HST 103 Exam

  • Agesilaus II of Sparta (444-360): king of Sparta; biography written by Plutarch

    • Failed campaign in Asia Minor; defeats at Leuctra (371) and Mantinea (362).

    • The Spartan king who embodies Greek virtue/excellence (aretē) but whose personal strengths (i.e., opposition to greed) and weaknesses (parochial loyalties) ultimately contribute to Sparta’s decline.

  • Alexandria-by-Egypt: founded by Alexander in 332/331 after capturing Egypt from Persia; served as a link between Greece and the Nile Valley with access to the sea and river; after his death, it went on to become one of the most important cities in the Hellenistic world

  • Antigonid Dynasty: controlled Greece and Macedon following the death of Alexander (Hellenistic period); leaders include Antigonus I Monophthalmus (306-301) and Demetrius Poliorcetes (306-283); ruled until conquest by Rome

  • Antigonus I the “One-Eyed”: a Macedonian general, successor of Alexander (one of the diadochoi), and founder of the Antigonid Dynasty; died in the Battle of Ipsus (301) 

  • Aristotle of Stageira (382-322): philosopher and teacher at the Royal School at Pella, where he taught Alexander; a polymath who has written on many subjects; of note, his theory of natural slavery (slavery in accordance with the inherent nature of the person) in Politics

  • Arrian of Nicomedia: general and historian; wrote The Anabasis of Alexander, today one of the most important sources on the campaigns of Alexander

  • Attalid Dynasty: controlled Pergamum (Western Asia Minor), a major cultural center of the Greek world; regional buffer and [after 200] Roman proxy against Antigonids and Seleucids; leaders include Philetaerus (283-263), Eumenes I (263-241), Attalus I Soter (241-197), Eumenes II Soter (197-160) 

  • Babylon: city in southern Mesopotamia; “liberated” by Cyrus the Great and used as a regional capital for the Achaemenid Empire; controlled by Alexander following the Battle of Gaugamela/Arbela, the final defeat of Darius III (330); location of Alexander’s death in 323; controlled by the Seleucid Empire after

  • Bactria: ancient Iranian civilization in Central Asia; controlled by the Achaemenid Empire until Alexander defeated Darius III; Alexander established two cities there, including Alexandria Eschate; afterwards controlled by the Seleucid Empire; claimed independence from Seleucid rule after c. 245

  • Basileus (king): monarchs, though rarer in Classical Greece than previous eras due to the rise of democracies and oligarchies; Sparta (i.e., Agesilaus) and Macedon (i.e., Philip) were popularly hereditary monarchies at this time 

  • Battle of Chaeronea (338 B.C.): Philip and the Macedonians + city-state allies vs. Thebes and Athens; at 18, Philip led a decisive cavalry charge at the Battle of Chaeronea, destroying Thebes’ Sacred Band; Macedon triumphant; settlement with Thebes and Athens and the First League of Corinth → Philip as hegemon of the Greeks 

  • Battle of Gaugemela (Arbela) (331/330): Alexander and the Greeks vs. Darius III and the Persians; final defeat of Darius III → Achaemenid Empire’s complete conquest by Alexander

  • Battle of Granicus (May 334): Alexander and the Greeks vs. the Persians; Alexander’s first major victory over the Persian Empire; against an Achaemenid Persian army led by western satraps that included a Greek mercenary army (led by Memnon of Rhodes); the liberation of Greek cities in Ionia and Caria (Halicarnassus, Miletus); → campaigns in Anatolia cutting the “Gordion knot” in fulfillment of prophecy 

  • Battle of Ipsus (301): Antigonous and son Demetrius (Asia Minor) vs. Cassander (Macedon), Lysimachus (Thrace), and Seleucus I Nicator (Babylonia and Persia); Antigonus the “One Eyed” defeated by other successors

  • Battle of Issus (Sept/Oct 333): Alexander and the Greeks vs. Darius III and the Persians; first encounter between Darius and Alexander; Alexander’s capture of the royal household (Siygambis, mother of Darius III, Achamenid princesses Barsine and Amastris); Alexander claimed the title of “Lord of Asia”

  • Bucephalus: Alexander’s horse since he was 12 or 13; died in the Battle of Hydaspes; reflects on Alexander as a master horseman and tamer

  • Companions: hetairoi; Philip, and then Alexander’s, elite cavalry; friends and military commanders; Alexander’s cavalry included Hephaistion, Ptolemy, Lysimachus, and others 

  • Cyrus the Great (c. 600-530): founded the Achaemenid Persian Empire by defeating the Median Empire; defeated Croesus of Lydia and “liberated” Babylon

    • Cyrus Cylinder: example of Babylonian cuneiform; Cyrus the Great as Chosen of Marduk in Cyrus Cylinder (539)

  • Darius III of Persia 

  • Datames (Achaemenid satrap): (d. 362 B.C.) Provincial governor of Cilicia(southern Asia Minor). —

  • Demetrius Poliorcetes: Son of Antigonus, one of Alexander’s generals. 

    • Beat Ptolemy during their fight for control of Cyprus during the Battle of Salamis(306 BC), seized Rhodes in 305BC(imitating Alexander's siege of Tyre).

    •  “Liberated” Athens, Athenians claimed he was divine, which influenced other contenders for thrones to achieve divine status. Athenians welcomed him and gave him supplication and prayers. —

  • Demosthenes of Athens 

  • Euhemerus/Euhemerian theory 

  • “Freedom of the Greeks” 

  • Gedrosian Desert:  desert in southern Pakistan/ southeastern Iran, from the Indus to the streight of Hormuz 

    • Alexander and his army traveled through this desert on their journey back to Babylon after his army rebelled in India at the Hyphasis river. 

      • Lost many men 

    • Nearchus sailed with the navy through the persian gulf 

  • Hellespont 

  • Isocrates of Athens 

  • Natural Slavery, Theory of 

  • Marriage at Susa 

  • Memnon of Rhodes 

  • Mutiny at Hyphasis 

  • Mutiny at Opis 

  • Nearchus the admiral 

  • Persepolis 

  • Plutarch of Chaeronea 

  • Porus of Taxila

  • proskynesis (obeisance) 

    • A special kind of paying homage practiced by the Persians, like bowing/kissing of rings or feet, discussion of if this should be observed for Alexander, is it the Greek way? Does he deserve that type of recognition? 

  • Ptolemaic Dynasty 

    • Rulers of Egypt - Ptolemy I = Alex’s general, Alexandria (library at), maritime power, blend of Egyptian and Greek customs, Cleopatra was the last ruler before the Romans 

  • Ptolemy I Soter 

    • Macedonian general under Alex, founded Ptolemaic kingdom in Egypt, reigned as Pharaoh, secured Egypt, founded library at Alexandria 

  • Olympias (mother of Alexander) 

    • Wife of Phillip, formidable ruler, ambitious, key role in Alex’s life/shaping his beliefs, her legacy, depicted as a witch in the movie, thought of to have some 

  • Oracle of Ammon-Ra at Siwah 

    • Alex traveled to seek it in the middle of the desert, it confirmed his divine descent and legitimized him as Pharaoh called him “son of Zeus” 

  • Pella 

    • Capital of Macedon, where the school that Alexander and fellow sons of aristocrats were tutored by Aristotle 

  • Pelopidas of Thebes 

    • Theban general and statesman, liberated thebes from spartan (battle of Leutra) occupation, sacred band, we looked at him to see an example of the ideologies and identity cultivated by Greek city states 

  • Sacred Band (Thebes)

    • Elite army, male lovers, cohesive unit, liberated Thebes from Spartan rule 

  • Philip II of Macedon 

    • Alex’s dad, enhanced Macedon to a role in Greek life, making Macedonians more respectable to Greeks, a threat or a help?, Demosthenes says a threat, Isocrates says he can help overthrow the Persians and unite Asia 

  • Roxane, daughter of Oxyartes 

    • Marries Alex, bears him a son, strategic marriage 

  • Sardis 

    • Training of Persian soldiers in the Macedonian way of fighting/war strategy. Became capital of Seleucid Empire 

  • Satrapy and satraps 

    • Satrapy = province in Persian empire (Achaemenid Empire) 

    • Satrap = governor who presided over it 

  • Seleucid Dynasty 

    • Macedonian Greek royal family that ruled a large and ethnically diverse empire from 312 - 63 BCE

    • Synthesis of Greek and Persian culture 

  • Seleucus I Nicator 

    • Former general under Alex, founded Seleucid Empire 

  • Settlement of Triparadisus, 320 

    • Key conference of Alex’s generals to redivide the Empire after the death of Perdiccas (Macedonian general who succeeded Alex) it established Seleucids and Ptolemies 

  • Sparta/Lacedaemon 

    • Extremely powerful Greek city state, had hegemony over Greece for a while, Iliad 

  • Tyre, Phoenician city and Alexander's Siege of

    • Alex's siege of the island to establish control over the Persians, built the causeway that remained and made it a part of the landmass today