Ancients Greece Flashcards
polis
a Greek city-state
acropolis
a protected hill within a Greek city-state; holds notable buildings in Athens like the Parthenon
monarchy
a form of government with a monarch at the head
aristocracy
a government in which power is in the hands of a hereditary ruling class or nobility
oligarchy
a government ruled by a few powerful people
tyrant
a cruel and oppressive ruler
democracy
a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state
helot
enslaved people in ancient Sparta
phalanx
a military formation of foot soldiers armed with spears and shields
Persian Wars
a series of wars between the Greeks (mainly Athens) and the Persians in which the Greeks were usually victorious
direct democracy
a form of government in which citizens rule directly and not through representatives
classical art
the art which is associated with the classical period
tragedy
a play dealing with tragic events and having an unhappy ending
comedy
play intended to make an audience laugh
Peloponnesian War
a war in which Athens and its allies were defeated by Sparta and its allies
philosopher
a thinker who uses logic and reason to investigate the nature of the universe, human society and morality
Socrates
philosopher condemned to death for corrupting the youth of Athens
Plato
wrote The Republic, a book that set forth his vision of a perfectly governed society
Aristotle
a student of Plato and tutor to Alexander the Great, he founded a school (the Lyceum) outside Athens.
Philip II
after his death, his son assumed control over his empire
Alexander The Great
Philip’s son
Darius lll
twice fled the battlefield to escape from Macedonian forces
Macedonia
ancient kingdom north of Greece
Hellenistic
Greek culture blended with Egyptian, Persian and Indian ideas, as a result of Alexander the Great’s Empire.
