Greece

city-state

A city and its surrounding lands functioning as an independent political unit.

Polis

A Greek city state - the fundamental political unit of ancient Greece after about 750 B.C.

parthenon

The most famous Greek temple dedicated to the Goddess Athena.

acropolis

A fortified hilltop in an ancient Greek city.

Phalanx

A massive formation of heavily armed foot soldiers.

athens

This city is known for glorifying the individual and extended political rights of the citizens.

Peloponnesus

This region is where Sparta lies in the southern part of Greece.

Pericles

The leader of Athens during much of its golden age.

Sparta

This city-state was based on the military.

myth

A traditional story about gods, ancestors, or heroes, told to explain the natural world or the customs and beliefs of a society.

Helot

In the society of ancient Sparta, a peasant who was bound to the land.

Persian Wars

A series of wars in the fifth century B.C., in which Greek city-states battled the Persian Empire.

Peloponnesian War

A war lasting from 431 to 404 B.C., in which Athens and its allies were defeated by Sparta and its allies.

philosopher

A thinker who uses logic and reason to investigate the nature of the universe, human society, and morality.

Socrates

Greek philosopher who encouraged others to examine their beliefs.

Aristotle

Greek philosopher and student of Plato. He questioned the nature of the world and of human belief, thought, and knowledge.

Phillip II

King of Macedonia who conquered Greece.

Alexander the Great

King of Macedonia who proclaimed himself king after his father was assassinated. He conquered the Persian Empire and set up an empire that stretched from Macedonia to the Indus Valley.

Hellenistic

Relating to the civilization, language, art, science, and literature of the Greek world from the reign of Alexander the Great to the late second century B.C.E

Alexandria

The Egyptian city which became the foremost center of commerce and Hellenistic civilization

Monarchy

A government ruled by a king or queen

Aristocracy

A rule by land-holding elite or privileged.

Oligarchy

Government in which ruling power belongs to a few people.

Democracy

Government in which the people hold ruling power.

tyrant

Rulers who gained power by force or in non-conventional ways. In ancient Greece, a person who gained control of a city-states government by appealing to the poor for support would be suspected of wishing to do this.

Direct Democracy

System of government in which citizens participate directly rather than through elected representatives.

Euclid

Mathematician who wrote the Elements, which contained the 465 carefully presented geometry propositions and proofs. His work is still the basis for courses in geometry.

Archimedes

An important Hellenistic scientist who accurately estimated the value of pi and explained the law of the lever. He also invented a device to raise water from the ground and the compound pulley to lift heavy objects.

Hippocrates

Greek physician whose oath set ethical standards for doctors.

Plato

Greek philosopher and student of Socrates who wrote The Republic.