Greeks (Hellenes)

— a word occurring only once in the Old Testament, namely in the prophet Joel (3:6), and in the New Testament in the book of Acts (11:20), in the Epistle to the Colossians (3:11), and elsewhere. By this name Holy Scripture denotes: 1) the Greeks proper, so called to distinguish them from other peoples, whom they called barbarians; 2) pagans in general, both Greeks and other peoples, since many of them at that time spoke the Greek language; 3) those Jews who lived among pagans (the Hellenists); 4) those pagans who had converted to the Jewish faith; and finally, 5) Christians from among the pagans who had come to believe in Christ.