156 terms

Barnett Unit 2

Minoans

First great Greek civilization, which developed on the island of Crete in about 2000 B.C.

frescoes

Paintings done on wet plaster walls

Mycenaeans

Civilization on the Greek mainland that conquered the Minoans in Crete in about 1400 B.C.

polis

Greek word for city-state, which developed around a central fort

acropolis

Hill or mountain in Greece that included a fort as well as temples and other public buildings

agora

Marketplace in a city-state in Greece

Iliad

Homer's great epic that tells the story of the Trojan War

Odyssey

Homer's epic that tells the story of the Greek hero Odysseus on his way home from the Trojan War

Homer

Greek poet believed to have written the Iliad and the Odyssey.

myths

Traditional stories about gods, goddesses, and heroes

oracles

Special places where the ancient Greeks believed gods spoke through priests and priestesses

Olympic Games

Ancient Greek sports contests held every year in honor of Zeus

aristocracies

Greek city-state controlled by nobles

hoplite

Heavily armed Greek infantry who carried long spears and fought in closely spaced rows

tyrants

In ancient Greece, rulers who seized power by force but who ruled with the people's support; later came to refer to rulers who exercise absolute power brutally

popular government

Idea that people can and should rule themselves

democracy

Government in which citizens take part

helots

Conquered residents of Greece who became slaves in Spartan society

ephors

Five officials in ancient Sparta who were elected for one-year terms to make sure the king stayed within the law

metics

People living in Athens who were free but not Athenian citizens, who could work and paid taxes but were not allowed to own land or take part in government

archons

Rulers in ancient Athens who served one-year terms

Draco

Archon who created Athens's first written laws, which were very harsh

Solon

Athenian archon who abolished enslavement for debt, defined political rights in terms of wealth rather than birth, and established court of appeals

Peisistratus

Tyrant who ruled with support of lower classes but clashed with the nobles for dividing their estates among poor farmers

Cleisthenes

Athenian ruler who seized power and made Athens a direct democracy by creating the Council of Five Hundred

direct democracy

Form of democracy in which all citizens participate directly in making decisions

representative democracy

Form of government in which citizens elect representatives to run the government for them, rather than each citizen serving directly in the government

terracing

Carving small, flat plots of land from hillsides to use for farming

import

Good or service bought from another country or region

export

Good or service sold to another country or region

Sappho

Female poet from ancient Greece who often wrote about everyday Greek life

pedagogue

In ancient Greece, a male slave who taught a young boy manners

Sophists

Athenian men who opened schools for boys to study government, mathematics, ethics, and rhetoric

ethics

Study of what is good and bad, and of moral duty

rhetoric

Study of public speaking and debating

Phoenician alphabet

Alphabet created by the Phoenicians that became the model for later Western alphabets

Persian Wars

Conflicts between Greece and Persia that lasted more than twenty years

Battle of Marathon

Battle in which Athenians defeated invading Persian troops led by Darius

Battle of Thermopylae

Battle in a narrow mountain pass where Spartan troops fought to the death against a much larger Persian force

Themistocles

Athenian leader who won a navy battle and helped defeat the Persians, ending the Persian Wars

Delian League

Alliance of city-states in ancient Greece led by Athens

Pericles

A great Athenian general, orator, and statesman, who brought Athens to the peak of its power

Peloponnesian War

War between Sparta and Athens that broke out in 431 B.C.

golden age

Era of cultural progress in Greece in the 400s B.C.

Acropolis

A high hill that marked the center of ancient Athens

Parthenon

White marble temple to Athena built on the Acropolis in ancient Athens, considered the finest example of Greek architecture

Myron

Greek sculptor from the golden age who sculpted The Discus Thrower

Phidias

Greek sculptor from the golden age who sculpted the statues of Athena in the Parthenon and Acropolis and the statue of Zeus at the Temple of Olympia

Praxiteles

Greek sculptor who lived 100 years after Phidias and sculpted human figures that were lifelike and natural

philosophy

The study of basic questions of reality and human existence

Socrates

Important Athenian thinker who taught that education was the key to personal growth and thought students should be trained to think for themselves

Plato

Aristocratic student of Socrates who founded the Academy for teaching philosophy and wrote The Republic

aristocracy

a government ruled by an upper class

Aristotle

One of Plato's students who believed that every field of knowledge had to be studied logically. He pioneered the process of classification and later founded his own school in Athens

Pythagoras

Greek philosopher who believed that everything could be explained in terms of mathematics and developed the Pythagorean theorem of geometry

Hippocrates

The founder of medical science

Herodotus

First historian of the Western world

dramas

Plays containing action or dialogue and involving conflict and emotion

tragedies

Forms of Greek drama in which the main character struggles against fate or events

Sophocles

One of three well-known writers of the Greek golden age, he wrote Oedipus Rex which Aristotle called a perfect example of tragedy

Euripides

Great playwright of the golden age, he wrote The Trojan Women, which showed the pain and misery of war

Aristophanes

Finest writer of Greek comedies

Philip II of Macedon

Macedonian king who conquered and united Greece under his rule

Demosthenes

Athens's finest orator, whose speeches convinced Athens to lead Greece in the fight against Philip II of Macedon

orators

Public speakers

phalanx

Military formation composed of rows of soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder, carrying pikes or heavy spears

Alexander the Great

Son of Philip II of Macedon who conquered Persia, Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, and Mesopotamia

Hellenistic culture

"Greek-like" way of life that combined ideas and values drawn from the Mediterranean and Asia

Zeno

Greek philosopher who established the Stoic philosophy, which suggested that people should accept their fate without complaint

Epicurus

Founder of the Epicurean philosophy, which taught that the aim of life is to seek pleasure and avoid pain

Euclid

Great Greek mathematician who helped develop geometry

Archimedes

The greatest Hellenistic scientist who calculated the value pi () and invented many machines, including the Archimedes screw

Aristarchus

Greek astronomer who correctly believed that the earth and other planets moved around the sun

Eratosthenes

Greek geographer and astronomer who calculated the distance around the earth using the angle of the sun's rays from different points on the globe

republic

Form of government in which voters elect officials to run the state

dictator

Absolute ruler

consuls

Chief executives elected to run the government in ancient Rome.

veto

Refuse to approve (a bill or law)

checks and balance

System of government that prevents any one part of the government from becoming too powerful

praetors

Elected Roman officials who helped the consuls

censors

Roman officials who registered citizens according to their wealth, appointed senators, and supervised moral conduct

tribunes

Officials elected by Rome's popular assemblies who could veto actions of the Senate

patricians

Powerful landowners who inherited power to control Roman government and society

plebeians

Farmers and workers who made up most of the Roman population

Punic Wars

Three costly conflicts between Rome and Carthage over control of the Mediterranean region

Hannibal

Great general of Carthage who marched across the Alps into Italy during the Second Punic War

Scipio

Roman general who defeated Hannibal in Africa during the Second Punic War

equites

Roman class of business people and landowners who had great wealth and political influence

Spartacus

Roman slave who led a slave revolt in 73 B.C.

the Gracchi

Two brothers who were each elected tribune and were each murdered by senators and their supporters for attempting reform

Gaius Marius

Roman general and consul who created an army of troops whom he rewarded with land and money and who became more loyal to him than to the government

Lucius Cornelius Sulla

Consul who started and won a civil war and then ruled Rome as a dictator

Julius Caesar

Popular general and consul who formed a political alliance called the First Triumvirate with two other Roman generals, then, using the army to enforce his will, seized sole power as dictator. He expanded the boundaries of the republic, but was murdered in the Senate.

Gnaeus Pompey

Popular Roman general who joined Julius Caesar in a political alliance called the First Triumvirate, then turned against him and was defeated by him

triumvirate

Political alliance of three rulers

Cleopatra

Queen of Egypt who was put into power by Caesar and later formed an alliance with Marc Antony against Octavian, but lost to Octavian and committed suicide to avoid capture

Marc Antony

A general and ally of Caesar who formed part of the Second Triumvirate and formed an alliance with Cleopatra, but was defeated by Octavian and committed suicide to avoid capture

Augustus (Octavian)

First ruler of the Roman Empire, who greatly expanded its borders and began a period of peace that lasted for 200 years

Pax Romana

Period of Roman peace that lasted for 200 years

Julio-Claudian Emperors

Relatives of Caesar who ruled for 54 years following the death of Augustus

Five Good Emperors

Five rulers who led Rome for almost 100 years during the Pax Romana

gladiators

Trained fighters, usually slaves, who fought to the death in arenas as public entertainment

Galen

Roman doctor who wrote a summary of all medical knowledge of his time

Ptolemy

An astronomer and geographer from Alexandria who believed that the sun, the planets, and the stars revolved around the earth

aqueducts

Bridge-like structures that carry water

Virgil

Greatest Roman poet who wrote a famous epic, the Aeneid

Horace

Roman poet who wrote of human emotions in odes, satires, and letters

Ovid

Roman poet who wrote love poems and the Metamorphoses, a collection of myths in verse

Tacitus

Great Roman historian who wrote Annals, a history of Rome under the Julio-Claudian emperors

Plutarch

Roman writer who wrote Parallel Lives, a collection of Greek and Roman biographies

rabbis

Jewish scholars who interpreted scripture and Jewish Law

Jesus

Jewish founder of Christianity, whose teachings greatly influenced the Western world

martyrs

Persons put to death for their beliefs

bishops

Heads of the early Christian Church in major cities

patriarchs

Bishops of the major centers of the early Christian Church

pope

Title assumed by the patriarch of Rome and head of the Catholic Church; from the Latin word meaning "father"

inflation

Rise in prices caused by a decrease in the value of money

Diocletian

Roman emperor who slowed the decline of the empire by appointing a co-emperor in the West, driving out invaders, and controlling almost every aspect of life to promote security

Constantine

Roman emperor who supported Christianity and created a new capital city in the East, Constantinople

Vandals

One of several Germanic tribes who invaded the Roman Empire and sacked Rome

Huns

Nomadic people from Asia who attacked the Roman Empire

Attila

Hun leader who attacked the Western Roman Empire

savannas

Vast dry grasslands south of the Sahara Desert in Africa

tropical rain forests

Vast forests that receive much rainfall and have dense vegetation

jungle

Thick growth of plants found in a tropical rain forest

linguists

Scholars who study languages

Bantu

Family of closely related African languages

oral traditions

Poems, songs, and stories passed by word of mouth from one generation to another

griots

Highly trained West African speakers and entertainers who memorized oral traditions

matrilineal

Describes a society in which people trace their ancestors and inherited property through their mothers rather than through their fathers

King 'Ezana

King of Aksum who conquered Kush, converted to Christianity, and made it the official religion of his kingdom

Swahili

African culture and language that emerged in East Africa and combined elements of African, Asian, and Islamic cultures

Shona

People who migrated onto the plateau of what is known today as Zimbabwe

Tunka Manin

One of Ghana's most powerful rulers, who ruled in the A.D. 1000s.

Mansa Musa

King of Mali at its peak in the A.D. 1300s who led a mass pilgrimage to Mecca displaying the riches and power of Mali

Sonni 'Ali

Rebel leader who captured Timbuktu and established the kingdom of Songhai

Mohammed I Askia

Songhai ruler and successor to Sonni 'Al_ who made Timbuktu a center of culture, trade, and learning

strait

Narrow strip of water that connects two larger bodies of water

Beringia

Land bridge during the Ice Age that provided the means for Asians to travel to the Americas

potlatches

Ceremonial gatherings of Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest

Hohokam

Group of people who lived in the southwestern United States who abandoned their communities in the 1300s or 1400s

Pueblo

Group of people who lived in permanent settlements in the southwestern United States

adobe

Sun-dried brick used for building by the Pueblo Indians

buffalo

Large animal that roamed the Great Plains of the United States and was hunted by the Plains people

tepees

Cone-shaped tents made of buffalo hide

Hopewell

Native American group that settled in the Ohio Valley region and built earthen mounds

Mississippians

Native American group that lived in the Eastern
Woodlands and were mound-builders

Olmec

Earliest culture of Mexico, which began in about 1200 B.C.

Chavín

Earliest culture of Andean South America

Maya

One of the most advanced early people in the Americas, who occupied the Yucatán Peninsula

Toltec

People who invaded central Mexico from the north in about A.D. 800

Aztec

Wandering warriors who gained control of central Mexico in about A.D. 1200

chinampas

Raised fields made by the Aztec with mud taken from the bottoms of lakes

Inca

Empire in the Andes Mountains that included most of the west coast of South America

Quechua

Inca language spoken today by millions in South America

quipu

Series of knotted strings used as a memory aid by the Inca

Barnett Unit 2

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