Rise of Ancient Greece – Comprehensive Review

100 question-and-answer flashcards covering Greek prehistory through Alexander the Great, emphasising key cultures, political developments, wars, social structures, religion, literature, and historiography.

What are the three Stone-Age “revolutions” identified for Greece?

Palaeolithic (Ice Age hunter-gatherers), Mesolithic (permanent settlements outside caves), and Neolithic (7000-3000 BC agriculture).

Which two scholarly models explain how farming came to Neolithic Greece?

Diffusion Model (locals learned from the Near East) and Migration Model (Anatolian farmers moved in).

Name three key domesticated products that emerged in Neolithic Greece.

Olives/olive oil, grains, and grapes/wine.

What settlement provides major evidence for Neolithic life in Thessaly?

Dimini.

Give four hallmarks of the Early–Middle Bronze Age in Greece.

Specialised crafts, bronze metallurgy, large fortified settlements, emerging political hierarchy.

Which three pre-Greek Bronze-Age cultures dominated the Aegean?

Cycladic, Minoan, and Helladic/Mycenaean.

Where was the political and religious centre of Minoan civilisation?

Knossos on Crete.

Which animal motif is especially associated with Minoan art and religion?

The bull (e.g., bull-leaping, rhyton bull-head cups).

What script did the Mycenaeans use and what language does it record?

Linear B, recording early Greek.

Name two iconic Mycenaean architectural/engineering features.

Cyclopean walls and tholos (beehive) tombs.

What approximate date marks the collapse of the Mycenaean palaces?

Around 1200 BC.

List two major consequences of the Bronze-Age collapse for Greece.

Loss of literacy & palace economy; onset of Iron-Age “Dark Age.”

What is the Heroon at Lefkandi and why is it important?

A 10th-century BC elite burial that shows continuity from Mycenaean to early Iron-Age practices.

Which alphabet reintroduced writing to Greece in the 8th century BC?

The Phoenician alphabet (adapted with Greek vowels).

Give three key developments of the Greek 8th century “renaissance.”

Return of writing, organised colonisation, Pan-Hellenic festivals (e.g., first Olympics 776 BC).

What economic motive lay behind early Greek overseas colonies?

Search for cultivable land, metals, and new trade opportunities.

Which three ethnic groupings organised most Archaic colonists?

Dorians, Ionians, and Aeolians.

Define ‘polis’ and its two main spatial components.

Greek city-state; astu (urban core) and chora (rural territory).

What is tyranny in the Archaic Greek context?

Rule by a non-hereditary sole ruler who seizes power, often with popular support.

Who founded the Cypselid tyranny in Corinth and roughly when?

Cypselus, mid-7th century BC.

Name Sparta’s three main social categories.

Spartiates (citizens), perioikoi (dwellers around), and helots (state serfs).

What was the agōgē?

Spartan boys’ state-run military education, ages 7–29.

Describe Spartan political structure in three bullets.

Dual kings (diarchy), Gerousia of 28 elders + kings, Ephorate of 5 magistrates, and the Apella assembly.

What league did Sparta lead after subduing most Peloponnese?

The Peloponnesian League.

Which Athenian lawgiver abolished debt slavery in the 590s BC?

Solon.

What reform by Cleisthenes (508/7 BC) laid a basis for democracy?

Creation of ten new tribes and a Council of 500 drawn by lot.

Which festival was the primary setting for Athenian tragedy?

The City Dionysia in Athens.

State one central scholarly view (Vernant/Loraux/Goldhill) about tragedy’s civic role.

Tragedy interrogates and reflects civic ideology and conflicts of moral obligation within the polis.

In Sophocles’ Antigone, what clash of values is dramatised?

State law (Creon) versus familial/religious duty (Antigone).

Identify four ritual features of Dionysian worship visible in festivals.

Processions with model phalloi, drunken revelry (komos), cross-dressing, and abusive speech (aiskhrologia).

Name the three chronological phases of the Peloponnesian War per Thucydides.

Archidamian War (431-421), ‘Peace’/Interlude (421-414), and Decelean/Ionian War (414-404 BC).

Give two reasons Athens fared well in the Archidamian War.

Defensive walls + fleet kept supply lines open; democratic flexibility fostered rapid innovation and morale.

What event in 415-413 BC severely weakened Athens?

The Sicilian Expedition and its catastrophic defeat at Syracuse.

Cite two factors that enabled Sparta’s final victory in 404 BC.

Persian gold funding a fleet; permanent Spartan fort at Decelea crippling Athenian agriculture and economy.

What was the ‘King’s Peace’ of 386 BC?

A treaty dictated by Persian king Artaxerxes II making Anatolian Greeks Persian subjects and enforcing ‘autonomy’ under Spartan policing.

How did Philip II revolutionise Macedonian infantry armament?

Introduced the sarissa, a 4–6 m pike, for the phalanx.

List three organisational/military reforms of Philip II.

Professional standing army, combined-arms tactics (cavalry-infantry coordination), and elite hypaspist corps.

Which battle in 338 BC secured Macedonian hegemony over Greece?

The Battle of Chaeronea.

What pan-Hellenic body did Philip create in 337 BC?

The League of Corinth (Common Peace of the Greeks) with himself as hegemon.

Name Alexander’s first major victory over Persian satraps in 334 BC.

The Battle of the Granicus River.

Which siege (332 BC) demonstrated Alexander’s determination with a causeway?

Siege of Tyre.

Where did Alexander receive recognition as pharaoh and visit the oracle of Zeus-Ammon?

Egypt—Memphis for coronation, Siwa Oasis for the oracle.

Give the dates and outcomes of Alexander’s three key set-piece battles vs Darius III.

Issus 333 BC (Macedonian victory, Darius flees); Gaugamela 331 BC (decisive Macedonian victory, empire collapses); no third battle—Darius killed during flight in 330 BC.

What administrative approach did Alexander use in conquered satrapies?

Left Persian satraps in office but paired them with Macedonian garrison commanders and tax officials.

Why did Alexander’s troops mutiny on the Hyphasis (Beas) River?

Exhaustion after years of campaigning; refusal to march farther into India.

How and when did Alexander die?

June 323 BC in Babylon after a fever following heavy drinking.

Define ‘helot’ in Spartan society.

State-owned serf from conquered Laconia/Messenia obliged to farm and surrender produce to Spartiate masters.

What unique legal requirement (450 BC) restricted Athenian citizenship?

Both parents had to be Athenians (Periclean citizenship law).

Estimate the adult male citizen population of classical Athens c. 431 BC.

About 60,000 (per Hansen).

What term describes wealthy Athenians’ public service obligations?

Leitourgiai (liturgies), e.g., funding a chorus or warship.

State one difference between Athenian metics and slaves.

Metics were free resident aliens who paid a tax; slaves were property without legal autonomy.

What economic role did Laurion silver mines play in Athenian power?

Financed the building and maintenance of the 5th-century fleet.

Identify two light-armed troop types that challenged hoplite dominance in the 5th-4th c.

Peltasts (Thracian javelin throwers) and archers/psiloi.

Which Spartan defeat (371 BC) shattered its land supremacy?

The Battle of Leuctra against Thebes.

Name the elite Theban infantry corps famous at Leuctra.

The Sacred Band (150 pairs of male lovers).

Give two strategic reasons Athens rejected Sparta’s peace offer after Cyzicus (410 BC).

Sparta would retain key Aegean bases and threatening control of Black-Sea grain route; Athens believed it could regain advantage.

What were the ‘Long Walls’ and why crucial?

Fortifications linking Athens to Piraeus, ensuring access to sea supply even under siege.

Define eisphorá in Athenian finance.

Extraordinary war tax levied on the wealthy in emergencies.

Which Persian satrap financed Sparta’s late-war fleet?

Pharnabazus (with Cyrus the Younger under Darius II).

Who devised the ‘Common Peace’ concept later used repeatedly in Greek diplomacy?

Persian King Artaxerxes II via the King’s Peace (386 BC).

Explain the term ‘sarissa’.

A long (approx. 5-6 m) Macedonian pike wielded two-handed by phalangites.

What function did Macedonian ‘Companions’ (hetairoi) serve?

Elite cavalry and close aristocratic advisers to the king.

Which battle (326 BC) pitted Alexander against King Porus and war elephants?

Battle of the Hydaspes River.

How did Alexander secure legitimacy among Persians after 330 BC?

Adopted Persian dress, court rituals, and appointed Persian nobles to high offices; encouraged inter-marriage.

List three major treasuries Alexander seized and their approximate silver contents.

Sardis (unknown thousands), Susa (~50,000 talents), Persepolis (~120,000 talents).

What city founded by Alexander became Egypt’s key Hellenistic capital?

Alexandria (Rhakotis site).

Why is the burning of Persepolis historically debated?

Seen either as drunken vandalism, calculated revenge for Xerxes’ sack of Athens, or political demonstration to break Persian resistance.

Which marriage event in 336 BC preceded Philip II’s assassination?

Wedding of his daughter Cleopatra to Alexander of Epirus at Aigai.

Describe the tactical role of Macedonian hypaspists.

Elite shield-bearing infantry used for flexible shock actions and to guard flanks and commanders.

What logistical innovation allowed Philip & Alexander to campaign year-round?

Professional, salaried troops supported by state-controlled silver/gold mines financing standing forces.

Define ‘symposion’ in classical Athens.

Elite male drinking party featuring poetry, music, philosophical talk, and hired entertainers.

What is ‘krypteia’?

Spartan secret police of young men who terrorised helots to curb revolt.

Which Spartan king was the main field commander during the Corinthian War?

Agesilaus II.

Name two 5th-century festivals besides City Dionysia where drama was performed.

Rural Dionysia and Lenaea.

Give one example of pre-play civic ceremonies at the City Dionysia.

Parade of war orphans in hoplite armour; display of tribute from empire; crowning of benefactors; libation by generals.

What key naval tactic did Phormio use in the 429 BC Gulf of Corinth battle?

Circling manoeuvre to foul larger Peloponnesian fleet before striking.

Who were the ‘satyrs’ in satyric drama?

Mythical half-goat followers/slaves of Dionysus, providing lewd comic relief.

Explain the concept of ‘tragic consciousness’ per Vernant.

Spectators recognise ambiguity and conflicting values beyond the rigid views of blinded protagonists.

Which political family’s curse haunted Athenian politics (e.g., during tyranny debates)?

The Alcmaeonidae.

What were ‘cleruchies’ in Athenian imperial practice?

Overseas settlements of Athenian citizens retaining homeland citizenship and serving as garrisons.

Identify two causes scholars cite for rapid Greek change in the 8th century.

Population growth and intensified Mediterranean trade/contacts.

What is the literary significance of ‘Nestor’s Cup’?

Early 7th-century inscribed vase referencing Homer, evidencing spread of Phoenician-derived alphabet and literacy culture.

Describe the Athenian ‘metoíkion’.

Annual tax paid by metics: 12 drachmas for adult males, 6 for independent females.

Which legal body tried homicide cases on Athens’ Areopagus hill?

The Areopagus Council of former archons.

What does ‘hubris’ mean in classical Athens?

Violent or arrogant act (physical or verbal) that disgraces victim and invites legal/social sanctions.

Why was timber strategically vital in Archaic Greece?

Scarce resource for shipbuilding, house construction, and sacred xoana (wooden cult statues).

What archaeological find demonstrates ritual mourning on Geometric kraters?

Dipylon funerary vases with prothesis scenes and warriors carrying shields.

Define ‘phaneros aner’ as used in Pericles’ Funeral Oration.

A ‘public-minded man’ who takes part in civic affairs; opposite of ‘achreios’ (useless).

Which Greek colony’s grave goods include the gold Diadem of Philip II?

Royal tomb at Aigai/Vergina (probable burial of Philip II).

What is the primary historiographical value of Plutarch for the 4th century BC?

Preserves quotations from now-lost contemporary sources in his Parallel Lives.

Name one structural weakness of the Achaemenid Empire that aided Alexander.

Frequent succession crises with fratricidal struggles weakened central authority.

How did Alexander finance his army after 334 BC without Greek funding?

By seizing Persian treasuries and using captured bullion to pay troops and mercenaries.

What phrase summarises Athenian sailors’ ethos per Thucydides’ Corinthians?

“Never give up, never surrender” – relentless innovation and risk-taking.

Which siege weaponry advance is associated with Philip II and Alexander?

Large torsion catapults and multi-storey siege towers enabling direct assaults.

Identify two major Macedonian victories over satrapic forces before Gaugamela.

Granicus (334 BC) and Issus (333 BC).

What was Alexander’s policy toward Greek mercenaries fighting for Persia at Granicus?

Killed many on the field; thousands of survivors enslaved to mines as punishment for fighting fellow Greeks.

Explain the term ‘Common Peace’ (koine eirene).

Multilateral treaty guaranteeing autonomy of Greek poleis, often under hegemonic enforcement (e.g., King’s Peace, Philip’s League).

Who were the ‘Argive-Corinthian superstate’ opponents of Sparta?

Argos and Corinth merged politically (393–386 BC) during the Corinthian War until broken up by King’s Peace.

What is Simon Goldhill’s core argument about tragedy and civic ideology?

That tragedy stages and questions the polis’ own ideological values, using myths to debate moral-political dilemmas.

Which Macedonian commander completed the capture of the Persian fleet bases in 333 BC?

Antigonus (appointed satrap of Phrygia).