History Benchmark Review Flashcards
myth
a traditional story about gods and heroes
Greek Mythology
some created as a way to explain the unexplainable
fiction; but some have a real-world connection
Greek Mythology
Gods and Goddesses
numerous gods and goddesses, who ruled over one or more domain.
The gods looked and acted more like human beings than like gods.
Why did the Ancient Greeks build temples?
Greeks built temples and held rituals and festivals to gain favor from the gods.
Greeks believe in….
Greeks believed in fate and prophecy.
Where was the most famous oracle?
Delphi
epics
long poems about heroic deeds
Homer
Iliad and Odyssey
Iliad
epic about the Trojan War
Odyssey
the story of Odysseus’ journey home from the Trojan War
fable
a short tale that teaches a lesson
Aesop
Greek slave famous for his fables
drama
story told by actors who pretend to be characters in a story
comedies
happy ending
tragedy
person struggles to overcome difficulties but fails
Euripides
dramatist who questioned war
Sophocles
dramatist who used three actors
Aristophanes
encouraged audience to think
What is a major part of Greek architecture?
columns
Mainland Greece is a…
peninsula
Where the Minoans were Greeks,
no
The Minoans were…
the first civilization to inhabit what would later be known as Greece.
Colony
a settlement in a new territory that keeps close ties to its homeland. Colonization led to the growth of trade and industry.
Acropolis
a fortified area at the top of a hill used as a gathering place in the polis
Agora
an open area below the acropolis that served as both a market and a meeting/debating place
Greeks were the first people to develop the idea of…
citizenship
Tyrant
someone who takes power by force and rules with total authority.
Oligarchy
a form of government in which only a few hold power
Democracy
a form of government in which all citizens share in running the government
Sparta
(oligarchy)
Athens
(democracy)
Sparta and Athens
two of the most powerful governments of early Greece.
By focusing on military training, the Spartans fell behind in (blank) but played a key role in defending Greece
trade, technology and science,
Athenians focused on…
providing boys a good education, sports, and music
Cyrus the Great (559 B.C. to 530 B.C.)
united the Persians into a powerful kingdom, larger than any in the world
Battle of Marathon
Athenians successfully defeated the Persians as they attempted to attack Athens
King Xerxes,
Battle of Thermopylae
Greek soldiers survived but Sparta’s King Leonidas and several hundred others fought to the death, losing this battle
Strait of Salamis
naval battle the Greeks won decidedly with smaller, faster, and easier to steer ships
Delian League
group of city-states, including Athens, but not Sparta who united in 478 B.C. to defend themselves against the Persians
Direct democracy
People gather at mass meetings to decide government matters and every citizen can vote on laws and policies
Representative democracy (U.S.)
citizens choose a smaller group of representatives to make laws and governmental decisions on their behalf
Pericles
One of the leading figures in Athenian politics
The Peloponnesian War (431 – 404 B.C.)
Sparta vs. Athens for control of Greece
Who won the Peloponesian War?
Sparta’s new navy destroyed the Athenian fleet
Effects of the Peloponesian war
Weakened all of the major Greek city-states
Why is China important?
world’s largest population one of the fastest growing economies in the world possibly a new superpower
China’s Geography
mountains, rivers, desserts, and swamps
Shang dynasty – founded c. 1750 B.C.
the beginning of Chinese civilization
Chinese ancestor worship
family was central to society believed departed ancestors could bring good fortune and good luck
offerings made even today
oracle bones
first example of Chinese writing
pictographs
characters that stand for objects
ideographs
a character that joins two or more pictographs to represent an idea
Zhou Dynasty
Wu Wang led a rebellion against the Shang, and created the Zhou dynasty
mandate
a formal order
Mandate of Heaven
idea that the king had been chosen by heavenly order to rule; Zhou claimed that principle gave them the right to rule
Chinese social classes
aristocrats, farmers, peasants
What was Life Like in a Chinese Family?
Family was the basic building block of Chinese society.
filial piety
practice that requires children to respect their parents and older relatives
Confucius
China’s first great teacher and thinker
Confucianism
taught that if each person does his or her duty, society as a whole will do well
What Is Daoism?
belief that people should turn away from worldly concerns and live in peace with nature
Legalism
taught that people needed harsh laws and punishment to make them live rightly
