Classical Greece and Ancient Aegean Civilizations Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering the Minoan, Mycenaean, and Classical Greek civilizations, including major historical figures, political institutions, conflicts, cultural achievements, and social structures.

Minoan Civilization

An ancient civilization centered on the island of Crete, established by ancestors from Anatolia and Syria who arrived between 4000 and 3000 BCE, named after King Minos.

King Minos

The legendary king of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa, after whom the Minoan civilization was named.

Knossos

The capital and main center located in the northern part of the island of Crete where all roads ended.

Sir Arthur Evans

The English archaeologist who excavated Knossos in 1899 and discovered the remains of a large palace with frescoes, drainage, and baths.

Linear A

The undeciphered writing system of the Minoans found on clay tablets by Sir Arthur Evans.

Linear B

The writing system believed to belong to the Mycenaeans, deciphered by cryptologist Michael Ventris and classical scholar John Chadwick.

Minotaur

A mythical monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man, offspring of Queen Pasiphae and a bull, kept in a labyrinth under the palace and fed an annual tribute of 7 young men and 7 maidens from Athens.

Achaeans

The name given by Homer to the native people from around the Caspian Sea who migrated to Greece in 1900 BCE and later conquered Knossos in 1400 BCE.

Mycenae

The largest Mycenaean city, surrounded by thick walls, whose most famous ruler was King Agamemnon and whose ruins were discovered by Heinrich Schliemann in the 1870s.

King Agamemnon

The most famous king of the city of Mycenae.

Heinrich Schliemann

The archaeologist who discovered the ruins of Mycenae in the 1870s and the ruins of Troy in 1870.

Troy

A wealthy city located in Turkey near the Mediterranean Sea that collected high taxes from passing ships.

Homer

A blind poet of the 8th century BCE from Asia Minor who composed the epic poem Iliad, detailing the Trojan War and figures like Achilles and Prince Hector.

Acropolis

The highest point in a Greek polis where temples were constructed.

Agora

An open public area in the center of a Greek city-state used as a marketplace and gathering space.

Draco

An Athenian lawmaker who recorded the Draconian Code, known for imposing severe penalties such as death for both minor and major crimes.

Solon

One of the Seven Wise Men of Greece who abolished severe punishments except for homicide, established the Council of 400, and allowed foreign workers to obtain Athenian citizenship.

Pisistratus

An Athenian tyrant who distributed land to farmers, provided capital loans, built temples and aqueducts, and created public employment.

Cleisthenes

The Athenian leader who introduced the political system of demokratia in 507 BC and initiated the practice of Ostracism.

Pericles

The Athenian general who led Athens during its Golden Age, ordered the construction of the Parthenon, restored the city after the Greco-Persian War, and encouraged public civic participation.

Sparta

A militaristic Greek polis organized as an oligarchy where weak or disabled infants were killed, and boys were sent to military training camps at age 7.

Battle of Marathon

A 490 BCE battle in which Athenian forces successfully repelled a Persian invasion without the delayed assistance of Sparta.

Battle of Thermopylae

A 480 BCE battle where Xerxes defeated Greek forces following the betrayal of Ephialtes, despite 300 Spartans and 700 other Greeks fighting to the death.

Ephialtes

The Greek traitor who informed the Persian forces under Xerxes of a secret mountain path during the Battle of Thermopylae.

Battle of Salamis

A naval battle where Athens defeated the Persian forces by maneuvering small ships to burn the large Persian fleet in a narrow strait.

Battle of Plataea

The final battle of the Greco-Persian War where Spartan troops defeated Persian forces and burned their army.

Delian League

An alliance formed under Athenian leadership that eventually created resentment among other city-states when Athens diverted tax funds for its own benefit.

Peloponnesian War

A conflict starting in 431 BCE between Athenian forces and Spartan-led Peloponnesian city-states, ending in a Spartan victory in 404 BCE that left Greece weakened and divided.

Philip of Macedonia

The Macedonian king who conquered the joint forces of Athens and Thebes in 338 BCE, uniting all of Greece under Macedonian rule except for Sparta.

Alexander the Great

The son of King Philip of Macedonia who launched campaigns starting in 334 BCE to conquer the Persian Empire and Egypt, spreading Hellenistic culture before dying in 323 BCE at age 32.

Hellenistic Culture

The culture resulting from the blending of Greek and Asian cultural elements spread throughout the conquests of Alexander the Great.

Doric Order

The simplest style of Greek column, featuring no base and a plain capital.

Ionic Order

A slender Greek column style featuring capitals decorated with scroll-like volutes.

Corinthian Order

The most ornate and decorative of the classical Greek column styles.

Pythagoras

The Greek mathematician credited with the development of the Pythagorean Theorem in geometry.

Archimedes

The Greek scientist and mathematician who calculated the measurement of the circumference of a circle.

Euclid

The mathematician recognized as the Father of Geometry.

Thales of Miletus

The philosopher who proposed the theory that water is the fundamental element of all matter.

Socrates

The philosopher who prioritized reason over emotion and famously declared that the unexamined life is not worth living.

Plato

A student of Socrates and author of The Republic, which outlined a theory of an ideal state.

Aristotle

A student of Plato and author of Politics who studied animals, plants, astronomy, and physics, emphasizing that theories must be based on observable data.

Aristoi

The highest socio-economic class in Greek society, consisting of wealthy citizens who owned horses and arms and held major public positions.

Perioikoi

Second-class citizens in Sparta who owned land distant from the polis walls, referred to as dirty feet due to their long travel to farmland.

Nouveau riche

A middle class of merchants and skilled workers who elevated their social standing through accumulated wealth.

Helot

An unfree agricultural worker in Sparta tied to the land who yielded a portion of their harvest to the landowner.

Xenoi / Metokoi

Free-born foreign residents registered in a polis who paid taxes, participated in military service, and could obtain full citizenship through exceptional contributions.