rise of west exam 2

Polis

The Greek city-state, the fundamental political unit of ancient Greece.

Parthenon

The temple honoring the goddess Athena, built on the acropolis in Athens.

Hoplite

A heavily armed foot soldier of ancient Greece.

Apollo

The Greek god of the sun, music, poetry, and prophecy.

Hoplon

The heavy wooden shield used by Greek infantry.

Dionysus

The Greek god of wine, fertility, theater, and ritual madness.

Phalanx

A military formation of foot soldiers armed with spears and shields.

Peloponnesian War

The conflict (431-404 BC) between Athens and Sparta that reshaped the Greek world.

Lycurgus

The legendary lawgiver of Sparta who established its military-oriented reformation.

Alcibiades

A brilliant but volatile Athenian politician and general during the Peloponnesian War.

Helot

In ancient Sparta, a captive person who was forced to work the land.

Herodotus

Often called the "Father of History," he chronicled the Persian Wars.

Sparta

A powerful Greek city-state known for its rigorous military training and oligarchic government.

Thucydides

Greek historian famous for his critical and objective account of the Peloponnesian War.

Athens

The Greek city-state known as the birthplace of democracy and a center of arts and philosophy.

Delphi

The site of the most important oracle in the classical Greek world.

Solon

Athenian statesman and lawmaker who laid the foundations for Athenian democracy.

Protagoras

A pre-Socratic philosopher and Sophist famous for the statement "Man is the measure of all things."

Cleisthenes

The "Father of Athenian Democracy" who reformed the constitution in 508 BC.

Socrates

Athenian philosopher who shifted the focus of philosophy to ethics and human behavior.

Cyrus the Great

Founder of the Persian Empire who conquered the Medes and established the Achaemenid dynasty.

Plato

Student of Socrates and founder of the Academy; author of The Republic.

Darius I

Persian king who expanded the empire and launched the first invasion of Greece.

Aristotle

Student of Plato and tutor to Alexander the Great; he emphasized empirical observation.

Marathon

The site of the 490 BC battle where the heavily outnumbered Athenians defeated the Persians.

Tragedy

A form of drama based on human suffering that invokes an accompanying catharsis in audiences.

Thermopylae

The narrow mountain pass where 300 Spartans held off the massive Persian army.

Aeschylus

The "Father of Tragedy," known for writing the Oresteia.

Leonidas

The Spartan king who died leading the Greek forces at Thermopylae.

Sophocles

Greek playwright famous for Oedipus Rex and Antigone.

Salamis

The 480 BC naval battle where the Greek fleet defeated the Persian navy.

Alexander

Alexander the Great, King of Macedon, who conquered the Persian Empire.

Themistocles

Athenian politician and general who emphasized the importance of naval power.

Darius III

The last king of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia, defeated by Alexander the Great.

Plataea

The final land battle of the Persian invasion of Greece in 479 BC.

Gaugamela

The decisive battle in 331 BC where Alexander the Great defeated Darius III.

Pausanias

Spartan commander who led the Greeks to victory at the Battle of Plataea.

Stoicism

A school of Hellenistic philosophy that taught the development of self-control and fortitude.

Delian League

An association of Greek city-states under the leadership of Athens to continue fighting Persia.

Epicurus

Philosopher who founded a school teaching that happiness is the absence of pain and fear.

Acropolis

A "high city" or fortified part of an ancient Greek city, typically built on a hill.

Septuagint

The Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament).