QUICK FIRE VOCABULARY Flashcards
agora
main market and civic centre
Anthesteria
mid-February festival to celebrate the year’s vintage of wine - also associated with young children
apadana
great audience hall in Persian royal palace
Apis Bull
sacred bill of Egyptian religion which Cambyses fatally wounded
archaic
‘old’ = relating to period in Greek history 750-479BC ending with the expulsion of the Persian threat from Greece.
archon
one of nine senior magistrates responsible for areas of Athenian policy for year
Arrephoroi
7-11 year old girls who served the cult of Athena Polias on the Acropolis
Assembly
formal meeting of citizens
aristocracy
group considered superior to all other groups who gained their privileges from birth
arta
Persian concept of truth
aulos
double reed pipe
Athenian Empire
name given to the Delian League after Athens had taken control of it and placed the treasury in Athens
ballista
missile weapon that launched large projectiles
choregos
financial backer of plays
City Dionysia
greatest Athenian drama festival - late March
classical period (Greece)
479-323 BC - expulsion of Persian threat to the death of Alexander
Council of the Areopagus
aristocratic council of ex-archons
cuneiform
early system of writing using wedge shaped marks on clay tablets with a blunt reed
Delian league
a modern name used to describe the military alliance of 477 bc of numerous Greek states, led by Athens, against Persian aggression after the Persian Wars.
deme
village or district of the town of Athens which formed a single polity
dikast
citizen judge and juror in the Athenian court system
Dipylon Gate
one the main gates into Athens
deify
to accord someone the status of a god
dithyramb
choral dance sung in honour of Dionysus
divinination
practice of seeking knowledge of the future through supernatural means
dokimasia
test given to citizen before he could serve as a magistrate
dowry
payment given by bride’s father to the groom as part of the marriage contract
drauga
Persian concept of lying, ‘the lie’
earth and water (Persian)
symbolic token of submission given to the Persians
ephebe
young Athenian man preparing for citizenship
epitaph
inscription on a tombstone remembering the dead person
epithet
adjective describing a particular role or characteristic (‘white armed”, “swift”, “distant deadly archer”)
Erechthion
temple of Athena and Poseidon which housed the olive wood statue of Athena Polias
euthanal
magistrate’s report on his year in office
frieze
horizontal band of sculptured decoration
Great Panathenaia
Held every four years, larger version of the annual Panathenaia
Hellenic League 5thC
Modern name given to the military alliance of thirty odd Greek cities resisting Persian incursions of Greece 480/79BC
Hellenic League 4th C
Federation of Greek states created by Philip of Macedon after the battle of Chaeronea to facilitate his use of the military against Persia.
Hellenic Treasurers
Athenian magistrates elected annually at Athen, responsible for collecting tribute from the Delian League allies.
Hellenistic Age
From the death of Alexander in 323BC to the emergence of the Roman Empire in 31BC. It was when Greek influence was at its peak across Europe and Asia.
