Ancient Greece: Minoan, Mycenaean Civilizations & Greek City-States

Crete

Was ruled by King Minos; capital city Knossos

BC

Before Christ (before year 0)

AD

Canno Domini- "in the year of the lord" (after year 0)

Minoan Civilization

Bronze Age civilization that lived on Crete; they thrived from 2700-1450BC

Thera Volcano

A volcano that some believe killed the Minoans

Mycenaean Civilization

Home to Mycenae which was the first Greek state

Tholos Tombs

a tomb that held royal family (similar to Egyptian tombs)

Phoenician alphabet

Smaller form of a previous alphabet that the Greeks used that makes words easier to spell

Homer

Wrote epic poems like Iliad and Odyssey

Epic Poem

a long poem that tells the deeds of a great hero

Iliad

about Achilles' adventures

Odyssey

about Odysseus' adventures (20 years on the seas)

Trojan War

10 war siege; Parsis kidnaps Helen; Wooden horse trick used on the Trojans

Achilles

Demigod; his mother dipped him in a river that made all of him indestructible except his heel

Arete

Courage, honor, and excellence

Polis

A city, state, or town

Acropolis

Capital city

Agora

Market, place to trade

Hoplite

Heavily armed infantry soldiers; carried a sword, round shield, and a spear; marched in a formation called a phalanx

Mediterranean Sea

Italy, France, Spain, North Africa

Byzantium

city that later became Constantinople, then Istanbul

Democracy

Rule by the people

Oligarchy

Rule by a few

Sparta

powerful polis; military state; selective of who lives and dies

Athens

Was first ruled by a king, then switched to an oligarchy; messy economy

Ephors

overseers of Sparta's government

Council of Elders

2 kings/28men over 60; they decided what was represented to the council of male citizens that only voted and never debated

Cleisthenes

Created democracy and restored order in Athens in 510 BC

Council of 500

dealt with foreign affairs, treasury, and proposed laws

Pedagogue

a slave that taught education to children that were 7 years old up until they were 18 years old

King Darius

invaded Athens in 490 BC

Xerxes

Son of King Darius and took control of Persian in 486 BC

Battle of Marathon

26 miles from A; Darius defeated; term "marathon" comes from this battle

Battle of Thermopylae

7,000 Greeks led by King Leonidas held off the Persians for 2 days by using tactics and the terrain for an advantage

Battle of Plataea

All city states come together to defeat Persia

Delian League

all leaders of the league Athenian; led a counter invasion, liberated Eastern Greek

Age of Pericles

Dominant political figure; Democracy flourished and Greek's holding expanded; peak of Athenian Power

direct democracy

people participate directly in government decision making through a mass public meeting (not a true democracy because only males can vote and most residents weren't citizens)

Ostracism

Greeks used pieces of broken pottery to vote if they would banish a political leader, if there was 6,000 votes in favor the politician would be banned for 10 years

Piraievs

Most important Athenian city; imported grain

Peloponnesian War

was a defensive war for Athens; in 428 a plague came over Athens which became the turning point in the war

Battle of Aegospotami

the end of the Peloponnesian War; Athens defeated

Polytheism

multiple gods worshiped; Greek religion has 12 gods

Mount Olympus

where the 12 Greeks gods live

Zeus

most powerful

Athena

goddess of wisdom and crafts

Apollo

god of sun

Ares

god of war

Poseidon

god of the sea and earthquakes; controlled the Kraken

Aphrodite

goddess of love

Rituals

ceremonies or rites

Olympic Games

held on Mt. Olympia; different events held with the first being running; you had to be highly trained and if you won you get a wreath as a reward; not many rules

Oracle

to learn the will of the gods

Tragedy

Greek dramas were called these

Oresteia

the only tragedy we have left; told of the struggles of Agamemnon in the Trojan War; written by Aeschylus

Oedipus Rex

written by Sophocles

Comedy

type of Greek writing that was used to criticize leaders and intellectuals

Oracle at Delphi

the most famous oracle; people would travel long distances to come here; priests often gave hard to understand/vague answers from the gods

Philosophy

an organized system of thought; concerned about the development of critical and rational thought about the nature of universe

Pythagoras

philosopher that believed the essence of the universe could be found in music and numbers

Socrates (Socratic method)

a philosopher that's primary goal was to improve himself (and his students); believed that all real knowledge can be discovered in each person; encouraged people to question authority; created the socratic method where you ask questions that lead to more questions and eventually to a conclusion

Plato (forms)

A philosopher with his one central question being "how do we know what is real?"; believed in the forms, a higher reality or dimension

The Republic

about the nature of a perfect government; believed that democracy was flawed

Sophists

travelling teachers that believe man cannot understand the universe and that it was more important for men to improve themselves; stressed the importance of rhetoric

Rhetoric

the art of persuasive speaking in winning debates and swaying an audience

History

a systematic analysis of past events

Herodotus

"father of history"

A History of the Persian Wars

Written by Herodotus

Thucydides

Athenian general; the greatest historian

Parthenon

dedicated to the goddess Athena, but also the glory of Athens itself

Phillip II

wanted unite Greece and his kingdom

Battle of Chaeronea

the battle where Philip II defeated the Greek city states in 338 BC

Alexander the Great

son of Philip II and military genius; took his fathers throne and established Alexandria

Alexandria

A city in Egypt that had tons of trade a huge library with 500,000 scrolls

Battle of Gaugamela

The battle where Alexander the Great finally took down the Persians once and for all in 331 BC

Hellenistic Era

to imitate Greeks; shared Greek language, ideas, art, architecture

Aristarchus

said the universe was centered around the sun and he also determined that the Earth was a sphere

Euclid

wrote a text book about geometry

Archimedes

studied spheres and cylinders and discovered pi (3.14...); first recognized gravity

Epicureanism

belief that humans are free to follow self-interest as a basic motivating force

Stoicism

the most popular philosophy of the time; didn't advocate to stay out of a public life