Ancient Greece

Mycenaeans

dominated the Aegean world from 1400 to 1200 BCE; were sea-traders; absorbed influence from other civilizations and passed them on; lived in separate city-states with a thick walled fortress & ruled by a warrior king; fought the Trojan War around 1250 BCE; were invaded by the Dorians around 1100 BCE

city-state

political unit made up of a city and its surrounding lands; because of mountainous terrain Ancient Greece had independent city-states instead of one united empire

Homer

ancient Greek epic poet who is believed to have written the Iliad and the Odyssey (circa 850 BC)

Trojan War

a war, fought around 1200 B.C., in which an army led by Mycenaean kings attacked the independent trading city of Troy

The Iliad

a chief source of information on the Trojan War; credited to be written by Homer; tells the tale of Achilles, the mightiest Greek warrior

The Odyssey

a chief source of information on the Trojan War; credited to be written by Homer; tells of struggles of the Greek hero Odysseus to return home to his family and faithful wife, Penelope, after the fall of Troy

polis

a Greek city-state

monarchy

a government in which power is in the hands of a single person who inherits that power

aristocracy

a government in which power is in the hands of a hereditary ruling class or nobility

oligarchy

a government in which power is in the hands of a few people - especially one in which rule is based upon wealth

phalanx

a military formation of foot soldiers armed with spears and shields

tyrant/tyranny

in ancient Greece, a powerful individual who gained control of a city-state's government by appealing to the poor for support

Sparta

A powerful Greek miliary polis that was often at war with Athens. Used slaves known as helots to provide agricultural labor.

helot

in ancient Spartan society, a peasant bound to the land or a slave

Athens

A democratic Greek polis who accomplished many cultural achievements, and who were constantly at war with Sparta.

democracy

a government controlled by its citizens either directly or through representatives

Solon

in 594 BCE, he was given full power to reform Athenian law; outlawed debt slavery, encouraged overseas trade, allowed all Athenian citizens to participate in the assembly; neglected land reform and fighting broke out between wealthy landowners and poor farmers

Cleisthenes

in 508 BCE he worked to make Athens a full democracy; created the Council of Five Hundred which proposed laws and counseled the assembly

Socrates

philosopher used questioning to find the truth called Socratic Method; charged with corrupting the city's youth & failure to respect the gods; sentenced to death by poison (hemlock)

Plato

philosopher student of Socrates; founded the Academy; wrote The Republic in which he described his vision of a virtuous leader with total control as being the ideal state; used induction and reasoning to find universal truths

Aristotle

philosopher who was a student of Plato; opened the Lyceum for the study of all branches of knowledge; tutor of Alexander the Great

Herodotus

historian known as the Father of History; wrote The Persian Wars

Thucydides

taught by Herodotus; tried to eliminate bias in his recording of history; wrote about the Peloponnesian War

Pythagorus

mathematician who discovered important principles of geometry including the Pythagorean theorum

Euclid

mathematician who wrote The Elements; textbook that is the basis of modern day study of geometry

Hippocrates

Father of Modern Medicine; taught that illness and disease were from natural causes not punishments from gods and demons; oath of doctors today is called the "--- Oath"

Archimedes

scientist who used physics to make practical inventions such as ---- screw, lever and pulley, etc

Parthenon

temple built on the acropolis of Athens; honored Athena; originally held a ivory and gold statue of Athena sculpted by Phidias

King Philip II

king of Macedonia and father of Alexander the Great; took advantage of war torn Greece and conquered all of it but Laconia

Alexander the Great

young leader from Macedonia who conquered Egypt, Asia Minor, Persia and part of India to create the largest empire ever created by one person; responsible for spreading the Greek culture and beginning the Hellenistic Age

Macedonia

kingdom north of Greece; home of King Philip II and Alexander the Great

Delian League

alliance group created by Athens following the Persian War; Athens used the money they charged members to help rebuild Athens

Peloponnesian League

alliance group created following the Persian War as an answer to the alliance created by the increasingly powerful Athens

Peloponnesian War

war fought between Athens and Sparta for 27 years; Sparta was victorious but after the extended fighting all of Greece was weakened and vulnerable to attack by Macedonia

Persian Wars

wars in which the Greek city-states united together to fight Persia; Persia wanted revenge against Athens for aiding Ionia in rebelling against Persia

Marathon

city where the first battle against Persia occurred; Athens defeated Darius and his army

Pericles

leader of Athens during its "Golden Age;" died from a plague in the city during the Peloponnesian War

Thermopylae

location where 300 Spartans took a stand against the Persians despite the fact there was no way to survive

Hellenistic

time period following the reign of Alexander the Great in which cultures of Greece, Egypt, Persia, & India blended

Trojan War

(Greek mythology) a great war fought between Greece and Troy

Zeus

King of the gods

Poseidon

God of the sea

Ares

God of war

Achilles

Greek hero of the Trojan War

Xerxes

son of Darius; became Persian king. He vowed revenge on the Athenians. He invaded Greece with 180,000 troops in 480 B.C.

Helen of Troy

A beautiful Greek woman, daughter of Zeus and Leda, who was kidnapped by Paris of Troy. The Trojan War began when the Greeks tried to get her back.

Heracles

mortal son of Zeus, strong and brave but lacks self-control, rises to Olympus after death

Jason and the Argonauts

travels on his boat, the "Argo" to retrieve the Golden Fleece for King Pelias, sorceress Medea falls in love with him

Trojan Horse

a large hollow wooden figure of a horse (filled with Greek soldiers) left by the Greeks outside Troy during the Trojan War----definitely not real….

Chicago Bulls

Best team ever and this is 100% factual; will win the championship for sure; this is going to happen and not the least bit irrational…

Aspacia

An educated foreign-born woman who helped Pericles turn Athens into the cultural center of Greece

Pandora

first woman created by Zeus; opens a box full of evil things that are now on the earth; given to Epimetheus

Perseus

Killed Medusa

Theseus

Killed the Minotaur

Narcissus

a beautiful young man who fell in love with his own reflection

Prometheus

the Titan who stole fire from Olympus and gave it to mankind

Pegasus

flying horse