Greece Complete Study Guide

Drama (tragedy/comedy)

An art first developed by Greeks. 2 types: Tragedy which featured serious plays and Comedy which were usually satirical.

Trojan Horse

a large hollow wooden figure of a horse (filled with Greek soldiers) left by the Greeks outside Troy during the Trojan War

polis

Greek city-state

acropolis

Greek for "high city". The chief temples of the city were located here.

agora

a public open space used for assemblies and markets

Mycenaeans

a group of people who settled on the Greek mainland around 2000 B.C.; leading city called Mycenae which could withstand any attack; nobles lived in splendor; these people invaded many surrounding kingdoms

Dorians

A Greek-speaking people who migrated into mainland Greece after the destruction of the Mycenaean civilization.

Minoans

earliest Greek civilization that had developed on the island of Crete by 2000 B.C.

Persians

tolerant; bureaucracy; Cyrus the Great and Darius were the most famous rulers; Royal Road was their trade route and united empire; Zoroastrianism

Homer: Iliad , Odyssey

Two epic poems written by the poet Homer, which elude to historical events and the mythology of ancient greece.

monarchy

A government ruled by a king or queen

aristocracy

the highest class in certain societies, especially those holding hereditary titles or offices.

oligarchy

A government ruled by a few powerful people

tyranny

Cruel and oppressive government or rule

Sparta

A powerful Greek military polis that was often at war with Athens. Used slaves known as helots to provide agricultural labor. Oligarchy

helots

enslaved people in ancient Sparta

hoplites

a heavily armed foot soldier of ancient Greece.

Athens

A democratic Greek polis who accomplished many cultural achievements, and who were constantly at war with Sparta.

democracy

A political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them

Marathon /Thermopylae/Salamis

battles of the Persian Wars ( Marathon won by Greeks, Thermopylae won by Persians, Salamis won by Greeks)

Delian League

Alliance between Athens and many of its allied cities following the first attempted invasion of Persia into Greece. Caused a lot of wealth to flow into Athens and thus contributed to the Athenian "golden age."

Persian Wars

A series of wars between the Greeks (mainly Athens) and the Persians in which the Greeks were usually victorious.

Parthenon

A large temple dedicated to the goddess Athena on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. It was built in the 5th century BCE, during the Athenian golden age.

Olympics

Greek athletic competitions to celebrate the Gods and feed city-state rivalries

Peloponnesian War

(431-404 BCE) The war between Athens and Sparta that in which Sparta won, but left Greece as a whole weak and ready to fall to its neighbors to the north.

hubris

excessive pride or arrogance that results in the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy

Sophists

Greek teachers of philosophy, reasoning, and public speaking

Macedonia

An ancient kingdom north of Greece, whose ruler Philip II conquered Greece in 338 B.C.

Hellenistic

Of or influenced by the Greek Empire. A type of culture typically referred to after the conquests of Alexander the Great.

Alexandria

City in Egypt founded by Alexander the Great, center of commerce and Hellenistic civilization

Stoicism

An ancient Greek philosophy that became popular amongst many notable Romans. Emphasis on ethics. They considered destructive emotions to be the result of errors in judgment, and that a wise person would repress emotions, especially negative ones and that "virtue is sufficient for happiness." They were also concerned with the conflict between free will and determinism. They were also non-dualists and naturalists.

Epicureanism

philosophy founded by Epicurus in Hellenistic Athens; taught that happiness through the pursuit of pleasure was the goal of life

columns (3 types)

Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian

phalanx

Formation of soldiers carrying shields close together for defense; any very close group of people

Aegean Sea

A body of water by Mediterranean Sea that touches the borders of Greece & Asia Minor. It also has many islands in it, including Crete.

Peloponnesus

the peninsula forming the southern part of the mainland of Greece

Balkan Peninsula

A large peninsula in southeastern Europe containing the Balkan Mountain Range

Phoenicians /alphabet

- this group created the alphabet in which many modern languages have evolved from
- became one of the most widely used writing systems, spread by Phoenician merchants across the Mediterranean world, where it was assimilated by many other cultures and evolved
- began in 1050 BC, and gradually died out during the Hellenistic period as its evolved forms replaced it

Prometheus/Pandora

Prometheus was a Titan who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans. Pandora opened the box, releasing all the evils into the world, but at the very bottom of the box Foreboding, which was left inside.

Zeus

King of the gods

Hera

Goddess of marriage/ Zeus's Wife

Athena

Goddess of wisdom and war

Apollo

god of music, poetry, prophecy, and medicine

Poseidon

God of the sea and earthquakes

Hades

God of the underworld

Aphrodite

Goddess of love and beauty

Artemis

goddess of the hunt and the moon

Achilles

Greatest Greek warrior, only vulnerable place is his heel, prophecy that he would die in the Trojan war, which he does at the hand of Paris

Hector

the noble Trojan prince and greatest warrior of Troy in Homer's Iliad

Odysseus

Endures a long journey from Troy to Ithaca; protagonist

Draco

Athenian lawmaker whose code of laws prescribed death for almost every offense (circa 7th century BC)

Solon

Athenian reformer of the 6th century; established laws that eased the burden of debt on farmers, forbade enslavement for debt

Cleisthenes

An aristocrat, created a council of 500 and helped from Athenian democracy

Phidias

Athenian sculptor who supervise the building of the Parthenon. built a statue of zeus at olympia was one of the seven wonders of the world

Pericles

Athenian leader noted for advancing democracy in Athens and for ordering the construction of the Parthenon.

Herodotus

Greek Historian, considered the father of History. He came from a Greek community in Anatolia and traveled extensively, collecting information in western Asia and the Mediterranean lands.

Aeschylus

Father of tragedy

Sophocles

Greek writer of tragedies; author of Oedipus Rex

Aristophanes

an ancient Greek dramatist remembered for his comedies (448-380 BC)

Euripides

A playwright who wrote about 90 tragedies and included strong female characters and smart slaves

Socrates

(470-399 BCE) An Athenian philosopher who thought that human beings could lead honest lives and that honor was far more important than wealth, fame, or other superficial attributes.

Plato

(430-347 BCE) Was a disciple of Socrates whose cornerstone of thought was his theory of Forms, in which there was another world of perfection.

Aristotle

A Greek Philosopher, taught Alexander the Great, started a famous school, studied with Plato

Alexander the Great

Son of Philip II and taught by Aristotle; received military training in Macedonian army and was a student of Aristotle; great leader; conquered much land in Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, and Mesopotamia; goal was to conquer the known world

Aristarchus

Greek scientist who first stated that the Earth revolved around the Sun, and rotated on its axis.

Hippocrates

"Founder of Medicine" During the Golden Age in Greece he was a scientist that believed all diseases came from natural causes. He also had high ideals for physicians & an oath was made that is still used today.

Euclid

(circa 300 BCE), Greek mathematician. Considered to be the father of modern geometry.

Archimedes

scientist/inventor; invented lever and the pulley

Pythagoras

Greek philosopher and mathematician who proved the Pythagorean theorem

Cyrus the Great

king of Persia and founder of the Persian empire (circa 600-529 BC)

Darius

The third king of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. He ruled the empire at its peak. He organized the empire by dividing it into provinces and placing satraps to govern it. He organized a new uniform money system, along with making Aramaic the official language of the empire. He also worked on construction projects throughout the empire.

Xerxes

son of Darius; became Persian king. He vowed revenge on the Athenians. He invaded Greece with 180,000 troops in 480 B.C.