Ancient Greek History and Philosophy

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, definitions, civilizations, and philosophical schools of ancient Greece from the lecture notes.

Ancient Greece

The period of Greek history lasting from the Dark Ages to the Roman conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth.

Minoan Civilization

A civilization originating from Neolithic settlements around 2000 BC, named after King Minos, with a class system made up of nobles, merchants, artisans, bureaucrats, and laborers.

Friezes

Decorative bands of designs and figures.

Frescoes

Paint applied on wet plaster.

Mycenaeans

A political system composed of local kings in fortified cities whose warriors controlled surrounding countrysides, forming confederations through alliances and truces.

Homer

A blind poet revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet and traditional author of the Iliad and the Odyssey.

The Iliad

An epic poem about the legendary ten-year war between the city-state of Troy and a coalition of Mycenaean Greeks.

Polis

A Greek city-state.

Acropolis

A fortified hilltop that served as a city's citadel or stronghold.

Cleisthenes

An intelligent aristocrat known as the father of Athenian democracy who reformed the government with the support of the masses.

Socratic Method

Also known as the dialectic method, a logical and rational process of learning through discussion and talking things out.

Systematic Thinking

A Greek invention consisting of understanding reality as a unified whole, analyzing all its parts, and understanding how they relate to one another in an orderly manner.

Principles of Classicism

The foundational principles of balance, simplicity, and restraint.

Stoicism

A philosophy asserting that the universe is an ordered reality forming part of the cosmos in which all contradictions are resolved for the ultimate good.

Epicureanism

A philosophy based on the doctrine that the highest good is pleasure, teaching the pursuit of individual pleasure in moderation.

Cynicism

A philosophical school whose goal is to achieve a state of living well spiritually, with happiness and mental clarity.

Skepticism

A school of thought based on the suspicion of judgment, holding that no absolute truth can be ascertained by man.

Lyric Poetry

A form of poetry originating later than epic poetry that expresses personal and private thoughts.