ieros

Ieros is the Ancient Greek adjective ἱερός, meaning sacred or holy. In English-language scholarship, the form hieros is more commonly used in compound terms, but ieros can be found in direct transliterations of the original Greek. The term is a fundamental descriptor in religious and ritual contexts, applied to persons, objects, places, and practices deemed sacred.

Etymology and usage. Ieros appears in classical inscriptions and texts to qualify temples, offerings, rites, and sacred persons. It serves as the base for many religious terms and compounds. In English, its root yields a wide range of familiar words, including hieroglyph, hieroglyphic, hierology, hierarchy, and hierarch. The related noun hiereus denotes a priest, reflecting the close semantic link between sacral authority and ritual practice in ancient Greek religion.

Modern relevance. In classical philology and historical theology, ieros helps illuminate how ancient Greek communities articulated notions of holiness, sanctuaries, and liturgical obligation. The same root underpins terms across several languages, illustrating the strong influence of Greek on religious and scholarly vocabulary. The distinction between ieros (sacred) and related religious roles or phenomena is a common focus in studies of ancient cults, temple architecture, and ritual inscriptional language.