Can `main` be `protected` (and be the program entry point) in Java?

Comments

[Raphael Habereder]

To quote Oracle:

The method main must be declared public, static, and void. 
It must specify a formal parameter whose declared type is array of String. 

Which can be found in the official Java Language Specification

[Pierre Gradot]

No. Period.

Code:

public class HelloWorld{

     protected static void main(String []args){
        System.out.println("Hello World");
     }
}

Output:

$javac HelloWorld.java
$java -Xmx128M -Xms16M HelloWorld
Error: Main method not found in class HelloWorld, please define the main method as:
   public static void main(String[] args)
or a JavaFX application class must extend javafx.application.Application

[Tea]

Try it!?