Athenian Political Reforms and the Rise of the Persian Empire

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering Cleisthenes' democratic reforms in Athens and the early expansion and rulers of the Persian Empire.

Cleomenes I

The Spartan king who intervened in Athens to help expel the tyrant Hippias in 510 BC.

Hippias

The tyrant of Athens who was driven out and exiled in 510 BC with Spartan assistance.

Isagoras

The Athenian archon in 508 BC whose aristocratic faction was opposed by Cleisthenes.

Cleisthenes

The Athenian reformer who introduced major political restructuring in 508 BC, establishing isonomia and weakening the power of traditional aristocratic clans.

Isonomia

The principle of equality of political rights and equality before the law that served as the guiding foundation of early Athenian democracy.

Deme

A local village or district in Attica (totaling around 139) that served as the basic unit of Athenian administration, citizen registration, and local religious life.

Trittyes

Thirty territorial administrative units (divided evenly among coastal, inland, and urban areas) that were combined in groups of three to form the ten Cleisthenic tribes.

Ten Tribes

The ten new civic tribes created by Cleisthenes to replace the four traditional clan-based tribes, ensuring that each tribe contained members from the coast, inland, and city.

Boule (Council of 500)

The representative council of 500 citizens (comprising 50 members selected from each of the ten tribes) that set the agenda and prepared legislation for the Ekklesia.

Ekklesia

The sovereign assembly composed of all adult male Athenian citizens, holding supreme decision-making power in the state.

Ostracism

An Athenian democratic institution used to exile an individual citizen for ten years to maintain political stability and curb potential tyrants.

Croesus

The king of Lydia in western Asia who consulted the Delphic oracle and was defeated by the Persian Empire in 546 BC.

Cyrus the Great

The founder and king of the Persian Empire (reigned 559–530 BC) who defeated Croesus and conquered Lydia in 546 BC.

Cambyses

The Persian king (reigned 530–522 BC) who succeeded Cyrus the Great and expanded the Persian Empire by conquering Egypt.

Darius

The Persian emperor (reigned 522–486 BC) who reorganized the empire into 20 satrapies, led a campaign against the Scythians, and confronted the Ionian Revolt.

Ionian Revolt

The uprising of Greek city-states in western Asia against Persian rule in 499 BC during the reign of Darius.