Archaic Age Terms

Adyton

Greek word meaning sacred chamber of the temple

Agon

“Contest” or “struggle” every aspect of Greek life is marked by a competitive “struggle”

Agora

Public space of a city or town, marketplace and civic center

Amphictyony

Religious communities from various villages worshipping at one sanctuary

Amphictyonic Council

The governing body of a league of Delphi’s neighbors which administered the oracle

Andron

Room where symposia were held, away from women

Apoikos

Greek word for “colonist” or “settler”

Archaic Period

End of the Dark Age (700 BC) to the beginning of the Classical Period (480 BC)

Archon

Leadership title for the highest ranking magistrates in early city-states

Aristocracy

Used to describe the rule of the elite in comparison to the oligarchia, weakened with expanding democracy

Barbaros

Greek word for foreigners that don’t act “Greek” enough

Cella, naos

Latin, Greek word for the interior chamber of a temple upholding the cult image and gifts to the sanctuary

Colony

“Apoikia”, independent poleis that maintain kinship with their founding cities

Entablature

Horizontal structure that is beneath the pediment and rests on the columns

Ethnos

Term for a group of people who shared a common identity and territory but weren’t politically united (self government)

Genos

“Clan”, a social group made of families who claimed descent from a single male ancestor

Gymnasion

Public space where men would train and exercise (nude)

Hetaira

A paid for female companion (usually foreigners, slaves, or freedwomen who enjoyed a greater degree of freedom than female citizens)

Hoi agathoi

“Good men”, aristocratic males entitled to a place in polis life because of their noble births

Hoplite

Heavy armed infantrymen with distinct large shields, dominant military arm

Isonomia

“Equality before the law”, the idea of sharing political power across political constituencies

Kleos apthiton

“Imperishable glory” cultural value in archaic aristocratic society (excellence)

Kore

Term for the life sized marble statues of clothes women, cult offerings or grave markers

Kouros

“Youth”, refers to nude statues of men

Metope

Square panels found on ancient Doric style temples located just above the columns and between projecting blocks

Metropolis

“Mother city”, the relationship between mother city and new polis which combined economic, political, and spiritual ties

Oikistes

The founder of a colony sent out by a mother city

Oligarchy

“Rule of many men” standard form of government after the chieftain reign

Omphalos

“Navel”, Delphi is the “navel” (center) of the world

Palaestra

A wrestling ground

Pediment

The triangle gable which surmounts a Greek temple

Perioikoi

Term used to describe neighboring peoples who were in subordinate relationship to a dominating polis

Peristyle

Row of columns that surrounds a garden, temple, or open courtyard

Phalanx

Tactical formation of the hoplite army. 16 men deep in rectangular formation, each armed with a short sword, small round shield, and a long spike

Polemarch

War leader of the polis

Polis

“City” “town”, a political community which formed a self governing entity

Politai

“Citizens”, word used to describe an individual who belong to a polis

Proxeny

Term for an arrangement between states who looked after the interests of other states in their communities

Prytanis

One of the titles for the presiding magistrate in a city state

Opisthodomos

Rear room, porch, or vestibule of a Greek temple

Stasis

Term for a group of men who take the same stand in a political dispute

Stoa

Colonnaded passageway or roofed portico which provided shade, shelter; and space for market stalls

Symposion

“Drinking party” frequent event in elite adult male social life, bonding ritual among aristocrats

Symposiast, symposiarch

Appointed man to be “master” of ceremonies for a symposium

Synoecism

Term used for the process whereby separate communities were formed into a single political union (single political center)

Temenos

Sacred precinct of land given to a god or hero for cult and ritual

Tyranny

The illegal seizure of governmental power in a polis by a single man

Xenia

A form of ritual friendship where a stranger entered into a relationship of mutual friendship with a man from another demos (provided hospitality and aid to one another)