Chapter 5 Vocabulary Flashcards
Trojan War
A war, fought around 1200 B.C., in which an army led by Mycenaean kings attacked the independent trading city of Troy in Anatolia.
Dorian
A Greek-speaking people that, according to tradition, migrated into mainland Greece after the destruction of the Mycenaean civilization.
Homer
A blind storyteller who wrote narrative poems between 750 and 700 B.C.
Epic
A long narrative poem celebrating the deeds of legendary or traditional heroes.
Myth
A traditional story about gods, ancestors, or heroes, told to explain the natural world or the customs and beliefs of a society
Polis
A Greek city-state– the fundamental political unit of Ancient Greece after about 750 B.C.
Acropolis
A fortified hilltop in an Ancient Greek city
Monarchy
A government in which power is in the hands of a single person
Aristocracy
A government in which the ruler has unlimited power and uses it in an arbitrary manner
Oligarchy
A government in which power is in the hands of a few people especially one in which rule is based upon wealth
Tyrant
In Ancient Greece, a powerful individual who gained control of a city-state’s government by appealing to the poor for support
Democracy
A government controlled by its citizens, either directly or through representatives
He lot
In the society of ancient Sparta, a peasant bound to the land
Phalanx
A military formation of foot soldiers armed with spears and shields
Persian Wars
A series of wars in the fifth century B.C., in which Greek city-states battled the Persian Empire
Direct Democracy
A government in which citizens rule directly rather than through representatives
Classical Art
The art of Ancient Greece and Rome, in which harmony, order, and proportion, were emphasized
Tragedy
A serious form of drama dealing with the downfall of a heroic or noble character
Comedy
A humorous form of drama that often includes slapstick and satire
Peloponnesian War
A war lasting from 431 to 404 B.C., 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
A Greek man who lived from 470 to 399 B.C. and believed that absolute standards for truth and justice existed. He was condemned to death by a jury for “neglecting the gods” and “corrupting the youth of Athens”.
Plato
A Greek wrestler, poet, and then philosopher who lived from 427 to 347 B.C. He was a student of Socrates and wrote a book called “The Republic”
Aristotle
A Greek philosopher who lived from 384 to 322 B.C. He was a pupil of Plato and tutored Alexander the Great
Philip II
A king of Macedonia who ruled from 359 to 336 B.C. when he was killed. Philip used peasants to form an army and defeated the Greeks.
Macedonia
An ancient kingdom north of Greece, whose ruler Philip II conquered Greece in 338 B.C.
Alexander the Great
A Macedonian king who lived from 356 to 323 B.C. He conquered many places including Persia and Egypt.
Darius III
A Persian king who fled when Alexander approached and ended up giving Alexander control over Anatolia. He was so afraid of Alexander, he left behind his wives and children
Hellenistic
Relating to the civilization, language, art, science, and literature of the Greek world from the reign of Alexander the Great to the late second century B.C.
Alexandria
An Egyptian city named after Alexander the Great. It was a hub of commerce and for Hellenistic civilization and housed a library, zoo, museum, and a lighthouse called the Pharos b
Euclid
A highly regarded mathematician whose work is still the basis for geometry courses
Archimedes
A Hellenistic scientist who accurately estimated the value of pi. He also invented a device that raised water from the ground called the Archimedes screw.
Colossus of Rhodes
A enormous Hellenistic statue that formerly stood near the harbor of Rhodes.
Mycenaean
An Indo-European person who settled on the Greek mainland around 2000 B.C.
