Greek Unit Vocab

Question 1

Mycenaean

Answer 1

people who settled on Greek mainland around 2000 B.C. Name comes from their city Mycenae

Question 2

Trojan War

Answer 2

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.

Question 3

Dorian

Answer 3

raiders who burned many Mycenean cities around 1200 B.C. They caused the greeks to lose literacy during the Dorian age

Question 4

Epic

Answer 4

narrative poems celebrating heroic deeds

Question 5

Homer

Answer 5

The blind author of many epics. Homer is widely considered to be Greece’s greatest story teller.

Question 6

Myth

Answer 6

traditional stories about the Greek gods. These stories are the original framework for the Hellenistic religion, the religion of the ancient Greeks.

Question 7

Polis

Answer 7

the Greek term for city state. The polis was the fundamental political

Question 8

Acropolis

Answer 8

city state’s public center, a fortified hilltop where citizens discussed city government and affairs of importance.

Question 9

Monarchy

Answer 9

A form of government in which a single person, called a king, rules.

Question 10

Aristocracy

Answer 10

government ruled by a small group of noble, landowning families.

Question 11

Oligarchy

Answer 11

government ruled by a few powerful people.

Question 12

Democracy

Answer 12

“rule by the people,” in which citizens participated directly in political decision making

Question 13

Helot

Answer 13

peasants forced to stay on the land they worked.

Question 14

Phalanx

Answer 14

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.

Question 15

Persian Wars

Answer 15

series of wars fought between Greek and Persians starting in 546 BCE and ending in the 470s BCE.

Question 16

Direct Democracy

Answer 16

form of government in which citizens rule directly and not through representatives

Question 17

Classical Art

Answer 17

style of art began in ancient Greece, portrayed ideal beauty, not realism and valued harmony, order, balance, and proportion.

Question 18

Tragedy

Answer 18

a serious drama about common themes such as love, hate, war, or betrayal.

Question 19

Comedy

Answer 19

contained scenes filled with slapstick situations and crude humor. Playwrights often made fun of politics and respected people and ideas of the time.

Question 20

Peloponnesian War

Answer 20

A war between the city states Athens and Sparta beginning in 431 BCE. The conflict ended with a victory for Sparta.

Question 21

Philosopher

Answer 21

individuals determined to seek the truth, no matter where the search led them. The Greeks called such thinkers philosophers, meaning “lovers of wisdom.”

Question 22

Socrates

Answer 22

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.”

Question 23

Plato

Answer 23

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.

Question 24

Aristotle

Answer 24

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.

Question 25

Philip II

Answer 25

the father of Alexander the Great, Philip laid the ground work for the mobilization of Macedonia’s army and the conquests of Alexander.

Question 26

Macedonia

Answer 26

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.

Question 27

Alexander the Great

Answer 27

Macedonian king who would lead his army to conquer a massive empire in present day Europe and Asia.

Question 28

Darius III

Answer 28

The Persian king during the conquest of Alexander the Great.

Question 29

Hellenistic

Answer 29

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.

Question 30

Alexandria

Answer 30

Among the many cities of the Hellenistic world, the Egyptian city of Alexandria became the foremost center of commerce and Hellenistic civilization.

Question 31

Euclid

Answer 31

a highly regarded mathematician who taught in Alexandria. His best-known book, Elements, contained 465 carefully presented geometry

Question 32

Archimedes

Answer 32

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.

Question 33

Colossus of Rhodes

Answer 33

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.