Greece
Terms
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- philosophy
- an organized system of thought
- Corinth
- a leading city of ancient Greece famous for its architecture, pottery, and shipbuilding
- tyrant
- term for a new type of monarch that first appeared in varius Greek states in the seventh century BC. The term acquired negative connotations because of the dictatorial manner in which many tyrants ruled. Very few tyrants succeeded in establishing dynasties
- Attica
- 1000 square mile promontory in southeast central Greece that formed the territory of the Athenian city-state; rugged terrain that yielded high-quality marble and potter's clay as well as silver and lead
- helots
- peasants forced to stay of the land they worked
- libation
- ritual pouring of a liquid on an alter or on the gound to honor gods, heroes, the dead; wine water, milk, oil, or honey was used
- Asia Minor
- the western Asian peninsula comprimising most of modern-day Turkey, known to the Greeks as Anatolia
- epic poem
- long poem that tells the deeds of a great hero
- peplos
- the traditional garment of Greek women; a sleeveless, typically ankle-lenght tunic formed from a single squarish piece of wool; generally worn pinned at the shoulder or belted
- symposium
- from the word for "drinking together"; an after-dinner drinking party attended by elite males. According to the protocol of a symposium, the sang poems, posed riddles, played drinking games, and delivered philosophical speeches. Other entertainment was provided by musicians, jugglers, acrobats, and prostitues
- Thessaly
- fertile region in the northeastern Greece bounded by mountains, the most famous of which was Mount Olympus, the legendary home of the major gods of the Greek pantheon
- cella
- the chief room of a Greek temple, where the statue of the good was located and, frequently, the temple's treasure was kept
- tragedies
- the first Greek dramas; presented in a trilogy; serious drama about common themes such as love, hate, war, or betrayal
- Mount Olympus
- the highest mountain in Greece
- Terra cotta
- baked clay; commonly used to fabricate such items as roof tiles, figurines, and household vessels
- Linear B
- the modern name for the script, composed of signs and pictures, in which Mycenaean Greeks kept records on tablets of clay
- Asklepios
- god of medicine, with sanctuaries throughout the Greek world
- grammatistes
- a poorly paid male instructor who taught reading, writing, arithmetic, and literature, especially Homer poetry, to elementary-level students; these teachers were not highly regarded
- drachma
- Greek silver coin; its name derives from the word for "handful"
- Minoan
- the name given to the great civilization of Crete; the word comes from the name of King Minos, a character of Greek legend who was remembered as having ruled in Crete before the Trojan War
- rituals
- another name for ceremonies or rites
- Sicily
- the Mediterranean's largest island, colonized from the eighth century BC by Greeks and Carthaginians who frequently warred with each other or the island's native people
- gymnasium
- a sports complex, which also functioned as an important social and educational center in classical Greece
- agora
- the open space that served as the civic center and market place of ancient Greek cities
- Socrates
- started off as a sculptor, but his true love was philosophy. The Socratic-Method used a question and answer format that led others to discover things for themselves by using their own reasion
- hoplites
- heavily armed Greek infantrymen who marched and fought in close ranks; most of the recruits were middle class citizens
- Aristotle
- pupil of Plato; did not accept Plato's theory of ideal forms
- Olympian gods
- the most important gods of the Greek pantheon, who were believed by Greeks to inhabit Mount Olympus. Some of the Olympians include: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Hermes, Demeter, Dionysos, and Ares. Other gods, suchs as Hestia and Hades, were sometimes described as Olympians
- Classical Age
- term referring to the period of Greek history that begins with the defeat of the Persian invaders in 480-479 BC and ends with Alexander the Great's accession in 336 BC or his death in 323 BC
- oracle
- a sacred shrine where a god or goddess revealed the future through a priest or a priestess
- phalanx
- term for the battle formation of Greek hoplites; it consisted of tightly packed rows of hoplites, typically 8 ranks deep. The formation was suited for fighting on level ground but did not work well in difficult terrain
- democracy
- "power of the people" or "ruled by the people"; form of government that originated in Athens in which political instituions were open to all male citizens rather than being controlled by the wealthy few
- lonia
- area along the central west coast of Asia Minor colonized by settlers from mainland Greece from about 1000 BC. Ionian Greeks, including Homer, played a central role in the early development of Greek history and literature following the Dark Ages
- Plutarch
- Greek biographer of the first to early second century AD; author of Parallel Lives which compared famous men of classical Greece and republican Rome
- ephors
- a group of five men who were elected each year and were responsible for the education of the youth
- ostrakon
- a broken piece of clay pottery used for writing. In Athens, most ostrakon that was found was used as tablets for inscribing the name of candidates for ostracism
- polis
- a self-governing city-state; the basic political unit of the Greek world. The polis comprised a city with its acropolis and agora and the surrounding territory
- acropolis
- an "upper city"; a common feature of ancient Greek cities; an elevated site for religious observances
- Plato
- one of Socrates' students; was considered by many to be the greatest philosopher of western civilization. Plato explained his ideas about government in a work entitled The Republic. In his ideal state, the people were divided into three different groups
- oligarchy
- "leadership of the few"; a form of government in which the full exercise of political rights and power in a city-state was limited to the affluent, many Aristocratic. In the 5th century BC, Sparta was the leading proponent of oligarchy
- Dark Ages
- term for the rougly 200-year period in Greek history that follwed the final collapse of the Mycenaean civilization in the 12th century BC
- comedy
- a contrast to Greek tragedies; scenes filled with lots of humor
- Hellenistic
- a word meaning to "imitate Greeks"; Greek-speaking civilization which spread through many lands of the eastern Mediterranean and beyond following the conquests of Alexander the Great
- Nike
- the goddess of victory in military or athletic contests, characteristically depicted with wings
- amphora
- a two-handled jar used for the storage and transport of win, oil, dried fish, and other commodities
- direct democracy
- a form of government in wich citizens rule directly and not through representatives
- ostracism
- procedure used by the Athenian assembly in the 5th century BC to banish an unpopular or potentially dangerous citizen for ten years, without revoking his citizenship or property rights. Each voter wrote the name of the individual he wants exiled on an ostrakon, which was then placed in an urn. There had to be at least 6000 votes against one man
- Peloponnese
- the large land-mass which forms the southern part of mainland Greece
- aristocracy
- meaning "power of the best"; hereditary, landowning nobility in charge of Greece
- myths
- traditional stories usually about their gods