Unit 3 test Flashcards
the people who settled on the Greek mainland around 2000 B.C.
Mycenaean
When the Greek army besieged and destroyed this city because their prince kidnapped Helen, the beautiful wife of a Greek king.
Trojan War
new group of people who moved into the war-torn countryside of Greece after the decline of the Mycenaean civilization.
Dorians
“greatest storyteller” who was a blind man. Composed narrative poems celebrating heroic deeds
Homer
Narrative poems celebrating heroic deeds
Epics
traditional stories which the Greeks sought to explain the mysteries of nature and the power of human passions.
Myths
city-state which was the fundamental policy unit in Greece
Polis
On a fortified hilltop near the agora (marketplace) this is the place where citizens gathered to discuss city government
Acropolis
In some city-states, a single person (king) ruled in a government
Monarchy
a government ruled by a small group of noble, landowning families.
Aristocracy
As trade expanded, a new class of wealthy merchants and artisans emerged in some cities. When these groups became dissatisfied with aristocratic rule, they sometimes took power or shared it with the nobility.
Oligarchy
powerful individuals, usually nobles or other wealthy citizens, sometimes seized control of the government by appealing to the common people for support
Tyrant
Since Athens went through power struggles between rich and poor, Athenian reformers moved toward this type of government where the people as a whole ruled.
Democracy
peasants forced to stay on the land they worked
Helot
a fearsome formation when hoplites stood side by side, each holding a spear in one hand and a shield in the other.
Phalanx
a war between Greece and the Persian Empire which began in Ionia on the coast of Anatolia
Persian Wars
a form of government in which citizens rule directly and not through representatives, was an important legacy of Periclean Athens
Direct democracy
The Greeks values of harmony, order, balance, and proportion
Classical Art
a serious drama about common themes such as love, hate, war, or betrayal. These dramas featured a main character, or tragic hero.
Tragedy
a drama that contained scenes filled with slapstick situations and crude humor.
Comedy
a war between Sparta and Athens. Athens had the stronger navy. Sparta had the stronger army, its location inland meant that it could not easily attacked by sea.
Peloponnesian War
Greek thinkers who were determined to seek the truth, no matter where the search led them. the word means “lovers of wisdom”
Philosophers
a Greek philosopher who encouraged his students to examine their beliefs. He asked them a series of leading questions to show that people hold many contradictory opinions.
Socrates
a student of Socrates, who was born in a wealthy Athenian family, he had careers as a wrestler and a poet before he became a philosopher.
Plato
the son of a physician, was one of the brightest students at Plato’s Academy. He came there as a young man and stayed for 20 years until Plato’s death.
Aristotle
king of Macedonia who dreamed of taking control of Greece and then moving against Persia to seize its vast wealth.
Philip II
this kingdom was located just north of Greece and had a rough terrain and a cold climate
Macedonia
Philip’s son Alexander proclaimed himself king of Macedonia after his father was stabbed to death. He conquered the lands fro Greece to the Indus Valley.
Alexander the Great
this Persian king vowed to crush Alexander and his army
Darius II
culture blending between Greek, Egyptian, Persian, and Indian influences
Hellenistic
this Egyptian city became the foremost center of commerce and Hellenistic civilization.
Alexandria
a highly regarded mathematician who taught in Alexandria
Euclid
a Hellenistic scientists of Syracuse, studied at Alexandria
Archimedes
largest known Hellenistic bronze statue which stood more than 100 feet high and created on the island of Rhodes.
Colossus
