Ancient Greece Midterm #1

alphabet

when: achievement of the Early Iron Age (c. 1200-750/700BC)

• developed after 800; earliest evidence from 8th century

borrowed letters from Phoencian alphabet

phonetic alphabet

why: writing down epic poetry, commercial and other utilitarian purposes

impact: Greek history, drama, philosophy, etc.

barbaros

what: Greek general term for foreigner

origins: Homer describing the Carians; sound foreign to Greek ears

when: rise of Panhellenism, increased contact with eastern world

why: Greeks more conscious of cultural differences with others

basileus

what: word for king

in Homeric epics, Mycenaean term for king equivalent to basileus (male gods, specifically)

in Homeric society, basileis not kings in sense of monarchs

meaning of the word changed to suit sociopolitical context

importance: no other official titles of rank in Homer

chiefdom

basileus passed from father to son

• lead people in war and peace

• secure compliance of local chiefs in demos

Cyprus

known for heroic-style burials, copper

geometric style

dominated vase painting around 900 to 700BC

what: motifs, linear and angular patterns, animal and human figures (toward end of period)

guest-friendship (xenia)

what: ritual friendship whereby stranger (xenos) enters into friendship with man of another demos

offer hospitality and aid

perpetuated through generations of families

evolved into more formal diplomatic relationships for city-states

Hesiod

when: c. 700

who: wrote epic poem, the Theogony (“the genealogy of the gods”)

impacts: popularized idea of Zeus as the upholder of justice

homeric epics

ionian migration

iron

iron age

kieros

lefkandi

nichoria

oikos

oral composition

pheonicia

polytheism

protogeometric styles

thetes

timē

agora

archaic period

aristocracy

baccniads

colony

electrum

ethrios

hoi agathoi

translated to “good men”

what: aristocratic males, who believe themselves superior and entitled to privileged place in polis because of noble birth

hoi kakoi

translates to “bad men”

what: referred to all nonaristocrats

hopate

kore

what: translates to “maiden”

used to describe large marble Archaic statues of women; made as cult offerings or grave markers

kouios

lyric poetry

metropolis

oligarchy

phalanx

polis

proxeny

sappho

synoecism

thete

tyranny