ancient greece test Flashcards
2/12/2024
greece is covered 3/4 in ____
mountains
how can greek geography be described simply?
mountainous peninsula (balkan) in the Aegean Sea
are there many islands off of mainland greece?
yes, around 2,000 or 6,000 when including the Aegean and Ionian islands
did they live near the coast?
yes
what are the 3 main seas near mainland greece?
aegean, ionian, black seas
what were the greeks skilled in?
sailing and trading
what made the greek city-states be created instead of being one greek state/nation?
the mountains in the areas
was transportation difficult on land?
yes because of the mountains
was there a lot of arable land?
no, the land only supported small scaled farming and a small population
what is a monarchy?
1 king runs the government
did they have a lot of outdoor activities?
yes, the greeks lived a very outdoors lifestyle (town meetings, discussions, politics)
what is aristocracy?
a form of government in which power is held by the nobility
who were the myceneans?
the first greek-speaking people
indo-europeans that migrated to greece around 2000 bce
what is a oligarchy?
a small group of people having control of a country
what is a democracy?
the whole population or all the eligible members of a state run government
what is mycenae?
main city
when did the mycenaeans dominate greece?
from 1600-1100 bce
what was the city mycenae like?
located in southern greece, extremely fortified city, warrior-king ruled, other strong cities are tiryns and athens
what were the myceneans like?
lived in separate city-states with strong, warrior-kings
sea traders
when and what happened with the mycenaeans and minoans meet?
came into contact around 1500 bce
learned value of sea trade and ship building
adopted minoan writing system, as well as politics, art, literature and religion
may have conquered crete?
what was the trojan war?
1200’s bce the mycenaeans fought a TEN year war with troy (trading city located in anatolia)
troy controlled important straits (dardaanelles and bosporus) connecting the med sea to the black sea
what are main events of the trojan war?
the trojan prince, paris, kidnapped helen, beautiful wife of the greek king leading to the mycenaeans to go to troy to save her and fight 10 years
the greeks trick the trojans with a wooden horse
was the trojan war always viewed as true?
no, historians originally thought that the war was fictional
who and when was the city of troy uncovered?
in the 1870’s, heinrich schliemann uncovered troy and argued that the trojan war actually took place
is the trojan war now believed to be true?
modern studies show that the war did happen although the actual events of the war are still unclear
who were the dorians?
after the trojan war, the mycenaean civilization collapsed. in 1200 bce, it was invaded by the sea raiders dorians who then moved into greece
what were the dorians like?
spoke a greek dialect
less advanced then the mycenaeans
economy collapsed and trade stopped
temporarily lost the art of writing under the dorians (no record 1150-750 bce)
the dark ages of greece
who was homer
homer was the greatest bard (story teller)
legends say he was blind
sometimes between 750-700 bce
created the epics the Iliad and the Odyssey
learned history through spoken words
what are epics?
narrative poems celebrating heroic deeds
who are bards?
traveling poets and storytellers
what are myths?
fictional stories that provided a sense of national identity
what is oral tradition?
teaching and spreading culture through stories (languages!)
by 750 bce, the ______ was the political unit of greece
city-state
what does polis mean?
city state
what were city-states made up of?
a city and surrounding villages
what were agoras?
greek marketplace
what was a acropolis?
fortified hilltop
what were temples in greek city-states made in honor of?
the greek gods and goddesses
what were the greek city-states population like
less than 10,000
what were the greek city-states political systems
monarchy, aristocracy, oligarchy
what were the greek colonies like?
because of things like overpopulation, desire for better farmland, and trade growth, people left mainland greece to go to greek colonies (became its own polis, many were found along the europe and northern africa
what are tyrants?
powerful individuals that would seize (or be given) control by appealing to the common man, but in violation of normal political traditions
they are NOT considered evil or cruel, they were often great leaders, BUT AUTOCRATIC (meaning all powerful)
clashes over power were very common
what was athens named after?
the greek goddess Athena
what was the assembly in Athens?
where aristocracy made the laws
athens basic facts
traded on the seas, constant struggles between rich and poor, and the center for Greek leaning
what was athens government?
monarchy –> aristocracy –> tyranny
–> democracy
by 600 bce, athens faced demands for political and economic reforms, many opposed ruling aristocracy
who were the main 4 reformers in athens
1) draco
2) solon
3) pisistratus
4) cleisthenes
who are when was draco?
621 bce
issued an improved code of laws (penalties were very harsh (death))
all athenians were equal under the law
these laws were not written down leading to nobles not being able to dictate what was legal and what was not
draconian has come to mean something cruel and severe due to the harshness of his rules and laws
who and when was solon?
594 bce
outlawed debt slavery
opened high government offices to more citizens
gave the assembly more power
citizens of any class could participate in the athenian assembly (council of 400)
who and when was pisistratus?
546 bce
helped poor farmers by dividing large estates of rich landowners and giving them to the poor
extended citizenship to poorer citizens, weakening aristocracy even more (he was still an autocrat)
created large public works projects that gave jobs to the poor
who and when was cleisthenes?
507 bce
created a limited democracy in athens
made the assembly a legislative body that:
- made laws
- appointed generals
- acted as a supreme court
- enforced the idea of free speech
- open to all citizens over 30
set up the council of 500:
- members chosen by lottery (random) among citizens
- prepared laws for the assembly
- supervised day to day work of government
what was citizenship in athens like?
only FREE ADULT MALE PROPERTY OWNERS who were BORN in ATHENS were citizens (had political rights and responsibility of civic participation in government)
women and foreigners were not citizens but had some political rights
slaves had NO political rights
what were some democratic principles that developed out of athens?
direct democracy - citizens vote on everything
public debate
duties of citizens
what was the education like for boys in athens
only wealthy sons received formal education from ages 7-18 (usually taught in schools outside the home)
studied grammar, poetry, history, math, and music
also trained in logic and rhetoric (public speaking)
athletics
military school - serve 2 years in the army after the age of 18
what education like for girls in athens?
no school
taught by mother/women
learned child-rearing, weaving cloth, cooking, managing the house, etc
a few learned to read and write
what were the two patron gods of sparta?
aries (god of war) and artemis (goddess of the hunt)
what sparta located?
on the peloponnesus
cut off from most of greece by the strait of corinth
what is the history of sparta?
725 bce - conquered the neighboring region of messenia
messenians became helots
spartans took half of there crops every year
650 bce - messenians revolted, barely were put down (outnumbered spartans 8-1)
sparta then dedicated itself to being a military power
who are helots?
peasants the were forced to work the land
what was the structure of sparta?
assembly of all spartan citizens elected government officials and voted on key issues
council of elders - 30 older citizens who proposed laws to be voted on
5 elected officials carried out laws
also controlled education and court system
2 kings ruled the military
what was sparta’s government?
2 hereditary kings with little power (war, religious festivals)
the assembly of mean over 30 elected 5 ephors (leaders for a year), they had most power to make decisions
what was the council of elders in sparta?
28 men over 60 who served as supreme court
what was the spartan assembly - ecclesia?
all male spartan citizens over 18; could only vote yes or no, had to be summoned by council
what was spartan society?
social order made up of several groups
1st - descendants of original habitants
2nd - noncitizens who were free (commerce and traders (the periokoi))
3rd - helots (conquered and enslaved peoples)
what was life in sparta like?
society was based around making spartan men the ideal WARRIORS
unhealthy infants taken from families and left to DIE
what was the military training for men in sparta?
age 7 - boys placed in barracks (the agoge); sparse diet, rigorous training
age 20 - boys became men and soldiers; they could then marry but they continued to live in the barracks until 30 years old and eat there until 60
age 30- men were expected to marry and have children and they could then become a part of the Assembly
age 60- men were expected to retire
what was education for boys like in sparta?
began at age 7 (sent to barracks)
marched, exercise, and fought
in all weather (wore only light tunic NO SHOES)
slept without blankets on hard benches
ate one bowl of black porridge a day
encourage to steal more food (but then would be punished)
what was spartan military like?
600-371 bce - had the most powerful army in greece
dominated the spartan lifestyle
only citizens served in the army (small, elite, force)
what was the education for girls like in sparta?
received some military training
ran, wrestled, played sports - healthy and strong
women had lots of freedom, ran the estate, inherited property from dead husbands
what is the famous spartan military quote
“come back with your shield or come back on it”
what was spartan culture like?
most forms of individual expression were discouraged
did not value arts, literature or other artistic or intellectual pursuits
distrusted traders
valued duty, strength and discipline instead of freedom, individuality, beauty and learning
why and when did the persian war begin?
competition for colonies cause conflict between the greeks and persians
in 499 bce the ionian greeks under persian rule rebel against persian and king darius the great! athens helped by sending ships, soldiers and supplies
how did the athens and spartans react to the messengers sent by king darius (asking for tribute)
the athenians threw the heralds into a ditch where the bodies of criminals were thrown and the spartans threw them into a well and told them, “there you will find both earth and water for your master.”
when did king darius send messengers to greece demanding tribute of “earth and water” from greek city-states
492 bce
what was and when was the battle of marathon?
490 bce
darius landed soldiers at marathon bay
the greeks win!
6,000 persians lost v. 200 greeks lost
who was pheidippides?
- ran 26 miles to athens to declare the victory, then died
- he told the greeks to defend athens
- when the persians showed up in ships, athens was heavily defended so they set sail for home
