Origins of European History - Exam #1

Plato (c. 429-349 BCE)

Student of Socrates, teacher of Aristotle

Allegory of the cave

The Academy (388 BCE)

Wrote dialogues

Philosopher kings

Timaeus: origins and structure of the universe - history of science

Aristotle (384-322 BCE)

Student of Plato

Tutor to Alexander III (the great)

The Lyceum - Peripatetic School

Considered The Philosopher

Lyceum

Peripatetic School started by Aristotle

Phoenicians

Sea-fairing culture

traded shells that were used as purple dye

located in the East Mediterranean

Alexander the Great (336-323 BCE)

Alexander III of Macedonia

Student of Aristotle

Conquered Egypt and the Persian Empire

Hellenistic

relating to the Greek-influenced culture, history, and art that spread across the Mediterranean and Near East after the death of Alexander the Great

Ptolemaic Egypt, Seleucid Asia, Antigonid Macedon + Greece, Aetulian + Achaean Leauges

Epigrams

brief, interesting, memorable, sometimes surprising or humorous satirical statement.

Epicureanism

Founded by Epicurus (c. 342-270)

atomism

no ultimate purpose of the universe

serenity of the soul

absence of pain is good

the wise man should abandon politics

Stoicism

an ancient school of philosophy founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium around 300 BCE that teaches self-discipline, rational thinking, and focusing only on what is within one's control.

more inclusive of women

Koine

the standard shared dialect of the Greek language spoken and written across the Mediterranean and the Near East from about 300 BCE to 600 BCE

Delian League

an alliance of ancient Greek city-states led by Athens, founded in 478 BCE to protect against the Persian Empire and liberate Greek territories under Persian rule

Triremes

Greek Battleships. Very powerful and dominated sea warfare at the time. Powered by 3 layers of rowers.

Pericles (c. 495-429 BCE)

called for political reforms,”radical democracy”

Radical Democracy

political concept that seeks to deepen and expand the meaning and practice of democracy by addressing power relations at the "root" of society, moving far beyond standard electoral or representative systems.

Agora

Central public space in ancient Greek city-states that served as the heart of athletic, artistic, spiritual, political, and commercial life

Parthenon

a massive marble temple built in the 5th century BCE on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, dedicated to the goddess Athena

Mystery Cults

ancient religious groups in the Greco-Roman world that required special initiation and kept their core rituals secret from outsiders

Sophists

professional traveling teachers and intellectuals in ancient Greece during the 5th and 4th centuries BCE who taught rhetoric, politics, and effective public speaking for a fee

Socrates

a foundational classical Greek philosopher from Athens who shifted the focus of Western thought from studying the physical cosmos to examining human ethics, morality, and the self

Cyrus the Great

(Cyrus II of Persia), the brilliant conqueror who founded the Achaemenid Empire, also known as the First Persian Empire

Israelites

an ancient Semitic-speaking people of the Near East who lived in Canaan during the Iron Age and formed the foundational roots of Judaism and the Jewish people

Torah

the foundational sacred text of Judaism, meaning "teaching" or "instruction" in Hebrew, and refers to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible

Polis

an independent city-state in the ancient Greek world, serving as a physical, political, and cultural community

hoplite

heavily armed citizen-soldiers in ancient Greek city-states who fought using a tight, massed formation called a phalanx. Used thrusting spears

Helot

state-owned serfs or enslaved agricultural workers who constituted the vast majority of the population in ancient Sparta

Demes

a local district, village, or unit of local government

Sappho

Female poet from Lesbos who wrote about the gods

Patriarchy

the historical recording, interpretation, and structuring of human societies through a framework where men hold primary power, moral authority, and social privilege

Cuneiform

one of the world’s oldest forms of writing. Used in Mesopotamia

Hammurabi

King of Mesopotamia, wrote Hammurabi’s Code

Library of Ashurbanipal

a massive 7th-century BCE collection of more than 30,000 cuneiform clay tablets and fragments

Sea Peoples

a confederation of seafaring raiders and migrants who invaded the coastal regions of the Mediterranean—including Cyprus, Anatolia, Syria, Canaan, and Egypt—during the late 13th and early 12th centuries BCE

Patria potestas

a Latin phrase meaning "paternal power" that refers to the absolute legal authority held by the male head of a Roman household

Twelve Tables

were ancient Rome's first set of written laws, created between 451 and 450 BCE to ensure fair and equal treatment for all citizens.

First Triumvirate

an unofficial and secret political alliance formed in 60 BCE by Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great, and Marcus Licinius Crassus to dominate the Roman Republic

Mos maiorum

translates literally from Latin as "the custom of the ancestors" or "the way of the elders". It was the unwritten code of core values, behavioral models, and social practices that governed private, political, and military life in ancient Rome

Minoans

an advanced Bronze Age civilization that flourished on the island of Crete from approximately 3000 to 1100 BCE

Mycenaeans

the first advanced, Greek-speaking culture on mainland Greece, lasting from about 1600 to 1100 BCE during the late Bronze Age