What is "philhellenism"

Philhellenism \Phil*hel"len*ism\, n. Love of Greece.

alt. 1 A 19th century intellectual movement which supported the independence of Greece from the Ottoman empire. 2 Love of Greece. n. 1 A 19th century intellectual movement which supported the independence of Greece from the Ottoman empire. 2 Love of Greece.

Philhellenism ("the love of Greek culture") and philhellene ("the admirer of Greeks and everything Greek"), from the Greek philos "friend, lover" and hellenism "Greek", was an intellectual fashion prominent mostly at the turn of the 19th century. It contributed to the sentiments that led Europeans such as Lord Byron or Charles Nicolas Fabvier to advocate for Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire.

The later 19th-century European Philhellenism was largely to be found among the Classicists.