Historically, Hellenists were Jews who were more attracted to the Ancient Greek way of life and longed to break free from the collectivist constraints of their heritage. They valued their personal individuality, and wished to identify themselves as the popular, dominant, scintillating Greeks rather than as the traditionalist and reviled Jews.
Some Hellenists converted due to antisemitism, and may have sacrificed their Jewish identity against their will for the sake of survival. However, many Hellenists simply loved Greek culture and identified with it more strongly than with their Jewish