Finals Flashcards
Bard-
Someone who writes or performs epics about heroes and their deeds
Peninsula-
A piece of land surrounded on three sides by water.
Colony-
A group of people living in a new territory who have ties to their homeland OR the land itself
Polis-
A Greek city-state
Agora-
An ancient Greek marketplace
Tyrant-
An absolute ruler unrestrained by law
Oligarchy-
A government where a group of people are in power
Democracy-
A government by the people
Helots-
Spartan slaves
Ephor-
A high ranking government official in Sparta who was elected by the council of elders
What was the first civilization to develop in Europe?
Greece
How was Greece split up?
Greece was split into many city-states called polises. They were small and thought of themselves as their own separate countries.
Who were the Minoans and what did they do ?
The minoans were an early Greek civilization that lived on the island of Crete. They built the palace at Knossos for their king Minos. They were a trading civilization, sailing as far as Syria. Sometime around 1450 B.C., their civilization collapsed.
Who were the Mycenaeans ?
They were another early Greek civilization that lived on mainland Greece. They adopted features of Minoan culture, like building ships, working with bronze, navigation with stars, and religion.
How did the Dark Age start?
The collapse of the Mycenaen civilization. A people named the Dorians moved in. Over the next 300 years, trade slowed, people made fewer things, and most people were very poor. However, during this time, the Greek alphabet was written.
How did the Greeks solve the food problem after the Dark Age ?
Because of Greece’s fast population growth, farmers could not grow enough grain to feed the people. So Greek city-states set up colonies on the Aegean islands.
What were Greek city-states like ?
At the center of each polis was a fort built on a hilltop called an acropolis. It was a refuge for attacks and had a temple. Outside the acropolis was an open marketplace called an agora. People bought and sold goods, chose officials, and passed laws at the agora. Urban neighborhoods surrounded the agora. Beyond that was the farmlands and countryside.
Who was a Greek citizen and what were their rights ?
In most polises, citizens were land owning men born in th polis. Women and children might have been citizens but without the rights. Male citizens had the right to vote, hold public office, own property, and defend themselves in court. Citizens had the responsibility to serve in the govt and fight for their polis as citizen soldiers.
How were wars fought ?
Wealthy nobles rode horses and drove chariots. Citizen soldiers called hoplites fought on foot. Soldiers carried a shield, sword, and spear. They fought in rows called phalanxes.
What led to the rise of tyrants ?
Small farmers, merchants, and artisans wanted to a say in the govt, evem though they were not citizens and did not own land. Growing unrest helped the tyrants gain power. Even though tyrant is a negative term today, most tyrants ruled fairly.
What kind of govt developed after tyrants?
After about 500 B.C., most polises developed into either democracies or oligarchies.
What were the major polises ?
Sparta and Athens. They were very different and rivals.
How did the Spartans solve their food problem ?
Instead of setting up colonies like other polises, Sparta invaded neighboring polises and enslaved the people. These people were called helots.
Why did the Spartans become a military society ?
About 650 B.C., the helots rebelled. Even though the Spartans crushed the rebels, Sparta’s oligarchy decided to make Sparta a military society that stressed discipline, obedience, and self denial.
What was life like for Spartan boys and men ?
All Spartan boys left their homes at age 7 to join military camps . In military camps, they learned to read, write, and fight. They were treated harshly because the leqders thought that this prepared them for war. Spartan men joined the full army and were able to marry at age 20. They lived in military camps until age 30. They retired at age 60.
What was life like for Spartan girls and women ?
Spartan women had more rights because men were in the army. They could own land and be citizens. Girls were trained in sports by their mothers. Women expected their men to either win battles or die in them. One mother told her son to “come home carrying your shield or being carried on it”.
How was Sparta governed?
Two kings ruled, leading religious ceremonies and leading the army. An assembly made decisions about war and peace. The council of elders were judges. They elected five ephors every year to enforce laws and collect taxes. The govt discouraged free thinking and the arts and outlawed leaving Sparta (besides military reasons) and foreigners moving in.
How were Athenian children educated ?
Boys studied aritmetic, drawing, music, public speaking, and sports. When boys finished school at age 18, they were expected to take a role in public affairs. Girls were taught spinning, weaving, and household duties by their mothers.
How did the Athenian govt form ?
By 600 B.C., most Athenian farmers owed a lot of debts to nobles. Athenian farmers rebelled and asked for the end of all debts. The nobles turned to a respected noble named Solon. Solon ended all debts and freed slaves. He also expanded the council to all citizens.
How did the people react to Solon’s reforms?
The common people praised him. However, the poor thought that he had not gone far enough and the rich thought that he had gone too far. By the time he left office, he had lost most of his popularity.
Who was the next leader?
Peisistratus. He gave land to farmers, gave loans to farmers, gave citizenship to men who did not own land, and hired the poor to public building projects like temples.
Who ruled after Peisistratus?
Cleisthenes. He made the assembly the polis’ main governing body, created a new council to manage the govt, laws, foreign relations, and the treasury.
Satrap-
The governor of a province in ancient Persia
Satrapy-
The territory governed by a satrap
Zoroastrianism-
A Persian religion based on the belief of one god
How did the Persians build their empire?
Early Persians were cattle herders from central Asia. In the 540s B.C., a king named Cyrus led the Persians to conquer all of Mesopotamia, Syria, Canaan, and the Greek city-state of Anatolia.
Why was Cyrus such a great king?
He built a strong army, building the buggest empire in the ancient world. He gained the support of conquered people by allowing them to keep their languages, religions, and customs.
What was the Royal Road?
Because the empire was growing, the Persians expanded the Assyrian roads. The Royal Road was the longest and most important of these roads. It stretched from Anatolia to central Persia, and shortened a journey that had been 3 months to 7 days.
How did Darius l reorganize the Persian empire ?
He split the Persian empire into provinces called satraps and appointed satraps to be the governor of their satrap.
What did the satrap do?
The satrap collected taxes, judged legal cases, managed the police, and recruited soldiers for the army. E
What was the Persian army like?
They had a full time, professional, paid army. In Greece, the army was made up of citizens that served during times of war. The Immortals were the 10,000 soldiers trained to guard the king. They were the best soldiers. They were called Immortals because when one died, another immediatley took his place.
How did Zoroastrianism start and what did it teach?
A preacher named Zoroaster taught that there was one god named Ahura Mazda. He was the creator. He allowed people to choose between good and evil, but goodness would eventually be victorious. Zoroastrian teachings, prayers, and hymns were written down in s holy book. Kings believed that they answered to Ahura Mazda alone. Zoroastrianism is practiced by people in southern Asia today.
How did the Persian wars begin?
The people in the Greek city-state of Anatolia rebelled against the Persians, and Athens sent warships to help Anatolia. The Persians stopped the uprising, but Darius was angry that the Greeks meddled in his empire and wanted to punish them.
What did Darius do and who won the following battle?
Darius sent 600 ships and an army to invade Greece. They landed at Marathon, but the Greeks did not go there to fight them. This drew the cavalry away from Marathon. The Greek soldiers caught the soldiers out of formation without the cavalry. The Persians lost the battle of Marathon badly.
How did the Persian wars end?
The combined armies of the Greek city-states helped the Greeks defeat the Persians in Plataea and free Anatolia. Peace came soon after.
