Greeks Flashcards
Polis
An ancient Greek city-state encompassing both an urban area and its surrounding countryside; a small but autonomous political unit where all major political and social activities were carried out centrally
Hoplites
heavily armed infantry soldiers in ancient Greece who entered battle in a phalanx formation
Phalanx
a rectangular formation of tightly massed infantry soldiers
Tyrants
in an ancient Greek polis (or an Italian city-state during the Renaissance), a ruler who came to power in an unconstitutional way and ruled without being subject to the law
Sophists
wandering scholars and professional teachers in ancient Greece who stressed the importance of rhetoric and tended toward skepticism and relativism
The Classical Orders
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The Architectural Orders are the ancient styles of classical architecture, each distinguished by its proportions and characteristic profiles and details, and most readily recognizable by the type of column employed. Three ancient orders of architecture—the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.
Doric: plain capitals and no base
Ionic: and elaborate base and spiral-shaped capitals
Corinthian: leaf-shaped capitals
Socratic Method
a form of teaching that uses a question-and-answer format to enable students to reach conclusions by using their own reasoning
Hellenistic
literally, “imitation the Greeks”: the ear after the death of Alexander the Great when Greek culture spread into the Near East and blended with the culture of that region
Gymnasium
in Classical Greece, a place for athletics: in the Hellenistic Age, a secondary school with a curriculum centered on music, physical exercise, and literature
Epicureanism
a philosophy founded by Epicurus in the fourth century B.C.E that taught that happiness (freedom from emotional turmoil) could be achieved through the pursuit of pleasure (intellectual rather than sensual pleasure)
Stoicism
a philosophy founded by Zeno in the fourth century B.C.E that taught that happiness could be obtained by accepting one’s lot and living in harmony with the will of Gods, thereby achieving inner peace
Mystery Religions
religions that involve initiation into secret rites that promise intense emotional involvement with spiritual forces and a greater chance of individual immortality
Syncretism
the combining of different forms of belief or practice, as, for example, when two gods are regarded as different forms of the same underlying divine force are fused together
What did Ancient Greece’s geography lack?
Wide open plains near a river suitable for large scale agriculture
What were the Ancient Greeks competitive against each other ?
Their geography from the earliest days. They were really close to each other
Who were the first people to be considered Greeks?
The warrior Mycenaens’s who controlled the Greek mainland from 1400-1200 B.C.E
What happened during the Greek Dark Age?
farming decline and new peoples, including the future Spartans, came to Ancient Greece.
What gave the Greek aristocratic families a guide for values on how to behave on the field of battle
Homer’s Iliad
What period of Greek history saw the rise of the Greek polis?
750-500 B.C.E
What did the fiercely competitive Greek polis’s lead to?
destructive wars that would end classical Greece
What was the most important value in a Greek polis?
the cooperation between its citizens for the common welfare of the state
Why did the Spartans make the army the center of their society
They had a massive slave population
Who were the most fit women in Greece
Spartan women
What led to the rise of tyrannical rule in which the rulers sought aid form the masses to control the polis?
The gap between the rich and the poor
What does Arete mean?
One is always striving for excellence in all aspect of life
How did Cleisthenes reforms effect Athens
It resulted in the government becoming a democracy
What was prevalent throughout Greek culture in the Archaic Age?
Lyric poetry
