CHAPTER 5-6 WORLD HISTORY

minoans

island of crete, reached height from 1700-1400 bc

Mycenaeans

greek mainland, height from 1400-1200 bc

trojan war

legend says fought over Helen but in reality fought over trade

homer

composed iliad and odyssey that reminded greeks of past greatness

Geography of Greece

shaped into divided city states

monarchy

A government ruled by a king or queen

aristocracy

rule by a landholding elite

oligarchy

power held in a small, wealthy elite

greeks were bound together by:

similar religous mythology, myths of heroes, and sport like olympic games

sparta

warrior like society, trained their youth in rigid disciplined military style, isolated from rest of greece

athens

gov evolves toward democracy, education and culture was important

battle of marathon

490 bc, persia invades, athens call for help but gets none, outnumbered athens defeats persia

480 bc

xerces send in large force which threatens all of greece

battle of thermopylae

spartan 300 and other greeks led by leonidas slow persian force

golden age of athens

led by pericles, democracy, culture, and arts thrive, athens power leads to resentment by others

Peloponnesian War

sparta gets help from persia and others to defeat athens, athenian dominance ends

greek learning and arts

socrates, plato, aristotle, greek pioneered plays in tragedies and comedies

philosopher

lover of wisdom

Herodotus

Father of history

alexander the great

Son of Philip II, moves to conquer persian empire, has largest empire ancient world has seen from egypt to india

hellenistic culture

blending of greek culture with that of conquered groups

polis

A city-state in ancient Greece.

Phalanx

a group of armed foot soldiers in ancient Greece arranged close together in rows

persian wars

A series of wars between the Greeks (mainly Athens) and the Persians in which the Greeks were usually victorious.

pericles

Athenian leader noted for advancing democracy in Athens and for ordering the construction of the Parthenon.

Parthenon

A temple dedicated to the goddess Athena

early settlers of rome

Latins, Greeks, Etruscans

republic

A form of government in which citizens choose their leaders by voting

senate

A group of 300 men elected to govern Rome in the Roman Republic.

consul

An elected official who led the Roman Republic

veto

to reject

punic wars

A series of three wars between Rome and Carthage (264-146 B.C.); resulted in the destruction of Carthage and Rome's dominance over the western Mediterranean.

imperialism

A policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force.

Julius Caesar

100-44 B.C. Roman general who became the republic's dictator in 45 B.C., rose to power through government and army

augustus

(63 BCE - 14 CE) First emperor of Rome (27 BCE - 14 CE) He restored order and prosperity to the Empire after nearly a century of turmoil. Grandnephew to Julius Caesar.

pax romana

A period of peace and prosperity throughout the Roman Empire, lasting from 27 B.C. to A.D. 180.

fall of rome

military attacks, political turmoil, economic weakness, social decay

constantine

(274 CE - 337 CE) Roman Emperor between 306 CE and 337 CE. He issued the Edict of Milan which outlawed the persecution of Christians. He also founded the city of Constantinople, the future capital of the Byzantine Empire.

huns

All three of the classical empires (Romans, Han, and Gupta) faced the threat of invasion by this central Asian pastoral nomadic group.

Aqueducts

Bridge-like stone structures that carry water from the hills into Roman cities

roman culture

based from greek culture, education was important, used satire, romans were polytheistic, calendar days set aside for feast days for gods

Socrates, Plato, Aristotle

educated Greek philosophers

plebians

Members of the lower class of Ancient Rome including farmers, merchants, artisans and traders

Mark Antony and Octavian

-Joined forces with Octavian/Augustus to hunt down the murderers of Caesar.

-However the 2 of them started quarreling, bitter struggle for power.

-In 31 BC, Octavian killed Antony and his powerful ally, Queen Cleopatra of Egypt