Greek Unit Vocab Flashcards
Mycenaean
people who settled on Greek mainland around 2000 B.C. Name comes from their city Mycenae
Trojan War
War between Myceneans and Troy in the 1200s B.C. According to greek legend Troy was defeated because a prince kidnapped Helen, the wife of a greek king.
Dorian
raiders who burned many Mycenean cities around 1200 B.C. They caused the greeks to lose literacy during the Dorian age
Epic
narrative poems celebrating heroic deeds
Homer
The blind author of many epics. Homer is widely considered to be Greece’s greatest story teller.
Myth
traditional stories about the Greek gods. These stories are the original framework for the Hellenistic religion, the religion of the ancient Greeks.
Polis
the Greek term for city state. The polis was the fundamental political
Acropolis
city state’s public center, a fortified hilltop where citizens discussed city government and affairs of importance.
Monarchy
A form of government in which a single person, called a king, rules.
Aristocracy
government ruled by a small group of noble, landowning families.
Oligarchy
government ruled by a few powerful people.
Democracy
“rule by the people,” in which citizens participated directly in political decision making
Helot
peasants forced to stay on the land they worked.
Phalanx
The foot soldiers of the Greek army, called hoplites, stood side by side, each holding a spear in one hand and a shield in the other. This fearsome formation, or phalanx (FAY•LANGKS), became the most powerful fighting force in the ancient world.
Persian Wars
series of wars fought between Greek and Persians starting in 546 BCE and ending in the 470s BCE.
Direct Democracy
form of government in which citizens rule directly and not through representatives
Classical Art
style of art began in ancient Greece, portrayed ideal beauty, not realism and valued harmony, order, balance, and proportion.
Tragedy
a serious drama about common themes such as love, hate, war, or betrayal.
Comedy
contained scenes filled with slapstick situations and crude humor. Playwrights often made fun of politics and respected people and ideas of the time.
Peloponnesian War
A war between the city states Athens and Sparta beginning in 431 BCE. The conflict ended with a victory for Sparta.
Philosopher
individuals determined to seek the truth, no matter where the search led them. The Greeks called such thinkers philosophers, meaning “lovers of wisdom.”
Socrates
A Greek philosopher, who believed that absolute standards did exist for truth and justice. he encouraged Greeks to go farther and question themselves and their moral character. Historians believe that it was Socrates who once said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”
Plato
A student of Socrates, Plato (PLAY•toh), was in his late 20s when his teacher died. Later, Plato wrote down the conversations of Socrates “as a means of philosophical investigation.” Sometime in the 370s B.C., Plato wrote his most famous work, The Republic. In it, he set forth his vision of a perfectly governed society.
Aristotle
A student of Plato, Aristotle questioned the nature of the world and of human belief, thought, and knowledge. He invented a method for arguing according to rules of logic. He later applied his method to problems in the fields of psychology, physics, and biology. His work provides the basis of the scientific method used today.
Philip II
the father of Alexander the Great, Philip laid the ground work for the mobilization of Macedonia’s army and the conquests of Alexander.
Macedonia
located just north of Greece, Macedonia had rough terrain and a cold climate. The Macedonians were a hardy people who lived in mountain villages rather than city-states. Most Macedonian nobles thought of themselves as Greeks. The Greeks, however, looked down on the Macedonians as uncivilized foreigners who had no great philosophers, sculptors, or writers.
Alexander the Great
Macedonian king who would lead his army to conquer a massive empire in present day Europe and Asia.
Darius III
The Persian king during the conquest of Alexander the Great.
Hellenistic
As a result of Alexander’s policies, a vibrant new culture emerged. Greek (also known as Hellenic) culture blended with Egyptian, Persian, and Indian influences.
Alexandria
Among the many cities of the Hellenistic world, the Egyptian city of Alexandria became the foremost center of commerce and Hellenistic civilization.
Euclid
a highly regarded mathematician who taught in Alexandria. His best-known book, Elements, contained 465 carefully presented geometry
Archimedes
Accurately estimated the value of pi (π)—the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. In addition, Archimedes explained the law of the lever. Gifted in both geometry and physics, Archimedes also put his genius to practical use. invented the Archimedes screw, a device that raised water from the ground, and the compound pulley to lift heavy objects.
Colossus of Rhodes
this bronze statue stood more than 100 feet high. One of the seven wonders of the ancient world, this huge sculpture was toppled by an earthquake in about 225 BCE.
