Abstract
After the preliminary considerations set out in the first lecture, it's time to return to the terms of the lecture's title in an attempt to better circumscribe them, not without a few necessary caveats. After attempting to define the notion of Christianization, we need to return to the definition of the culture that pre-existed the advent of Christianity, and which is referred to - with a little too much ease - as " pagan ".
While Christianity(christianismos) is the prerogative of Christians(christianoi), it is opposed to Hellenism, whose adherents are the Hellenes/Greeks(hellênes). The notion of Hellenism(hellênismos) first appeared in grammatical treatises, to designate the correctness of the Greek language. However, with the development of Christianity, the word took on the new meaning of " paganism ". How can we explain this shift in meaning ? It is precisely the notion of language that lies at the heart of the semantic evolution : the Greek language is inseparably linked to a set of cultural values transmitted through education(paideia), which are opposed to the values of Christianity insofar as the latter reject the formalism of Greek paideia and claim formal simplicity as a guarantee of truth.
