Ch. 6 - Greece
ANCIENT WORLD HISTORY STUDY GUIDE
Chapter 6: Early Greek City-States (1000 B.C. - 400 B.C.)
Early Greeks and the Rise of City-States (pp. 106-109)
1. Aegean Sea
-separates ancient Greece into may islands
-forces Greece to develop separately
2. Minoan Civilization
-early civilization which began on the Island of Crete
-probably
-developed a large and elaborate trading empire at a time when most were cultures were agricultural
-named and studied by British archeologist Arthur Evans
3. Knossos
-leading settlement of Crete, commercial capital, and center of Minoan culture
-location of beautiful Palace of Knossos built by Daedalus for King Minos
4. King Minoes
-mythological demigod for whom the empire of Minoan was named
-refused to sacrifice a beautiful white bull to Zeus
-under a spell, Minoes’s wife (Pasiphae) fall in love with the bull (which is really Zeus) and had a child
5. Minotaur
-means “bull of Minos”
-beast which was half man half bull
-placed in the Labyrinth (an impossible maze to escape) built by Daedalus and his son Icarus
6. Theseus
-son of Athenian King Aegeus
-went to kill the Minotaur after Athens lost a war with and was forced to send maidens to feed the Minotaur
-Theseus took maidens place and entered the where the Minotaur lived
-used a ball of string to escape the Labyrinth after killing the Minotaur
7. Mycenaean
-early Greek people who took over much of the Mediterranean region
-traders and fought to keep open their trade routes
-built large cities with huge protective walls
-each city had its own government
8. Ionia
-Greek cities which began across the Aegean Sea in Asia Minor
9. City-States
-type of political structure developing in Greece
-Greek people enjoyed the freedom of their cities
-geography made it difficult for centralized government to form
10. Polis
-Greek word for city-state
-geography and quarrels caused Greece to develop into individual cities government
11. Agora
-central and extremely important area in the city of Athens
-marketplace, where trading from all around the “world” took place
-where government met
Sparta and Athens (pp. 113-117)
12. Aristocrats
-from the Greek words aristos ("best") and kratos ("rule"),
-originally meant rule by the best people but later came to mean rule by any privileged group
13. Helots
-captives of the Spartans
-were property of the government, not individuals
-took care of the chores so Spartan men could prepare for war
14. Hoplites
-heavily armed infantry
-bought own equipment, but could not afford a horse
-fought in phalanx formations and were especially effective in defensive fighting
15. Sparta
-city-state known for its strict military control
-government controlled all aspects of society
16. Oligarchy
-rule by a few
-decisions made by an elite group
17. Athens
-largest and most important of the ancient Greek city-states
-government was controlled by the people: first democracy
-cultural expression and personal freedoms were encouraged
18. Democracy
-formed from the Greek words demos meaning people and kratia meaning rule
-voting members of society (adult, Athenian born, males) had responsibility of making decisions
-all spoke for themselves in assembly (Ekklesia) or council of 500 (direct democracy)
19. Citizenship
-Athenians put great emphasis on and fought to keep their right of citizenship
-also came with responsibilities
20. Metics
-Greeks who lived in Athens but were not born there
-lived free, had jobs, but could not vote
21. Tyranny
-rule by one military leader
-sometimes appointed but usually seized power
-at one time a tyrant was viewed with favor, but with no checks many abused power
22. Rhetoric
-the art of skillful speaking
Greek Mythology and Epic Stories (pp. 110-112)
23. Greek Gods
-used to explained the unexplainable for
-had the power of immorality
-although having human characteristics, were greater than life
-demigods were real people who had ability greater than most, adventures were exaggerated
24. Mt. Olympus
-medium sized mountain in northern Greece
-mythological home of the ancient Greek gods and goddesses
-against mythology for mortals to climb the mountain
25. Myths
-imaginative stories upon which a entire culture rests
-are usually fantastic, bizarre, and unexplainable
-have a historical basis and represent the popular memory
26. Epic
-long narrative poem retelling important events in the life of a central hero
-one story leads into another which leads into another
-stories which originally were passed on by word mouth, but later were written down
27. Homer
-known as the “blind poet”
-Greece’s most famous story teller, credited with creating the Iliad and Odyssey
-probably did not create all the stories attributed to him
28. Iliad-Odyssey
-earliest and most well known Greek epics
-Iliad describes the events of the great Trojan War
-Odyssey recounts the Spartan return from the war
29. Trojan War
-Trojan king Priam’s son Paris kidnaps Spartan king Menelaus’s wife
-the Spartans, with the help of Menelaus’s brother Agamemnon (Mycenaean king), launch “a thousand ships” to secure her return
-because of the huge walls around Troy, the war lasts ten years
-Sparta eventually wins by tricking the Trojans with a huge horse
30. Achilles
-his mother, the goddess Thetis, dipped him in the immortal River Styx making him invulnerable--except his heel where she held him
-strongest, swiftest, and most feared Greek hero of the Trojan War
-had choice to live a long, happy life or die at Troy and be known forever
-defeated the Trojan hero Hector in a monuments battle
-defeated when struck in the heel by an arrow
-his friend Odysseus was awarded his armor
31. Heinrich Schliemann
-German businessman and pioneer of archaeology
-born into poverty, forced at age fourteen work to support the family
-exceptional business ability allowed him to amass a fortune by age forty
-proved the city of Iliad was in fact Troy, erasing skepticism that the Trojan War was strictly mythical
-also excavated the city of Mycenae
32. Odysseus
-king of Ithaca, untied with other Greek kings to conquer Troy
-describes the long and difficult return journey of the Greek to Ithaca after the Trojan War
-credited with developing the strategy of the Trojan Horse
-angered by the outcome of the Trojan War, several gods interfered with his journey back to Greece
-after ten year of wondering, Odysseus returns to find his faithful wife Penelope hounded by “suitors”
-with the help of his son Telemachus, they round up and kill the suitors
33. Olympic Games
-began in 776 BC with a single race (about 200 yd.) won by Coroibus, a cook for the city of Elis
-festival was a regularly event every four years
-held in honor of Zeus
-all wars would cease during the contests
-the Spartans introduced more war like games
-winners (only one) were taken care of the rest of their lives and revered as gods
-eventually “professionals” were used
-the Games were ended in AD 394 by the Roman emperor Theodosius, claiming they were a pagan ritual
War With Persia (pp. 121-125)
34. Persia
-large empire east of Greece which threatened the Greek city-states in Asia Minor
-Athens sent ships to help Greek colonies revolt against Persians
-Persians defeated and destroyed the city of Militus
-Persians wanted revenge against Athens for helping Greek colonies
35. Herodutus
-known as the “father of history”
-Greek historian who provided valuable information in his accounts of ancient Greece
-traveled extensively and sometimes exaggerated his accounts
36. Darius I
-king of Persia after uniting the region under his reign
-sent a large fighting force to attack Athens and end the Greek threat to his power
37. Battle of Marathon
-August 12, 490 BC
-Greeks could select the time and place to attack invading Persians
-Greeks used the Phalanx strategy of battle
-although greatly outnumbered the Greeks forced the Persians to retreat
38. Miltiades
-helped Darius establish his rule in Persia, but later left to help the Ionian revolt against him
-acquitted of treason in Athens and elected one of the top generals
-developed the plan to fight at Marathon and defeated Persia
-was later wounded in a battle to expand Greece, was put on trial and died in prison
39. Philippides
-messenger in the Greek army
-according to legend, he ran the 36.2 km (22.5 mi) from the site of the battle of Marathon to Athens
-collapsed and died of exhaustion after announcing the Greek victory over the Persians
-the modern marathon commemorates his feat
40. Xerxes
-son of Darius I
-sent Persian army and navy of over 100,000 men to attack Greece to revenge his fathers defeat
-brought his gold thrown to set in the middle of Athens
-was eventually assassinated by his chief minister
41. Battle of Thermopoly
-September 12, 480 BC
-narrow mountain pass where the Greeks chose to fight the Persians
-a Greek traitor told the Persians of a secret passage so they could attack the Greeks from the rear
-three hundred Spartans remained to hold off the Persians while the rest of the soldiers escaped
42. Leonidas
-Spartan general in charge of the Greeks at the Battle of Thermopoly
-died along with the three hundred Spartans who stayed to fight the Persians
43. Battle of Salamis Island
-September 20, 480 BC
-although the city was destroyed, the Athenians fled to the coast to fight the Persians
-Greece trick Persians into attacking before they are actually ready
-using faster, more maneuverable ships called triremes the Persians were defeat
-Persia was never able to amount another attack against the Greeks
44. Themistocles
-persuaded Athens to construct a navy
-with his brilliant strategy, the navy defeated Persia at Salamis Island
-later accused of helping the Persians and was banished from Athens
-continued to make trouble for Sparta
-reportedly committed suicide rather than lead a Persian navel attack against Athens
45. Delian League
-created to preserve the newly won freedom of the Greek states
-had early success, but later members were expected to be subservient to Athens
-member cities paid a tribute (some men and ships) increasing the power of Athens
-Athens attacked cities when they threatened to withdraw from the league
46. Pericles
-appointed political leader of Athens leading the cities culture and military to its height
-used money from coalition to rebuild Athens after Persian War, including the Parthenon
-upset by Athens power and use of Delian funds, Sparta and their allies attacked Athens
-fell victim to the plague which defeat Athens
47. Peloponnesian War
-fought between the cities allied with Sparta and those allied with Athens
-fought on and off for 27 years
-weakened by plague and internal revolt, Athens was eventually surrounded and defeated
The Golden Age of Greece (pp. 130-132)
48. Acropolis
-”high city” refers to the highest and most defensible part of ancient Greek city-states
-contained temples, treasuries, and other important buildings
-best-known acropolis was in Athens
49. Parthenon
-symbol of Ancient Greece
-largest temple on the Athenian acropolis
-built to honor the goddess Athena
-later used as a church, mosque, and a powder depot
-explosion during Turkish-Venetian war destroyed much of building
-later “archeologists and treasure hunters took many sculptures and parts of building
50. Phidias
-considered the greatest of the ancient Greek sculptors
-responsible for the construction of the statue of Athena, statue of Zeus at Olympia, and the architect of the Parthenon
51-53. Doric, Ionic, Corinthian-
-various style of architecture used during the Greek civilization
Philosophy of the Golden Age (pp. 133-137)
54. Philosophy
-in Greece, means “lovers of wisdom”
-used reason to explain universes, not gods
-studied and questioned nearly all aspects of Greek life
55. Socrates
-questioned the established beliefs of Athens
-called the “gadfly” because of his “stinging” questions
-put on trial and sentenced to death
56. Plato
-best known student of Socrates
-studied social order and system
57. Aristotle
-best known student of Plato
-known for his study of all areas of thought
-created a university at Lyceum
-teacher of Alexander the Great
58. Drama
-developed from the ceremonies held for the gods
-writing for the purpose of acting
59. Tragedy
-written to evoke emotion
-hero is always a victim of fate with two choices, neither good
60. Comedy
-written to poke fun at the important people of the day
-slander was acceptable
61. Aesop
-wrote stories called fables, a story with a moral or lesson
Spread of Greek Culture by Alexander the Great (pp. 138-141)
62. Philip II
-King of Macedonia
-sent army to conquer Greeks
-adopted Greek culture
-did not get to complete his goal of conquest, he was assassinated at his daughters wedding
63. Macedonia
-empire to the north of Greece
-attacked the weakened Greek city-states
-defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes at the Battle of Chaeronea
-takes over the Greek city-states
64. Alexander the Great
-son of Philip, took over after his fathers death at age 20
-created an empire by defeating north Africa and Persia
-spread empire as far east as India when soldiers stopped
-Alexander dies at age 33 of a fever
-responsible for spreading Greek influence all around the “world”
65. Alexandria
-one of many cities named by Alexander
-Alexandria, Egypt was located in the center of the “world”
-important trading and cultural center for the “world”
Hellenistic Culture (pp. 142-154)
66. Hellenic
-time in Greece prior to Alexander’s empire
67. Hellenistic
-time in Greece after Alexander and spread Greek civilization
-combination of Greek, Egyptian, Persian, and Indian culture