World History

Agammemnon

King of Myceneans; sacked the city of troy on the NW coast of Asia Minor.

Solon

Reform-minded aristocrat; he cancelled all land debts and freed people who had fallen into slavery for debt.

Peisistratus

An aristocrat who seized power in 560 b.C. He aided Athenian trade to please the merchants and also gave aristocrats land to the peasants, to gain favor from the poor.

Odysseus

Main character of Homer's epic novel "The Odyssey" and narrates his return after the fall of Troy.

Draco

A politician who codified the laws, adding harsh penalties, including slavery for debtors.

Apollo

God of sun and poetry.

Helen

Wife of the King of Sparta, considered the most beautiful woman of greece and indirectly caused the Trojan War.

Plato

Student of Socrates, considered by many the greatest philosopher of western civilization.

Socrates

Sculptor whose true love was philosophy. Developed a teaching method of question and answer.

Aristotle

Student of Plato. Founder of the Peripatetic school.

Darius

Persian ruler; hated the greeks.

Achilles

Greek hero of the Illiad.

Cleisthenes

Reformer, gained the upper-hand. Created a council of 500 that supervised foreign affair and proposed laws. His reforms created the foundations of American democracy.

Paris

Prince of Troy; he kidnapped Helen, wife of the king of Sparta and outraged the Greeks.

Pheidippies

Athenian runner who raced from marathon to Athens.

Croesus

King of Lydia; known for incredible wealth.

Xerxes

Persian monarch who reigned after Darius. He vowed to revenge and invade Greece.

Homer

Poet of the Dark Age. Wrote stories based on the Trojan War. His stories taught the value of courage and honor.

Philip II

Built a powerful army and turned Macedonia into the chief power of the greek world. The

Emperor Justinian

Ordered compiling of the roman laws.

Athena

Goddess of wisdom and craft.

Pericles

brought the Golden age of Pericles/Greece. He increased the number of paid government officials and jurors.

Aphrodite

Goddess of love.

Poseidon

Brother of Zeus and god of the seas/earthquakes.

Artemis

Sister of Apollo; goddess of the moon and hunt.

Alexander The Great

King of Macedonia. He full-filled his father's dream of invading the Persian Empire. He created the Hellenistic Era.