Greece and Rome test Western Civ

Created isolation within Greece. This led to Greek city-states that were culturally and politically diverse as traveling by land was hard to do.

Mountians

Created isolation within Greece. This led to Greek city-states that were culturally and politically diverse as large distances by sea restricted people from coming into contact with each other regularly.

Islands

Earliest Greek civilization that had developed on the island of Crete (2700 B.C.E. - 1100 B.C.E) They traded with the Egyptians and built a great city called Knossos.

Minoan

The civilization that comprised of many city-states that developed the foundations for Greek religion and the stories told in the Iliad & the Odyssey (1600-1100 B.C.E).

Mycenaeans

Tell heroic tales of people like Achilles & Odysseus while including many elements of Greek religion. They were also once oral histories that were told for generations before being written down.

the Iliad and the Odyssey

A city-state in ancient Greece. Includes the land surrounding the city.

Polis

A military formation of foot soldiers armed with spears and shields. Men had to be disciplined and work in unison to be effective.

Phalanx

A citizen-soldier of the Ancient Greek City-states. They were primarily armed as spear-men.

Hoplite

A culture that lives/settles by the sea, trades by the sea, makes a living from the sea, and usually prioritizes shipbuilding.

Seafaring culture

A form of government in which citizens directly vote on their laws. They do not vote for people to represent them. An example of this is Athens during their golden age (5th century B.C.E.).

Direct Democracy

A government ruled by a few powerful people. An example of this is Sparta for much of its history. Sparta had two kings who shared power.

Oligarchy

Educated, enjoyed status, could move around freely, and could own property.

spartan women

These women as girls received no education, only learned how to weave and sew and tend to the home, could not leave their home, could not buy anything or own property, nor disobey their fathers or husbands, very few rights.

Athenian women

Athens

Birthplace of Philosophy in Greece

The Spartan military school that boys began attending at the age of seven. Sparta was a "military state".

Agoge

A predominately Athenian art form conducted in an amphitheater. Sophocles who wrote the play Antigone was famous for this art form.

Greek Plays

a Greek building shaped like a half-circle designed for plays, political announcements, and public gatherings.

amphitheater

(470-399 BCE) An Athenian philosopher who thought that human beings could lead honest lives and that honor was far more important than wealth, fame, or other superficial attributes. He was most famous for using the Socratic Method.

Socrates

Philosophical method of questioning to gain truth; developed by Socrates. It uses logic in order to break down arguments.

Socratic method

Greek historian. Considered the greatest historian of antiquity, he wrote a critical history of the Peloponnesian War that contains the funeral oration of Pericles. He tried earnestly to write without bias.

Thucydides

Greek writer of Greek tragedies. One of his famous plays is the play Antigone.

sophocles

(430-347 BCE) Was a student of Socrates whose cornerstone of thought was his theory of Forms. He wrote the Allegory of the Cave explaining that knowledge through the senses are opinion and one should instead try to understand the true nature of the universe through the use of philosophical reasoning.

plato

A document written by Plato the Athenian philosopher. Within it he shows that seeing is not always true; that we have a skewed view on the world and do not take into account what we may not know.

allegory of the cave

Greek Historian, considered the father of History. He was known for writing a history on the Persian Wars. He is also known for telling elaborate stories and adding fictions to his work, likely to get readers more interested in reading his accounts.

Herodotus

Athletes (men only) from Greece came together and competed in sporting events. Winners got a crown of laurel leaves. Likely intended to get Greek city-states to stop fighting each other while maintaining the glory of combat through sporting events.

Ancient Olympic games

religion in which factors of life are represented by gods or godesess. This was a polytheistic religion.

Greek Mythology

Belief in many gods

polytheism

Greek word meaning "the love of wisdom". It is the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline.

philosophy

The temple honoring the goddess Athena, built on the acropolis above Athens.

partheon

Three forms of Greek columns (art) that represent what is still known as classical architecture. Doric is the simplest; Corinthian is the most elaborate.

doric, ionic, corinthian

A serious form of drama dealing with the downfall of a heroic or noble character.

Tragedy

(431-404 BCE) The war between Athens and Sparta, after the Persian Wars, that in which Sparta won, but left Greece as a whole weak.

peloponnesian war

A battle in 490 BC in which the Athenians and their allies defeated the Persians. (First Persian War)

marathon

an empire in southern Asia created by Cyrus the Great in the 6th century BC and destroyed by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC. They invaded the Greeks in the 5th century (starting the Persian Wars).

Persian empire

An alliance headed by Athens that says that all Greek city-states will come together and help fight the Persians. Turned Athens into a dominant regional power.

Delian league

Naval battle during the Second Persian War where the Athenian forces defeated the Persians, shortly after the battle at Thermopylae. This battle ensured that the Greeks maintained naval superiority for the rest of the war.

Salamis

King of Macedonia who conquered Greece, Egypt, and Persia. He is responsible for the spread of Hellenistic (Greek) culture in North Africa, the Middle East, and even the Indus River Valley.

Alexander the Great

After Alexander the Great's death, Alexander's key generals broke up his empire into these empires.

ptolomeic, Seleucid, antigonid

Greek culture spread across western Asia and northeastern Africa after the conquests of Alexander the Great. The period ended with the fall of the last major Hellenistic kingdom to Rome, but Greek cultural influence persisted until the spread of Islam.

Hellenism

One of the cities founded by and named for Alexander the Great; site of ancient Mediterranean's greatest library; center of literary studies. Also housed the Great Lighthouse.

Alexandria, Egypt

An architectural innovation that allowed for buildings to be built taller, cheaper, and with less material. Invented by the Etruscans.

Arch

This is the civilization that by the 8th century B.C.E. had started to lay the foundation for Rome and Roman civilization. Roman culture took much of Etruscan writing, Etruscan clothing, and elements of Etruscan architecture.

Etruscans

An elected official who led the Roman Republic. Two ruled at the same time and they were only allowed 1 year terms.

consul

One of the 300 leaders in the branch of the Roman government called the Senate. These people were appointed for life and were in charge of making Roman laws.

senator

an official of the Roman Republic in charge of enforcing civil law. Much like a judge today.

Praetor

Leader with absolute power that was appointed by the Senate when their was an emergency (usually military emergency) in Rome.

Dictator

In ancient Rome, a member of the privileged upper class.

Patrician

an ordinary citizen in the ancient Roman Republic. They could vote for government officials but could not be a government official.

Plebian

The earliest Roman code of laws. Like the Bill of Rights in that it protected the rights of the people (citizens).

12 tables

A series of three wars between Rome and Carthage (264-146 B.C.); resulted in the destruction of Carthage and Rome's dominance over the western Mediterranean.

punic wars

264 B.C. - 241 B.C., Rome and Carthage fought over island of Sicily, was a naval war, Romans figured out how to board the Carthaginian ships and fight them, Romans won and gained control of Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia (Islands).

first punic war

218 B.C. - 202 B.C., Hannibal decides to attack Rome, Sneaks through Gaul with 60,000 troops and 60 Elephants, Wreaks havoc in Rome for 15 years, Roman general named Scipio attacked Carthage making Hannibal come back to Carthage. Rome wins Carthage loses all territories.

second punic war

Not really a war. More like a genocide. Romans afraid that another Hannibal might come back and raid the Italian Peninsula (even though it was impossible) decided to salt the fields around Carthage and sell Carthaginian civilians into slavery.

third punic war

giving priority to one's own goals over group goals and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications.

individualism

After the Punic Wars Rome dominated the Mediterranean region with few civilizations of consequence to rival their navy/army.

Roman Hegemony

What civilization did Rome get most of their culture from (literature, philosophy, religion, etc)

Greece

Carthaginian general in the second Punic War that defeated Roman armies on numerous occasions. Would have likely won the war if not for Scipio, a Roman General, taking the war to Carthage his homeland.

Hannibal Barca

A gladiator who led a slave revolt; defeated several Roman armies and almost overthrew the government.

Sparticus

Roman general who commanded the invasion of Carthage in the second Punic War and defeated Hannibal at Zama (circa 237-183 BC)

Scipio Africanus

Roman historian whose history of Rome recorded the events of the Punic Wars.

Livy

Established leaders, held power in the senate, opposed reformers during the time of Julius Caesar and prior. They were aristocrats who wanted to keep the status quo.

Optimates

Roman politicians who sought to pursue a political career based on the support of the people rather than just the aristocracy. They were during the time period of Julius Caesar and earlier. (Though they were still aristocrats)

Populares

Leaders of assassination plot against Julius Caesar.

Brutus and Cassius

Julius Caesar's right-hand man, teamed with Octavian to punish Caesar's murders, fell in love with Cleopatra, later went into civil war against Octavian and at the Battle of Actium lost big. Later fled to Egypt and committed suicide.

Marc Antony

Adopted son of Julius Caesar who defeated his rivals to become the first emperor of Rome. He defeated the conspirators who killed Julius Caesar (Brutus & Cassius) and Mark Antony in a civil war that followed afterward.

Octavian (Caesar Augustus)

A period of peace and prosperity throughout the Roman Empire when there was no strong rival to Roman power. It lasted from 27 B.C. to A.D. 180.

Pax Romana

The spread of Latin language, culture, & Roman way of life.

Romanization

Reasons for the fall of Rome...

Population decline, unstable borders, religious conflict, & Germanic invasions.

The most important figure in the spread of Christianity after Jesus's death. He wrote many books in the New Testament.

Paul of Tarsus

A building built in Rome during the reign of Augustus as a temple to all the gods of ancient Rome. It is famous because it is the largest freestanding un-reinforced concrete dome in the world.

Pantheon

A teacher and prophet born in Bethlehem and active in Nazareth; his life and sermons form the basis for Christianity.

Jesus of Nazereth