World History I: Unit III - Classical Western Civilization

Etruscans

member of an ancient people of Etruria, Italy, between the Tiber and Arno rivers west and south of the Apennines

Aristocracy

government by a relatively small privileged class or by a minority consisting of those presumed to be best qualified to rule

Mercenaries

hired professional soldier who fights for any state or nation without regard to political interests or issues

Republic

a form of government in which the people elect, or choose, their leaders

Peloponnesian War

a war fought in ancient Greece between Athens and Sparta—the two most powerful city-states in ancient Greece at the time (431 to 405 B.C.E.)

Delian League

an alliance led by Athens that brought together several Greek city-states to challenge the Persian rule of eastern Greek colonies

Plebeian

all free Roman citizens who were not members of the patrician, senatorial or equestrian classes

Punic Wars

(264–146 BCE), a series of three wars between the Roman Republic and the Carthaginian empire, destroying Carthage, the enslavement of its population, and Roman hegemony over the western Mediterranean

Herodotus

the ancient Greek known as the father of history; his accounts of the wars between the Greeks and Persians are the first known examples of historical writing (485-425 BC) example of: historian, historiographer. a person who is an authority on history and who studies it and writes about it

Thucydides

the ancient Greek historian of the Peloponnesian War between Sparta and Athens, has long been considered the father of both scientific history and political realism

Alexander the Great

an ancient Macedonian ruler and one of history's greatest military minds who, as King of Macedonia and Persia, established the largest empire the ancient world had ever seen

Senate

the governing and advisory assembly of the aristocracy in the ancient Roman Republic. It was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors, which were appointed by the aristocratic Centuriate Assembly

Pax Romana

a state of comparative tranquillity throughout Classical antiquity and the Mediterranean world from the reign of Augustus (27 bce–14 ce) to the reign of Marcus Aurelius (161 –180 ce)

Polis

ancient Greek city-state.

Acropolis

central, defensively oriented district in ancient Greek cities, located on the highest ground and containing the chief municipal and religious buildings

Homer

a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature

Oligarchy

members of the ruling group are wealthy or exercise their power through their wealth

Pericles

an Athenian statesman. Under his leadership Athenian democracy and the Athenian empire flourished, making Athens the political and cultural focus of Greece between the Greco-Persian and Peloponnesian wars

Athens

a Greek city-state which became part of the Roman Empire and was favored by various Roman emperors

Olympics

an athletic festival that originated in ancient Greece and were revived in the late 19th centuryPatrician

Patrician

a group of wealthy, land-owning families that made up the political, religious, and military leadership of Rome

Greek tragedy

a ritual performance of the downfall of a great man – usually a king or a nobleman – brought low because of some sort of fault

Greek comedy

featured common, everyday characters who, over the course of the story, elevated their standing

Germanic Tribes

an ethno-linguistic Indo-European group of northern European origin

Egyptian Alexandria

the intellectual and cultural centre of the ancient Mediterranean for much of the Hellenistic age and late antiquity

Twelve Tables

a set of laws inscribed on 12 bronze tablets created in ancient Rome in 451 and 450 BCE

Julius Caesar

a Roman general and politician who named himself dictator of the Roman Empire

Constantine

ca A.D. 280– 337) reigned over a major transition in the Roman Empire—and much more. His acceptance of Christianity and his establishment of an eastern capital city, which would later bear his name, mark his rule as a significant pivot point between ancient history and the Middle Ages

Trojan War

a war fought by the Greeks against the Trojans to avenge the abduction of Helen from her Greek husband Menelaus by Paris, son of the Trojan king

Helots

a member of a class of serfs in ancient Sparta

The Huns

nomadic warriors who terrorized much of Europe and the Roman Empire in the 4th and 5th centuries A.D. They were impressive horsemen best known for their astounding military achievements.

Monarchy

political system based upon the undivided sovereignty or rule of a single person

Direct Democracy

a form of democracy in which the electorate decides on policy initiatives without elected representatives as proxies

Persian Wars

(492–449 bce), series of wars fought by Greek states and Persia over a period of almost half a century. The fighting was most intense during two invasions that Persia launched against mainland Greece between 490 and 479

Sparta

a city-state located in the southeastern Peloponnese region of ancient Greece. Best known for its military

Parthenon

a resplendent marble temple built between 447 and 432 B.C. during the height of the ancient Greek Empire. Dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, the ___ sits high atop a compound of temples known as the Acropolis of Athens

Legion

a military organization, originally the largest permanent organization in the armies of ancient Rome

Hannibal

a Carthaginian general during the Second Punic War between Carthage and Rome (218-202 BCE)

Forum

multipurpose, centrally located open area that was surrounded by public buildings and colonnades and that served as a public gathering place. It was an orderly spatial adaptation of the Greek agora, or marketplace, and acropolis

Augustus

the first emperor of ancient Rome. ___ came to power after the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE. In 27 BCE ___ “restored” the republic of Rome, though he himself retained all real power as the princeps, or “first citizen,” of Rome

Inflation

a change in the proportion of currency in circulation relative to the amount of precious metal that constituted a nation's money

Myths

a symbolic narrative, usually of unknown origin and at least partly traditional, that ostensibly relates actual events and that is especially associated with religious belief

Phalanx

tactical formation consisting of a block of heavily armed infantry standing shoulder to shoulder in files several ranks deep

Hellenism

a period of time dominated by a fusion of Greek language and customs with the culture of the Near East