What is the meaning of hellas?

My classics teacher at NYU, 1969, told us that Hellas meant "the land". Thus, Hellenes would translate as people of the land. I also found this info in my college history textbook when I taught at Notre Dame College in Manchester, NH in 1993. These are two sources that seem to agree on this point. It makes sense to me that this could actually be a correct answer to the question.