Ancient Greece WH1 Study Set

Greece

Nation located at the tip of Europe's Balkan peninsula, lies between the Mediterranean Sea and the Aegean Sea

Olympics

Originally they were athletic festivals held to honor Zeus, the king of the gods

Aegean Sea

Body of water that separates Greece from the Middle East. Hundreds of Greek islands lie in its waters

Troy

Legend tells us that this ancient city of Asia Minor was under attack by the Greeks for ten years

Direct Democracy

Government in which citizens vote on laws and select officials directly.

Polis

Independent political units of the ancient Greek civilization

Hercules

In the early years of the ancient Greek civilization, he was the strongest and best-known of all heroes

Socrates

This philosopher eventually became one of the most influential figures in the history of western thought

Plato

Philosopher and friend of Socrates who founded the Academy, the first university

Iliad & Odyssey

The Greek poet Homer wrote these two epic adventures

Hippocrates

Known as the "Father of Medicine"

Pericles

leader of Athens for over 30 years who also asked the sculptor Phidias to adorn the Parthenon with friezes (decorative bands)

Aristotle

Great philosopher who studied under Plato in Athens, and later tutored the 13-year-old Alexander at the Macedonian court

Zeus

He was king of the gods and the bringer of rain

Hera

She was the wife of Zeus and the protectress of married women and the home

Athena

This goddess of reason and wisdom was the daughter of Zeus alone

Apollo

The sun god, the archer god, the healer, and the master musician

Aphrodite

Goddess of love and beauty who arose full-grown from the foam of the sea

Ares

Son of Zeus and Hera, was the god of war

Poseidon

God of the sea and drove a horse-drawn chariot and carried a three-pronged spear

Hades

He was the ruler of the underworld and the dead

Alexander the Great

King of Macedonia and the eventual conqueror of all of the known world of his day

Homer

Blind poet who wrote the two greatest epics in western literature, the Iliad and the Odyssey

Athens

The most powerful of all Greek city-states and a great center of culture and learning

Crete

The first great civilization of the Aegean world was the Minoan civilization, founded on this island

Sparta

Military force made this Greek city-state second only to Athens

Mount Olympus

The highest mountain in Greece and was believed to be the home of the gods

Parthenon

Temple dedicated to the goddess Athena that was constructed atop the Acropolis, the highest point in Athens

Acropolis

In ancient times this area of Athens was the most sacred part of town and the site of many important temples

Golden Age

Term used to describe ancient Greece in the 400s B.C., a time of outstanding achievement

Marathon

A foot race that is 26 miles 385 yards in length

Darius the Great

Emperor of Persia, Father of Xerxes.

Xerxes

Son of Darius; became Persian king. He vowed revenge on the Athenians. He invaded Greece with 180,000 troops in 480 B.C.

Helot

In the society of ancient Sparta, a peasant bound to the land

Oligarchy

A government ruled by a few powerful people

Tyranny

A form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (Usually obtained power by use of force)

Agora

a public open space used for assemblies and markets

Delian League

Alliance between Athens and many of its allied cities following the first attempted invasion of Perisa into Greece. Caused a lot of wealth to flow into Athens and thus contributed to the Athenian "golden age."

Pelponnesian League

military alliance led by Sparta

Pelponnesian War

Athens vs Sparta, Sparta won but both were devastated unable to unite Greek city-states.

Phillip II

336 BC, was an ancient Greek king of Macedon from 359 BC until his assassination in 336. He was the father of Alexander the Great.

Ionia

region of western Asia Minor colonized by Ancient Greeks

Oracle

a person thought to be a source of wisdom or prophecy

Maiden goddesses

Athena, Artemis, Hestia

Helen of Troy

A beautiful Greek woman, daughter of Zeus and Leda, who was kidnapped by Paris of Troy. The Trojan War began when the Greeks tried to get her back.

Achilles

Greatest Greek warrior, husband of Briseis whom Agamemnon steals, only vulnerable place is his heel, prophecy that he would die in the Trojan war, which he does at the hand of Paris

Minoans

earliest Greek civilization that had developed on the island of Crete by 2000 B.C.

Myceaneans

Civilization that settled on mainland Greece and conquered Crete

Macedonia

An ancient kingdom north of Greece, whose ruler Philip II conquered Greece in 338 B.C.