Ancient Greece: Athens, Sparta, and the Rise of Rome

A collection of vocabulary terms covering the military, political, and social structures of Ancient Athens and Sparta, and the timeline of the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars through to the Roman conquest.

Laurion mines

The location of a lucky strike of silver whose wealth was used to fund the massive expansion of the Athenian fleet.

Themistocles

The advisor who convinced Athens to use its silver wealth to build $200$ ships just in time for the Persian Wars.

The Piraeus

The fortified harbor of Athens that featured massive "ship sheds" to protect wooden hulls from shipworm.

Thetes

The free citizens of Athens who served as rowers, gaining significant political leverage because the city's safety depended on them.

Diekplous

An Athenian naval maneuver where ships sailed through enemy lines to snap their oars.

Council of Elders

A $28$-member Spartan governing body composed of men over $60$ years of age.

Hoplite

The heavily armed Greek soldiers trained to fight in a massive formation called a Phalanx.

Phalanx

A military formation where men stood shoulder to shoulder, protected by their neighbor's shield.

Agoge

The Spartan military school where boys began training at the age of $7$ and learned to fight, read, and write.

Persian Empire

The largest and most powerful empire at the time of the Persian Wars, stretching from West Asia to Libya, Sudan, and Egypt.

Darius I

The King of Persia who launched the first invasion of Greece in $490 BC$.

Xerxes

The son of Darius I who led the second invasion of Greece in $480 BC$ with over $200,000$ soldiers and $1,000$ warships.

Thermopylae

A narrow mountain pass where Leonidas and a small Greek force, including $300$ Spartans, attempted to block the Persian advance.

Ephialtes

The figure who, according to legend, betrayed the Greeks by showing the Persians a way around the mountains at Thermopylae.

Triremes

Fast and maneuverable Athenian ships used to ram and sink the larger Persian ships at the Battle of Salamis.

Thirty Year Peace

An agreement between Athens and Sparta to avoid conflict while recovering from the Persian War.

Pericles

The great leader and general under whom the Athenian empire grew, who eventually died of the plague during the Peloponnesian War.

Delian League

The association of city-states established by Athens after the Persian Wars which eventually became an Athenian Empire.

Peloponnesian League

The alliance of Greek city-states led by Sparta that resented the growing influence of Athens.

Lysander

The Spartan general who defeated the Athenian fleet in $405 BC$, leading to the surrender of Athens in $404 BC$.

Hellenistic world

The name for the mix of Greek and local cultures created by the conquests of Alexander the Great.

Diadochi

Alexander the Great's generals who fought one another and divided his empire into separate kingdoms after his death.

Battle of Cynoscephalae

A battle in $197 BC$ where Rome defeated Macedonia during its rise to power.

Roman Legion

A military organization broken into small, flexible groups that could move easily over hills, unlike the rigid Greek Phalanx.

Battle of Corinth

The $146 BC$ conflict where Rome completely destroyed and plundered Corinth, marking the start of Roman rule over Greece.

Direct Democracy

The political system in Athens where all male citizens had the right to attend the Assembly and vote.