Foundations Final Exam Vocab: Sparta and Athens
Order by
49 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Plutarch | Greek biographer who wrote Parallel Lives (46?-120 AD) |
| Lycurgus | Spartan lawgiver who established the Spartan way of life known as the Good Rule |
| Gerousia | legislature that had 38 members elected by citizens in Sparta, also called the Council of Elders |
| Spartiate | Spartan citizens who had the right to elect the Gerousia |
| ephors | a group of five men who were elected each year and were responsible for the education of Spartan youth. |
| Thales | a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher and astronomer (who predicted an eclipse in 585 BC) who was said by Aristotle to be the founder of physical science |
| common messes | common meals served to the Spartiate |
| "Spartan mirage" | The idealization of Sparta by the historians Xenophon and Plutarch. |
| Messenia | Spartan colony, many helots were from there |
| helots | slaves |
| krypteia | one of the final tasks a Spartan boy has to perform, he has to watch the helots for a month, then kill the one that is the most powerful |
| Alexis de Toqueville | French philosopher, wrote about democracy in America |
| liberalism | an economic theory advocating free competition and lack of interference by the state |
| individualism | a belief in the importance of the individual and the virtue of self-reliance and personal independence |
| personal autonomy | being independent and self-reliant |
| prisoner's dilemma | a game in which pursuing dominate strategies results in noncooperation that leaves everybody worse off |
| libertarianism | an ideological belief in freedom of thought and speech and minimal limit on individual self-expression |
| polis | an autonomous city-state in Ancient Greece |
| oligarchy | a political system governed by a few people |
| Greek misogyny | Greek hatred of women |
| Oracle of Delphi | gave riddles to those who needed guidance from the gods |
| Anytus | want charges brought upon Socrates, represented artists |
| daimonion | personal deity |
| Peloponnesian war | a war in which Athens and its allies were defeated by a league centered on Sparta |
| natural philosophers | people who believed in science and the four elements: air, water, fire, and earth |
| Sophists | traveling teachers that taught how to win an argument; didn't believe in gods; refused the idea of an absolute right or wrong |
| Libanius | 386 AD wrote defense of pagan temples; calls Christians hypocrites |
| hemlock | poisonous drug derived from an Eurasian plant of the genus Conium, what Socrates used to commit suicide |
| Platonic forms | The "-ness" of an object, its ideal state |
| Cave allegory | famous analogy by Plato about utopia and human inability to perceive the truth |
| philosopher-king | This philosopher should rule society |
| empiricism | medical practice and advice based on observation and experience from scientific findings |
| Machiavelli | a statesman of Florence who advocated a strong central government and the need to govern regardless of morality (1469-1527) |
| cultural/moral relativism | the belief that there are no absolute truths, and that morality changes with each new situation or culture |
| Berlin's pluralism | A state in which all culture's morals are distinct but have equal standing |
| Taygetus | Mountain range where Spartans threw the "unfit" |
| iron spits | Spartan currency |
| tragedy of the commons | A parable that illustrates why common resources get used more than is desirable from the standpoint of society as a whole |
| positive freedom | the belief that freedom is not simply the absence of restraint but also the power or ability to act and to develop one's capacities. |
| negative freedom | the absence of restraint. You are free, in this view, if no one else is preventing you from doing what you want. |
| Socratic method | a method of teaching by question and answer |
| prytaneum | sacred fire in polis representing unity of polis |
| civil libertarianism | protecting individuals from state (e.g., bill of rights) |
| Platonic philosophy | based off forms and authoritarian government |
| Socratic philosophy | based off questioning |
| Paradox | a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth. |
| personal agency | When you put your needs in front of those of the group |
| Meletus | wanted charges upon Socrates, represented poets |
| Lycon | wanted charges upon Socrates, represented politicians |
First Time Here?
Welcome to Quizlet, a fun, free place to study. Try these flashcards, find others to study, or make your own.