Greece Vocabulary

Question 1

frescoes

Answer 1

paintings done on wet plaster walls

Question 2

polis

Answer 2

Greek word for city-state, which developed around a central fort

Question 3

acropolis

Answer 3

hill or mountain in Greece that included a fort as well as temples and other public buildings

Question 4

agora

Answer 4

marketplace in a city-state in Greece

Question 5

myths

Answer 5

traditional stories about gods, goddesses, and heroes

Question 6

oracles

Answer 6

specials places where ancient Greeks believed gods spoke through priests and priestesses

Question 7

aristocrats

Answer 7

Greek city-states controlled by nobles

Question 8

hoplites

Answer 8

heavily armed Greek infantry who carried long spears and fought in closely spaced rows

Question 9

tyrants

Answer 9

in ancient Greece, rulers who seized power by force but who ruled with the people’s support; later came to refer to rulers who exercise brutal and oppressive power.

Question 10

popular government

Answer 10

idea that people can and should rule themselves

Question 11

democracy

Answer 11

government in which citizens take part

Question 12

helots

Answer 12

conquered people of the Peloponnesus, who became the lowest class in Spartan society,

Question 13

ephors

Answer 13

five officials in ancient Sparta who were elected for one-year terms to make sure the king stayed within the law.

Question 14

metics

Answer 14

people living in Athens who were not Athenian citizens, who could work and who paid taxes but were not allowed to own land or take part in government.

Question 15

archons

Answer 15

rulers in ancient Athens who served one-year terms

Question 16

direct democracy

Answer 16

form of democracy in which all citizens participate directly in making decisions.

Question 17

representative democracy

Answer 17

form of government in which citizens elect representatives to run the government for them, rather than each citizen serving directly in the government.

Question 18

terracing

Answer 18

carving small, flat plots of land from hillsides to use for farming.

Question 19

import

Answer 19

good or service bought from another country or region

Question 20

export

Answer 20

good or service sold to another country or region

Question 21

pedagogue

Answer 21

in ancient Greece, a male slave who taught a young boy manners

Question 22

ethics

Answer 22

study of what is good and bad, and of moral duty

Question 23

rhetoric

Answer 23

study of public speaking and debating