Classical Greek Culture and Civilization

Flashcards covering key vocabulary, periods, civilizations, and deities from Classical Greek culture and civilization, based on the provided lecture notes.

Civilization

A society made up of cities, characterized by organized ancient peoples acting together for common purposes or goals, often including commerce, agriculture, and science.

Culture

All the shared elements of a particular group of people, including religion, arts, politics, customs, and intellectual pursuits, widely acknowledged as a difficult term to define.

Challenges in Studying Ancient Cultures

Difficulties include historical texts with inherent biases, archaeological limitations in explaining context ('why'), the anachronism of applying modern concepts to ancient times, and varying scholarly interpretations.

Egyptian Civilization (Early)

A thriving culture approximately 5,000 years ago, featuring an organized economic system, political structure, and military, with an early writing system and a polytheistic religion where the pharaoh was considered a god.

Ancient Polytheism

The belief in and worship of multiple gods, predominant in the ancient world, where religious authority (like the Pharaoh or Roman Emperor being considered a god) was often intertwined with state power without clear separation.

Early Greek Settled Life

Archaeological findings indicate the earliest settled Greek communities, characterized by farming, wood and mud houses, and the cultivation of wheat and barley, emerged around 8,000 years ago.

Minoan Period

An ancient Greek historical period on the island of Crete, flourishing until the 1700s BCE, characterized by Europe's first literate society, advanced trade, architecture, and a distinct religion.

Mycenaean Period

An ancient Greek historical period from the 1700s until the 1100s BCE, following the Minoans, known for major kingdoms engaging in commerce and warfare, 'beehive' tombs, and remarkable bridges.

Greek Dark Ages

A period in ancient Greek history from the 1100s until 800-750 BCE, marked by the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization and a loss of writing for approximately 400 years.

Archaic Age

An ancient Greek historical period from 750 until around 480 BCE, notable for the establishment of the Olympic Games and preceding the Persian invasion of Greece.

Classical Period (Greece)

An ancient Greek historical period from 480 BCE until the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE, marking a zenith for Greek culture.

Minoan Civilization

Europe's first literate society, located on Crete from about 3000 BCE to 1450 BCE, recognized for international trade, architectural advancements, and a religion that may have included goddess worship and human sacrifice.

Mycenaean Civilization

A significant Greek civilization thriving from roughly 1600-1100 BCE across southern Greece, known for its powerful kingdoms, commerce, warfare, impressive 'beehive' tombs, and amazing bridges, referenced in Homer's epics.

Linear B

A syllabic script used by the Mycenaean civilization, primarily for administrative records and found on clay tablets.

Hellen

A mythical king of Phthia in Thessaly, believed to be the son of Zeus and Pyrrha, whose name is the likely origin for the term 'Hellenistic' and 'Hellenes'.

Homer

An ancient Greek poet, active around the 700s BCE, traditionally credited with composing the epic poems 'The Iliad' and 'The Odyssey', which vividly depict the Trojan War and reflect Mycenaean culture.

Early Greek Religion (Social Aspect)

Characterized as 'community building,' where people gathered for social and religious worship, with major shrines like Olympia dedicated to prominent gods such as Zeus, fostering a shared cultural identity.

Ancient Olympic Games

An athletic festival founded in Greece during the Archaic Period, around 776 BCE, held at Zeus's sanctuary in Olympia, combining athletic competitions with religious offerings, discontinued by Theodosius I in the 300s CE.

Zeus

The supreme king of the Greek gods, son of Cronus and Rhea, who overthrew his father to become lord of the sky and thunder, known for his authority, many romantic liaisons, and a central role in the pantheon.

Greek Pantheon

The collective system of Olympian gods and goddesses worshipped by the ancient Greeks, established around 2,700 years ago, characterized by their anthropomorphic forms, individual functions, and presence in temples and rituals.

Anthropomorphic Gods

Deities described or conceived with human characteristics, emotions, and behaviors, as prominently seen in Greek mythology, which made figures like Plato skeptical of a literal interpretation.

Trojan War

A legendary conflict around the 1200s BCE, famously depicted in Homer's Iliad, ignited by the abduction of Helen by Paris, involving an alliance of Greek forces against the city of Troy, and supported by various intervening gods.

Heinrich Schliemann

A 19th-century businessman and amateur archaeologist known for his excavations at Hisarlik, Turkey, identifying it as the site of ancient Troy, though his methodologies were unprofessional and his findings often misinterpreted.

Aphrodite

The Greek goddess of beauty, love, pleasure, and procreation, depicted as either born from sea foam or as the daughter of Zeus and Dione, whose promise of Helen to Paris played a pivotal role in initiating the Trojan War.

Oracle at Delphi

The most revered and oldest shrine in ancient Greece, dating back to Mycenaean times, where Pythia, the priestess of Apollo, delivered often ambiguous prophecies to seekers of guidance from across the Hellenic world.

Apollo

A major Greek god of prophecy, music, healing, archery, and light, son of Zeus and Leto, whose cult was central to the Oracle at Delphi, where his priestess Pythia communed with him.