Ancient Greece 3.2: Athenian Democracy, Sparta, and Macedon

Aegospotami

The 405 BCE battle in which Sparta defeated the Athenian fleet. The defeat helped cut Athens off from its grain route and contributed to its surrender in 404 BCE.

Agoge

Sparta's state training system for boys from citizen families, beginning around age seven. It developed discipline, endurance, and cooperation for military service.

Assembly

The political gathering in Athens where male citizens debated and voted directly on major decisions.

Battle of Chaeronea

The 338 BCE battle in which Philip II of Macedon defeated a Greek coalition led by Athens and Thebes, establishing Macedonian dominance over Greece.

Council of 500

An Athenian political body whose members were chosen by lot and prepared business for the Assembly.

Delian League

A naval alliance led by Athens beginning around 478 BCE after the Persian Wars. Member poleis supplied ships or money for continued defense against Persia.

Direct democracy

A system in which eligible citizens participate directly in political decisions. In Athens, male citizens debated and voted themselves rather than electing representatives to do so.

Golden Age of Athens

The fifth-century BCE period of major Athenian cultural achievements, especially under Pericles. Architecture and drama flourished while Athens also exercised imperial power and restricted political rights.

Helots

Unfree laborers who farmed land and sustained Spartan society, allowing Spartan citizens to focus heavily on military service.

Metics

Resident foreigners in Athens who were free but did not have the political rights of Athenian citizens, including the citizen vote.

Peloponnesian War

The conflict between alliances led by Athens and Sparta from 431 to 404 BCE. Disputes among allies and fear of growing Athenian power contributed to the war.

Pericles

An influential Athenian statesman in the mid-fifth century BCE. Public pay expanded participation for poorer male citizens, while Athens also grew wealthier and more powerful through its empire.

Philip II of Macedon

King of Macedon who defeated Athens and Thebes at Chaeronea in 338 BCE and established Macedonian control over the Greek city-states.

Sicilian Expedition

Athens's major campaign against Syracuse in Sicily from 415 to 413 BCE. The expedition ended disastrously and cost Athens many ships and soldiers.

Spartiates

Full Spartan citizens who trained for military service and held political power. Their military society depended heavily on helot labor.