Ancient Greece Flashcards
The Greeks believed in what
Life after death and the only way to get to the other world was to cross the River Styx
If you were sent to the underworld you what?
Burned eternally
The Greeks placed 2 gold coins on the eyes of the dead, why?
To pay for their toll across Styx
The Greeks gave gods what
Human emotions
Where did the gods live and were they all related?
They lived on Mt. Olympus and yes they were all relatives
Who were the Olympians and what did they do
The gods, led by Zeus and they defeated Cronus and the titans
What did Cronus do?
Eat his kids
What titan was allowed to live but had to do something forever
Atlas, and he had to hold up the world forever
Who is Zeus
the top god, king of gods, and god of sky, thunder, lightening
Who was Poseidon
God of the sea
Who was hades
God of the underworld and death
Who is Hera
Queen of gods, goddess of marriage
Who is Hestia
Goddess of home/family
Who is Athena
Goddess of wisdom/justice
Who is Artemis
Goddess of hunt
Who is Apollo
God of prophecy, medicine and music
Who is Aphrodite
Goddess of love and beauty
Who is Ares
God of war
Who is Hephaestus
God of fire
Who is Hermès
Messenger god
Who were Greece’s greatest hero’s
Hercules, Achilles, Odysseus, Perseus, Jason, and Theseus
The Greeks have lots of festivals a year, over how many?
Over 60
What was the main festival and how often was it held?
Olympics and they were held every 4 years
Who was the god/goddess of winged victory
Nike
What were some events?
Sacrifices, music/poetry contests, and athletic contests
What were the athletic contests?
Running, throwing, wrestling, boxing, and chariot racing
Who was the first champion?
Koroibus
What did the winner win?
Olive branch wreath and free food for life
Who put an end to the olympics and why?
They were put to an end by a Christian Roman emperor named Theodosius b/c he believed they were pagan
Where did the modern olympics start and when?
In 1896 in Athens
What were city-states called?
Polis
City-states were what
Basic political units
What was at the center of each city
The acropolis and on top of the acropolis stood the temple/shrine to local god
Why were cities built on hills
For defense
What was at the base of the acropolis
A central public square called the agora
What happened in the agora
Government chose leaders/passed laws, schools, merchants/business, market/food
The Greeks had colonies around what
The med sea and Black Sea
What city states were the most powerful
Sparta and Athens
The Spartans came from who and were located where?
Came from the dorians and were located on the Peloponnesus peninsula
What was the spartan social class
Spartans owned land, non-citizens were foreigners and merchants, helots were slaves and made up 2/3 of the population
What was Sparta ruled by
2 kings and elders
Elders were how old and did what
60 and took newborns to be inspected and left on a mountain to die if sick or deformed
Spartan boys did what
Lived with family and taken at 7 to train at Agoga ( boot camp ), trainer until 18 then fought, married at 30, retired at 60 and became an elder if still alive.
Spartan girls did what
Stayed home and did nothing until 7 then trained in gymnastics, wrestling and boxing at home, married at 19, big role was to have strong healthy kids and provide food, had more rights than others
What was the spartan law code
No retreat no surrender
Who were the Athenians
Came from Mycenaeans, located on Attica peninsula, economy based on trade
Athens was the birthplace of what
Democracy and western civilization
The social class was what for Athens
Men had all the power, metics were foreigners, artisans and merchants, slaves did all labor and were farmers and 50% of population
Persian Wars were what
The superpower at the time
The Greeks were all for what
Freedom/independence
The Persians were all for what
Tyranny/slavery
Who conquered the city-state of Ionia
The Persian king Cyrus the 2nd
What did the Ionians do and who became their ally
They revolted and Athens became their ally
What king attacked Greece/Athens
Darius
How far was the battle of marathon from Athens
26 miles
Who won the battle of marathon
The Athenians
Why did the Athenians win
Because of a battle formation called the Phalanx
What is the legend of Pheidippides
He was a messenger sent from marathon to Sparta to ask for help, Sparta turned him down so he went back to marathon and found out athens was winning, so he went to Athens to tell of the news, collapsed and died
Who is the Persian king that put together the largest army in the ancient world and how big was it
Xerxes and 250k
Who was the Greek historian that said when the Persian army stopped to drink rivers ran drank
Herodotus the father of history
Who was Themistocles and what did he do
He was a leader/general who went to the oracle at Delphi for advice from the priestess who spoke for Apollo
What did the oracle tell Themistocles
That the wooden wall would prevail
Who held off the Persian army at Thermopylae and for how long
King Leonidas and for 2 days
Who betrayed the Greeks
Ephialtes
What is the battle of salamis
A naval battle
Athens is rebuilt and what starts
The golden age and classical period
How long did Greece flourish
20 years
Who is the father of democracy
Cleisthenes
What is the “voice of the people”
The assembly
What kind of democracy did they have
Direct democracy
What is ostracism
To lose favor
What happens to themistocles
He is exiled
Who rules during the golden age
Pericles
Since he is not married, who is Pericles’ companion
Aspasia
What did the Greeks excel in during this time
Architecture, sculptures, painting, science, literature, and drama
What was their artistic style
Classical
What is the Parthenon
A temple/shrine and a bank
The Greeks emphasized what in their art
Idealism
The Greeks are famous for what activities that are held in honor of who
Drama/theater and festivals that are held in honor of Dionysus the god of wine, fertility, and theater
Where were the plays performed and who performed and watched them
In amphitheaters, they were played and watched by men who wore masks
What was the chorus
Group of 12-50 men who spoke and sang the whole play
What were the 2 types of dramas
Tragedies and comedies
Philosophy is what and what did Athens believe the mind was capable of
The searching of wisdom, they believed the mind could understand everything
What are philosophers
Seekers of wisdom
What are sophists
Knowers of wisdom
Who was Socrates and what happened to him
He was the father of philosophy, he was blamed for corrupting the youth and blamed for the defeat in the Peloponnesian War, he died because he was forced to swallow hemlock
Who was Plato
Founder of the academy, author of the republic and student of Socrates
Who was Aristotle
Tutor of Alexander the Great, father of science, student of Plato
Who was Thucydides
Someone who was very factual
Who was Pythagoras
A philosopher, scientist, mathematician,
Who is Hippocrates and what oath was named after him
He was the father of medicine, the Hippocratic oath was named after him, to preserve life at all costs
What is the Delian League
An alliance of city-states formed by Athens to protect against Persians, 200 city-states joined ( not including Sparta )
What did athens do that was the main cause of the Peloponnesian wars starting
Their empire grew so they bossed the city-states around and took money from them so they grew bitter and left the alliance
What was the Peloponnesian League
An alliance of city-states that left Athens and joined Sparta
What happens during the Peloponnesian wars
The Delian League hides in Athens and a plague breaks out that kills over 1/3 of Athens, weakening Athens so Sparta wins
Who invaded Greece after the Peloponnesian Wars
The Macedonians, descendants of Dorians
Who was Philip II
King of Macedon who was captured at 10 by Greece and loved their culture, he wanted to overthrow Greece and unite them as well as overthrow Persia
What happened to Philip II
He was killed by his wife so her son could be the king
Who was Alexander the Great
He was the son of Philip II and became king at 20, he was tutored by Aristotle and had a brilliant mind and was an even better military commander, he is one of the top 3 military commanders in history and never lost a battle
What did Alexander do and how did he die
He stretched the empire from Egypt to India and died at 32 from malaria ( maybe )
What are some of Alexander’s achievements
He unified Greece, conquered Persia, created Hellenistics and the culture, introduces idea of absolute monarchs, establishes Alexandria Egypt, center of learned and worlds largest library
What happened after Alexander died
He had no heirs so his 4 generals split up the empire to rule, Cassander took Greece/Macedonia, Ptolemy took Egypt, Seleucus took Persia, Lysimachus took Asia Minor
What are Greece’s legacies
Democracy Philosophy Theater/drama Alphabet/language Olympic Games Science Mathematics/medicine Architecture
