Hellenizing School

The Hellenizing School (Classical Armenian: Յունաբան դպրոց Yunaban dprots, reformed spelling: Հունաբան դպրոց, Hunaban dprots), sometimes called the Philhellene[1] or Hellenophile School,[2][3] is a name given by modern scholars to the loosely-connected early medieval Armenian scholars who translated or based their works on Greek texts.

The term is used, primarily, for Armenian translators of the 6th-8th centuries who translated Greek philosophical and other texts. Unlike Golden Age (5th century) authors, their writings largely retain the Greek syntax.[1] Greek authors whose texts were translated include Dionysius Thrax, Plato, Aristotle, Porphyry, Philon of Alexandria, Nemesius, Aratus, Gregory of Nyssa and texts such as Hermetica.[4][5]

Some Armenian authors, most notably Anania Shirakatsi and David the Invincible, wrote original works, drawing extensively from Greek sources and are thus considered part of the Hellenizing School.[4][6]