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Poleis

Independent city-states that made up ancient Greece.

Athens' Government Structure

A system of government that pioneered democracy.

Sparta's Government Structure

An oligarchy based around a military-driven society.

Patricians

The wealthy upper class in ancient Roman society.

Plebeians

The common citizens in ancient Roman society.

Roman Infrastructure Innovations

Practical technological advances including roads, aqueducts, bridges, arches, and concrete.

Socrates

Greek thinker who developed a question-and-answer method to discover truth and influenced Western philosophy.

Plato

Greek philosopher who founded the Academy and authored The Republic.

Aristotle

Greek philosopher and teacher of Alexander the Great who wrote Politics and Nicomachean Ethics.

Alexander the Great

Conqueror of a massive empire who spread Greek culture across vast regions.

Julius Caesar

Roman general who took power, helped end the Roman Republic, and wrote Commentaries on the Gallic War.

Augustus Caesar

First Roman emperor who brought stability, started the Pax Romana, and authored Res Gestae.

Humanism (Greek Philosophy)

A philosophy focusing on human potential, reason, and achievement.

Pantheon

A collective group of gods worshiped within a polytheistic society.

Monotheism

The belief in a single God, pioneered in the region by the Hebrews through Judaism.

Constantine

Roman emperor who converted to Christianity and legalized it across the empire.

Edict of Milan

The 313 CE document issued by Emperor Constantine that legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire.

Byzantine Empire

The continuation of the Eastern Roman Empire that preserved Roman laws, ideas, and traditions.

Justinian's Code

A legal code established to regulate and organize Byzantine life.

Theodora

Byzantine empress who provided crucial support and leadership alongside Emperor Justinian.

Byzantine influence on Kiev

The introduction and adoption of Orthodox Christianity and the Cyrillic alphabet.

The Great Schism

The official split of the Christian Church into the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church over authority.

Fall of Constantinople (1453 CE)

The capture of the Byzantine capital by the Ottoman Turks, marking the end of the empire.