Greek Vocab flashcards

Terms	Definitions
Achaeans	An Indo-European people who extended their control over the Greek peninsula between 2000-1100 B.C. with strong city-states.
acropolis	The hilltop fortress of a Greek city-state; the center of Greek community affairs.
Aegean Civilizations	The early Greek civilizations which originated in the islands east of the mainland and gradually spread to the mainland.
Agora	Marketplace at the center of city-life in the Greek city-states. A place were traders and merchants practiced their specialities.
Alexander The Great	The conqueror of the ancient world in the 4th century B.C. He spread Greek civilization to the Indus River Valley. Son on Philip II of Macedonia
Alexandria, Egypt	The cultural center of the Hellenistic world.
Aphrodite	Greek goddess of love.
Apollo*	Greek god of the sun, music, and healing.
Archimedes	This Hellenistic scientist was noted for his contributions to mechanics with the lever, double pulley, and catapult.
Ares*	Greek god of War.
Aristotle	The 4th century B.C. Greek scientist and philosopher who founded the world's first scientific institute - the "Lyceum".
Artemis*	Greek goddess of the woods.
Athena	The patron goddess of Athens. Greek goddess of handicraft, wisdom and agriculture.
Athenian Assembly	After the 6th century B.C. this Athenian law making body allowed all citizens to participate in government.
Athenian women	They could not attend public meetings, own property, conduct legal business, and lived in seclusion.
Attica*	A small sub-peninsula of Greece on which Athens was located.
Battle of Plataea	This Battle ended the Second Persian War in 479 B.C.; it ended all hopes of Persian conquest of Greece.
Botany*	The scientific study of plants.
City-state	Most common form of territorial government in ancient Greece.
Cleisthenes	A 6th century Athenian leader who was the "Father of Athenian Democracy". He introduced the Assembly, Council, and ostracism.
Council of 500	A select body of the Athenian government which proposed new laws and administrated the general laws.
Darius I	This king launched the first Persian invasion of Greece in 490 B.C.; his army was defeated on the Plains of Marathon.
Delian League	An organization of 100+ Greek city-states led by Athens formed after the Second Persian War to guard against future Persian attacks.
Delphi Oracle	A Greek shrine where people could ask advice regarding the future. Usually the answers were obscure in meaning.
Democracy	A form of government in which citizens are allowed to make important decisions. ????= people ; kratia = rule
Demosthenes	The 4th century B.C. Athenian orator who attempted to alert the Greeks of the Macedonian threat to their freedom.
Dionysus*	Greek god of wine and revelry.
Direct democracy	A type of government in which all citizens have the right to attend the law making session and cast an equal vote.
Dorians	These people invaded and conquered Greece .ca 1100-750 B.C. aided by iron weapons; Greece went into the Dark Ages.
Draco	A 7th century Athenian tyrannt who composed the first Athenian legal code; his name today is a synonym for a harsh law.
Ephors	The five overseers of Sparta who directed the daily affair of state.
Epicurus	The Hellenistic philosopher who believed that the purpose oflife was to avoid pain and fear by living a simple life.
Eratosthenes	This Greek Hellenistic scientist calculated the earth's circumference within 50 miles by using geometry.
Euclid	The Greek Hellenistic mathematician known as the "Father of Geometry" for his book entitled The Elements.
Evans, Sir Arthur*	In 1898 this British archaeologist excavated the vast palace site on Crete.
frescoes*	Wall paintings made on wet plaster. Common in Monoan Civilization on the Island of Crete.
Golden Age of Greece	The period after 479 B.C. in which Athens culturally and politically dominated Greek civilization.
Gordian knot*	According to legend Alexander the Great accomplished this deed which made it possible for him to rule the world.
Hades*	Greek god of the Underworld; brother of Zeus.
Hellenistic World	The cultural blending of Greek and the ancient Middle East. A culture created by Alexander the Great in the Middle East.
helots	The slaves of the Spartans.
Hephaestus*	Greek god of fire and metal workers
Hera	Greek goddess of Marriage. The wife of Zeus.
Hermes*	Greek messenger god.
Herodotus	This Greek historian was not entirely accurate in all of his research but he is known as the "Founder of History".
Hippocrates	This Greek physician urged ethical concerns for the treatment of the sick.
Knossus	A palace-city located on the isle of Crete.
laconic speech	A brief succinct reply in speech common among the Spartans.
Linear A	A still undecipherable form of Minoan pictographic writings.
lyric	A type of poetry in which the poet expresses his/her emotions or thoughts.
Macedonia	The native province of Alexander the Great.
Marathon	An Athenian victory over the Persians in 490 B.C..
Minoan Civilization	A prosperous island civilization which flourished on Crete between .ca 2000-1400 B.C. before its mysterious destruction.
Minotaur	A legendary monster of Minoan origins which was half-human and half bull.
monarchy	A government headed by a king.
Mount Olympus	This mountain is the legendary home of Zeus and the Greek gods. The ancient Greeks held religious festivals here to honor Zeus.
muses*	The Greek goddesses of the arts and sciences.
Mycenae	An important Achaean fortified city-state located in the northern Peloponneus; it imitated Minoan achievements.
ostracism	A vote to exile; a common method used in Athens to exclude citizens who were thought to be dangerous.
Parthenon	A 5th century B.C. Athenian temple constructed at the top of the acropolis dedicated to Athena and known for its harmony, proportion and symmetry.
Peloponnesian League	An alliance of Greek city states unitied by Sparta over the fear of Athenian success and power.
Peloponnesian Wars	An exhaustive series of wars between Athens and Sparta (with their respective allies) over the domination of Greece.
Peloponnesus	A sub-peninsula which comprises the southern tip of Greece.
Pericles	A 5th century Athenian Gerneral and leader of Athens during the Peloponnesian Wars.
Persian Wars	A revolt of the city-state Miletius in 499 B.C. against Persian rule, and aided by Athens, caused this series of wars.
phalanx	By 650 B.C. this military formation of citizen-soldiers came to be the main protection for Greek city-states.
Philip II	The 4th century Macedonian king plotted the overthrow of the feuding Greek city-states.
philosopher	A seeker of "wisdom" according to the Greeks; the search for order in nature and the universe.
Pindar*	A gifted Greek poet of the 4th century B.C. who was noted for his "Odes" to Olympic athletes.
plague	A highly contagious viral infection carried by fleas which lived on rats.
Plato	A 5th century B.C. Athenian philosopher; the principal biographer of Socrates and the founder of the "Academy".
Poseidon	Greek god of the seas.
Pythagoras	This Greek mathematician established the basis of geometry with his discovery of the relationships in a right triangle.
rhetoric	The art of public speaking; Athenian education stressed grammar, music and ....
Salamis	The Athenian naval victory over the Persians in 480 B.C. which forced their withdrawal back to Asia Minor.
Sappho*	An unusually gifted female poet in the 5th century B.C..
Schliemann, Heinrich	A 19th century amateur archaeologist who discovered and excavated the sites of Troy and Mycenae.
Socrates	This 5th century B.C. Athenian philosopher championed reason and self-knowledge as the path to truth, knowledge, and ethics.
socratic method	A conversational question and answer technique used to discover the path to knowledge and understanding.
Solon	A 6th century B.C. Athenian tyrannt who abolished debt and slavery, extended citizenship and encouraged trade.
sophists*	This 4th century B.C. school of philosophy stressed political and social success; ambition was more important than tradition
Sparta	The victorious city-state in the Peloponnesian Wars.
Spartan government	A monarchy headed by 2 kings, a council of 28 Elders, an Assembly of Citizens, and 5 Ephors.
Spartans	This Greek militaristic civilization emphasized obedience to the law, never to retreat in battle and to conquer or die.
stoics	A school of Greek philosophy which taught man should seek happiness by living in accord with nature.
Thales*	The first Greek philosopher. He observed nature to discover the basis of life. The gods were not to explain "nature".
The Iliad	A Greek epic poem written by HOmer in the 5th century B.C. describing the "causes" and events of the Trojan War.
The Odyssey	A Greek epic poem describing the adventures of an Achaean warrior following the destruction of Troy.
The Republic	This philosophical work examined the concept of an ideal government with a utopian philosopher-king and society.
Themistocles	A 5th century B.C. Athenian leader who prepared the Athenians with a strong navy following the First Persian War.
Thermopylae	A narrow mountain pass in northern Greece where the Spartan king Leonidas delayed the Persian advance on Athens (480 B.C.).
Thespis*	The ancient Athenian poet who by legend create the first drama or play; actors today assume part of his name.
Thucydides	This Greek historian improved historical methodology with his unbiased reporting in his "History of the Peloponnesian Wars."
tragedy	Any drama which focuses on the suffering of a major character and ends in disaster.
Trojan horse	The deceptive method, according to the poet Homer, as to how the Greeks defeated the Trojans.
Troy	This Asia Minor city-state dominated the Bosporus Straits; its destruction .ca 1100 was related in the Iliad.
tyranny	Government by an individual who seizes power by force.
Xerxes I	Son of Darius I; he launched the Second Persian War.
Zeno	This Hellenistic philopher believed that happiness resulted from living in harmony with nature - including accepting pain.
Zeus	Most powerful god of the Greek pantheon. The god of lightening, thunder, and earthquakes.

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Flashcards: Greek Vocab

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