On-Site Archaeology of the Ancient Mediterranean Review

Citizen

A free adult male born to citizen parents with full political rights.

Tribe

A political division created by Cleisthenes that grouped demes into larger units.

Boule

Council of 500 citizens who prepared legislation for the Assembly.

Ekklesia

The Assembly of citizens who voted on laws, war, and major decisions.

Deme

Local district or village that served as the basic unit of political identity.

Altar

Sacred structure used for offerings and sacrifices to the gods.

Frieze

Horizontal sculpted band on a temple.

Metope

Square panel between triglyphs, often carved with mythological scenes.

Pediment

Triangular space at a temple’s roofline filled with sculpture.

Cleisthenes

Reorganized tribes and demes, expanded citizen participation, strengthened democracy.

Solon

Early reformer who reorganized classes, expanded political access, and addressed debt.

Seisachtheia

Solon’s “shaking off of burdens,” ending debt slavery.

Persian Conflict

Series of wars between Greece and Persia, including Marathon and Thermopylae.

Sacking of Attica

Persian destruction of Athens in 480 BC, including burning the Acropolis.

Panathenaic Procession

Festival parade honoring Athena, depicted on the Parthenon frieze.

Peisistratus

Athenian tyrant who unified the region of Attica and boosted the Athenian economy by giving poor farmers aristocratic land, offering state loans for olive farming, and issuing national coinage.

Tyrant

A ruler who seized power outside traditional structures, not always cruel.

Peloponnesian War

Long conflict between Athens and Sparta.

460–445 phase

Early tensions and proxy conflicts.

Thirty Years Peace

Treaty for the first Peloponnesian War meant to last 30 years but collapsed after about 15.

431–404 phase

Main war ending in Athenian defeat.

Amazons

Mythical warrior women from now Turkey, often shown fighting Greeks.

Centaurs

Half‑man, half‑horse beings symbolizing wildness.

Delian League

Alliance led by Athens against Persia that became an Athenian empire.

Sacred Way

Road from Athens to Eleusis used for religious processions.

Jury

Large citizen juries chosen by lot; majority vote decided cases.

Mysteries

Secret religious rites at Eleusis promising spiritual renewal.

Ostrakon/Ostraka

Pottery shard used to vote for ostracism.

Metic

Resident foreigner in Athens with legal protections but no citizenship.

Sumptuary laws

Rules limiting luxury and display, especially in funerals.

Greek ethnic groups

Broad cultural divisions like Dorians, Ionians, and Aeolians.

Doric

Architectural style with simple columns and plain capitals.

Ionian

Style with scroll‑shaped capitals and more decorative detail.

Bronze Age

1550-1177. Era of palaces, Mycenaeans, and early Greek culture.

Iron Age

1176-777. Post‑palatial period with simpler settlements and emerging city‑states.

Archaic Period

776-479. Age of early city‑states, colonization, and kouros/kore statues.

Classical Period

478-323. Height of Greek art, drama, philosophy, and democracy.

Bronze sculpture

Hollow‑cast statues allowing dynamic poses.

Erastes/Eromenos

Mentor‑youth relationship central to elite male culture.

Symposium

Drinking party for elite men with conversation, music, and performance.

Barbarian

Non‑Greek speaker, perceived as culturally foreign.

The Thirty

Oligarchic regime installed in Athens after the Peloponnesian War.

Socrates

Philosopher known for questioning method and executed for impiety.

Socratic method

Asking probing questions to expose contradictions.

Socrates’ trial

Charged with impiety and corrupting youth; condemned by jury.

Kouros/Kore

Archaic male and female statues carved out of marble used for grave markings or offerings to deities in temples.

City Dionysia

Major Athenian festival celebrating Dionysus featuring dramatic competitions, religious sacrifices, and grand processions,

Herodotus

Historian of the Persian Wars.

Archilochus

Poet known for personal and sharp lyric poetry.

Theognis

Poet focused on aristocratic values and social tension.

Plato

Philosopher who wrote dialogues exploring ethics and politics.

Sappho

Lyric poet from Lesbos known for intimate, emotional verse.