religionists in the homeland of our spirituality," and that the term 'Hellenism' is linked too closely in current use to the modern Greek nation.<ref name=ElaionFAQ>{{cite web|url=http://elaion.org/faq/ |title=Elaion FAQ |publisher=Elaion.org |access-date=2019-04-08 }}</ref>