Graecia

Graecia is the Latin name for Greece, used by ancient Roman writers and later scholars to designate the geographic region of the Hellenic world as well as its cultural sphere. The term derives from Graecus, Latin for "Greek." In Greek, the land is Hellas, and the people are Hellenes, but Graecia remains a standard Latin designation in classical and medieval Latin literature.

Geographically, Graecia originally referred to the Greek mainland—primarily the Peloponnese, central and southern Greece—together with the Aegean Islands. In antiquity it was also used to denote the broader Greek world, including colonies in Magna Graecia, southern Italy and Sicily, which the Romans called Magna Graecia.

Historically, Graecia was the cradle of classical civilization. In the Classical period (roughly the 5th to 4th centuries BCE) it produced innovations in politics, philosophy, drama, and science, with cities such as Athens, Sparta, Corinth, and Thebes playing leading roles. The Hellenistic era, following the conquests of Alexander the Great, extended Greek culture across the eastern Mediterranean and into Asia. Greek language and thought later influenced Roman education and culture.

Conquest by Rome in the late Republic and early Empire integrated Graecia into the Roman world. Greek cities remained important centers of learning and commerce, and the Greek language continued to function as a lingua franca in the eastern Mediterranean. In Latin literature, Graecia often carries a note of cultural prestige; in modern usage, it is primarily a historical term rather than a political designation.