Medism

In ancient Greece, medism (Greek:μηδισμός, medismos) was the imitation of, sympathizing with, collaboration with, or siding with Persians.

The ethnonym "Mede" was often used by the Greeks of the Persians although, strictly speaking, the Medes were a different Iranian people, subject to the Persians. It was not until the 470s that the Greeks began to refer to "Persians", with Aeschylus' play The Persians in 472 being an early example of this. However, the word "Mede" continued to be in general use as late as the 450s, when it was used by Aeschines, and the phrase "Medean War" to refer to the Greco-Persian War was current as late as the time of Aristotle.