Ancient Greek History: From Mycenae to Macedon

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key periods, terms, institutions, events, and figures from Ancient Greek history as discussed in Lecture 3.

Mycenaeans

The name given to the first Greeks once they became dominant in the Balkan Peninsula during the Bronze Age (1650-1200 B.C.).

Dark Age (Early Iron Age)

The period between 1200 B.C. and 776 B.C. (or 1100-800 B.C.) representing a low point in Greek history after the collapse of Mycenaean fortresses; modern scholars consider this label overly simplistic.

Archaic Period

The period of Greek history from 800 to 479 B.C., where the term 'archaic' means 'first' in relation to the Classical Period.

Classical Period

The period of Greek history from 479 to 323 B.C., considered the highest point and cultural apex of Greek civilization.

Hellenistic Period

The period from 323 to 31 B.C. beginning with the death of Alexander III ('the Great'), during which his empire was divided into Hellenistic Kingdoms.

Minoans

A dominant naval and trading civilization (flourishing 2000-1500 B.C.) centered on Crete; though non-Greek speakers, they heavily influenced early Greek culture and script.

Linear A

The untranslated administrative script used by the Minoans on the island of Crete.

Linear B

The earliest written Greek script, borrowed from Minoan Linear A and used exclusively for palace record-keeping regarding taxation, inventory, and sacrifice.

Agamemnon

The King of Mycenae who, according to Homer's Iliad, led the united Greek forces against the Trojans in the Trojan War (ca. 1230 B.C.).

Heraclids

Greek-speaking Dorian peoples ('sons of Heracles') whom later Greeks believed invaded and caused the sudden decline of Mycenaean culture around 1200 B.C.

Asia Minor

The western coast of present-day Turkey to which many Greeks migrated between 1200 and 1000 B.C. during the Early Iron Age.

Polis

An independent Greek city-state territory (developed 1000-800 B.C.) with its own government, citizen-militia army, economy, and religious calendar.

Agora

The communal marketplace within a Greek polis that served as a central hub of economic, political, and social life.

Panhellenic Olympic Games

Games celebrated in honor of Zeus, traditionally dated to 776 B.C., marking the realization of the Greeks' fully restored state after the Early Iron Age.

Hoplite

An individual citizen-combatant of an ancient Greek polis, named after his characteristic round shield (hoplon).

Phalanx

A tight mass military formation used by Greek hoplites, which relied on moving as a single unit and each member protecting the hoplite to his left with his shield.

Tyranny

A form of Greek government where an aristocrat seized power in a coup to establish a hereditary monarchy, maintaining support via public initiatives.

Delian League

A defensive alliance formed in 477 B.C. under Athenian leadership against Persian aggression, named for its original treasury on the island of Delos.

The Thirty Tyrants

A short-lived oligarchy established by Sparta in Athens in 403 B.C. following Athens' defeat in the Peloponnesian War.

Battle of Chaeronea

A battle in 338 B.C. in which Philip II of Macedon permanently defeated Greek military resistance.

Alexander III ('the Great')

Macedonian king and son of Philip II who conquered the Persian Empire (334-325 B.C.) and spread Greek culture eastward to India.

Hellenistic Kingdoms

The successor states created after Alexander the Great's death (323 B.C.), consisting of the Antigonid (Macedon), Ptolemaic (Egypt), and Seleucid (Syria) kingdoms.

Battle of Actium

A naval battle in 31 B.C. in which Octavian defeated Antony and Cleopatra, leading to the annexation of the Ptolemaic Kingdom into the Roman Empire in 30 B.C.