- aristarchus: an ancient Greek grammarian remembered for his commentary on the Iliad and Odyssey (circa 217-145 BC)
- aristocracy: the most powerful members of a society
- aristotle: one of the greatest of the ancient Athenian philosophers
- assassination: murder of a public figure by surprise attack
- barbarians: a group of uncillivied people
- demagogues: A political leader who supports the cause of the people.
- democracy: a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them
- ecclesia: Athenian assembly; included all male citizens over the age of eighteen.
- epic: a long narrative poem telling of a hero's deeds
- helots: Slaves to the Spartans that revolted and nearly destroyed Sparta in 650 B.C.E.
- hippocrates: medical practitioner who is regarded as the father of medicine
- jury: The group of persons selected to hear the evidence in a trial and render a verdict on matters of fact. See also grand jury.
- peloponnesian war: a war in which Athens and its allies were defeated by the league centered on Sparta
- pheidippides: a runner how carried messages to sparta athens
- plato: ancient Athenian philosopher
- tragedy: Play/novel that depicts serious events, hero becomes unhappy in the end