Ancient Greece Lecture Review

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering the major figures, battles, government types, and social structures of Ancient Greece based on lecture notes.

Importance of Persian Wars

Began the decline of the Persian Empire, boosted Greece's self-confidence, started the Golden Age of Greek culture, and laid the groundwork for the Peloponnesian War.

Homer

Ancient Greek epic poet believed to have written the Iliad and the Odyssey.

Athens

A democratic Greek polis that achieved many cultural milestones and was frequently at war with Sparta.

Polis

A city-state in ancient Greece.

Sparta

Greek city-state ruled by an oligarchy, focused on military strength, utilized slaves for agriculture, and discouraged the arts.

Ionian Sea

The sea located to the west of Greece.

Aegean Sea

The sea located on the eastern coast of Greece.

Minoans

Early Greek people living on the island of Crete from $2600\,BCE$ to $1500\,BCE$.

Mycenaeans

First Greek-speaking people who dominated the Greek world from $1400\,B.C.$ to $1200\,B.C.$, lived in separate city-states, were sea traders, and involved in the Trojan War.

Minotaur

In Greek mythology, a mythical monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man.

labyrinth

A maze or a complicated network of winding passages.

Persian Wars

A series of wars between the Greeks (primarily Athens) and the Persians where the Greeks were usually victorious.

Marathon

Site of a famous battle where outnumbered Athenians defeated the Persian army; a messenger ran $26\,miles$ back to Athens with the news.

Thermopylae

A famous battle in $480\,BC$ taking place in a mountain pass where the Persians attacked the Spartans.

Salamis

A naval battle where Greek forces defeated the Persians shortly after the battle at Thermopylae.

Peloponnesian War

A war from $431-404\,BCE$ between Athens and Sparta; Sparta won, but the conflict left Greece weak and vulnerable to northern neighbors.

Polytheism

Belief in many gods.

cavalry

Soldiers who fight on horseback.

Iliad

Homer's great epic poem telling the story of the Trojan War.

Triremes (Greek)

Fast and agile Greek ships with $3$ rows of oars used to ram other ships.

Main crops in Ancient Greece

Olives and grapes.

Democracy

A system of government "by the people" or by the eligible members of a state.

Direct Democracy

A form of government where citizens rule directly rather than through representatives, as seen in Athenian Democracy.

Representative Democracy

A system where citizens elect leaders or representatives to make decisions and laws, like the U.S. Democracy.

Monarchy

Government ruled by a king or queen, where rule is usually passed down from father to son.

Oligarchy

A government ruled by a few powerful people, typically wealthy men or aristocrats.

Tyranny

A form of government where the ruler is an absolute dictator not restricted by laws or a constitution.

Tyrants

In ancient Greece, rulers who seized power by force with public support, though the term later referred to brutal and oppressive rulers.

Cause of Peloponnesian War

Spartan resentment of Athenian domination.

Spartan women

Women who owned land, ran households, and received physical training, distinctly not spending their time spinning or weaving.

Athenian women

Women who received no education, learned only to weave and sew, could not own property or leave home, and had almost no rights.

Greek Philosophers

Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.

Delian League

An alliance between Athens and its allied cities after the first Persian invasion which brought wealth to Athens and contributed to its Golden Age.

Golden Age of Athens

A period from $477-431\,B.C.$ where Athens saw significant growth in artistic and intellectual learning.

Education in Sparta

All children began military training at age $7$; at age $20$, men underwent physical tests to determine if they could become full citizens.

Education in Athens

Boys were educated in reading, writing, math, and literature until age $14$, while girls were educated at home.

Citizen (Ancient Greece)

To qualify, one must be a man, age $30$, own land, and have both parents born in Athens.

tenant farmer

A farmer who works land owned by another person and pays rent in cash or crops.

small farmers

Citizens who owned and farmed their own land but did not produce enough to be considered wealthy.

Helots

The enslaved people in ancient Sparta.

Miltiades

Athenian general (active $540-489$) who defeated the Persians at the Battle of Marathon.

Darius I and Xerxes I

The two Persian kings under whom the Persian Empire reached its maximum extent and who led the Persian War.

Phalanx

A defensive military formation of soldiers carrying shields close together.

Myths

Stories used to explain beliefs about the world.

Mount Olympus

The highest mountain in Greece and the believed home of many gods and goddesses.

Spartan Military

Men served until age $60$; lived in barracks from age $7$ to $30$; diet consisted of coarse black porridge; focused on marching and fighting without shoes or blankets.

Athenian Military

A military that specialized in the navy but had a poor army.

Most powerful city-state after the Persian War

Athens.

tyranny vs. monarchy

In a tyranny, power is taken by force rather than inherited or granted legally, and the ruler has no legal claim to rule.

Geography of Greece

Mountains and small islands which allowed city-states to develop into independent communities.

peninsula

Land that is surrounded by water on three sides.