In this essay I intend to define and clarify the terms Romios/Romaic/ Romiossini, Greek/Greekness/Greece, and Hellenic/Hellas, which very often confuse readers of Greek literature in translation. I will consider the use of these words in the poetry of Yannis Ritsos and in some anthologies of Greek poetry in translation. In my examination of the different usages of these terms, I will inevitably turn to history and draw distinctions between the Greek Orthodox East and the Christian West, sometimes expressing strong opinions.
