Greece Flashcards
Peloponnesus Peninsula
One of 2 Greek peninsulas
Aegean Sea
The eastern sea bordering Greece
Mediterranean Sea
The south sea bordering Greece
Ionian Sea
The western sea bordering greece
Black Sea
A sea used to make contact with non-Greek people
Bronze Age
The time when bronze became widely used in greece
Crete
An island in Greece where the Minoan civilization started
Minoans
Non Greeks who influenced the people from the Greek mainland
Minos
A Crete king who supposedly built a labyrinth
Knossos
A place in Crete that was the center of a trade based empore
Mycenaean
A fortified site in the Greek mainland
Mycenaeans
Indo Europeans whose family spread into Europe and Asia
Homer
The author of the Odyssey and the Iliad, wrote about the Trojan War
The dark age
A time in Greek history where few events were recorded
Ionia
A strip of land in Asia Minor (modern day turkey)
Epic poem
A poem that describes a hero, and teaches about the customs of a place
Trojan War
A war overdramatized in literature about Helen of Troy being kidnapped (in reality probably over trade)
Illiad
A story about Achilles, and his problematic anger
Achilles
A Greek hero from the Iliad, whose anger caused problems
The odyssey
A story about Odyssey, and his journey home after the Trojan war
Arete
A hero’s strive for excellence won in a battle or contest
Polis
A Greek word for a city state
Acropolis
A fortified area used as a place of refuge or as a religious center
Agora
A place below the acropolis used for assemblies and as a marketplace
Hoplites
Heavily armed infantry soldiers
Phalanx
A rectangular marching pattern
Hellespont
1 of 2 cities on the Black Sea strait (area of water connecting other seas)
Bosporus
1 of 2 cities on the Black Sea strait (area of water connecting other seas)
Byzantium
The city that eventually became Istanbul
Tyrants
A leader who takes power from the aristocrats with force
Democracy
When the government is ruled by the people using their opinions
Oligarchy
When the gov is ruled by a select people
Sparta
A Greek polis focused on raising warriors that conquered many neighboring city states
Helots
Any people who were conquered by Sparta
Spartan
The people living in Sparta
Ephors
5 men elected to be in charge of the education of the children in Sparta
Athens
A polis more focuses on philosophy and arts, located on the Attica peninsula (originally a monarchy)
Solon
A reform minded aristocrat in Athens, who temporarily stopped tyranny
Peisistratus
An aristocrat who improved trade
Cleisthenes
An aristocrat who created a council which could pass laws after debating them
Faithfulness
Staying loyal to your country, gods, and family
Eloquence
To be well spoken
Asia Minor
A peninsula in Turkey
Darius
A ruler of Persia who wanted revenge after his captured cities tried to revolt
Pheidippides
A person who ran from Marathon to Persia
Xerxes
The ruler after Darius who promised revenge on Greece
Delian League
A defensive alliance formed Athenians to defeat Persia
Delos
An island with the headquarters of the Delian League
Pericles
A dominant figure in politics who expanded Athens border
Age of Pericles
The time of the height of Athens power and intelligence
Direct democracy
A system where men directly voted for gov decisions
Ostracism
When the men would write a harmful person on a piece of pottery, and they would be exiled for 10 years
The Peloponnesian War
A war between Athens and Sparta with many battles and deaths before Athens surrendered
Thebes
A new Greek power who struggled with Athens and Sparta to dominate Greek affairs
Macedonia
A growing power North of the Greeks
Olympus
The tallest mountain in Greece
Rituals
Ceremonies or rites
Oracle
A sacred shrine where a god revealed the future through a priest(ess)
Delphi
Apollo’s most famous oracle
Parthenon
The best example of a classic Greek temple
Tragedies
Greek dramas split into three parts with a common theme
Oresteia
The only complete tragedy we have, about Agenemnom’s fate
Aeschylus
The author of Oresteia
Sophocles
The writer of Oedipus Rex
Oedipus Rex
A play where an oracle predicts a bad fate for a man, who tries to prevent it, but it happens anyway
Euripides
Another Athenian play writer who tried making more realistic characters
Comedies
A play critiquing politicians while being entertaining
Herodotus
The author of “History of the Persian Wars”, providing a more accurate description of wars, seen as father of history
History of the Persian Wars
A story about the Greeks and Persians, and how he viewed them
Thucydides
The “greatest historian” who fought in a war, and saw war as a result of human activities
Philosophy
An organized system of thought
Pythagoras
A philosopher who taught the existence of the universe could be found in music and numbers
Sophists
Traveling teachers who didn’t promote specific beliefs, but wanted to argue effectively
Socrates
A sculptor who loved philosophy and disliked the Sophists
Ethics
The ability to be happy by living and behaving morally
Socratic method
A method used to teach students to find answers on their own
Plato
A student of Socrates who wrote his thoughts and is considered a great philosopher
Plato
A student of Socrates who wrote his thoughts and is considered a great philosopher
The republic
A book by Plato describing his dislike for democracy
Aristotle
Plato’s most famous student who classified things using observation and investigation
Politics
How am area is run
