| A | B |
|---|
| Mycenaeans | an Indo-European people who settled on the Greek mainland around 2000 BC |
| Trojan War | a war fought around 1200 BC, in which an army led by Mycenaean kings attacked the independent trading city of Troy in Anatolia |
| Dorians | a Greek-speaking people that, according to tradition, migrated into mainland Greece after the destruction of the Mycenaean civilization |
| Homer | a Greek blind storyteller |
| epics | long narrative poems celebrating the deeds of legendary or traditional heroes |
| myths | traditional stories about gods, ancestors, or heroes told to explain the natural world or the customs and beliefs of a society |
| polis | a greek city-state- the fundamental political unit of ancient Greece after about 750 BC |
| acropolis | a fortified hilltop in an ancient Greek city |
| monarchy | a government in which power is in the hands of a single person |
| aristocracy | a government in which power is in the hands of a hereditary ruling class or nobility |
| oligarchy | a government in which power is in the hands of a few people-especially one in which rule is based upon wealth |
| phalanx | a military formation of foot soldiers armed with spears and shields |
| tyrant | in ancient Greece, a powerful individual who gained control of a city-state's government by appealing to the poor for support |
| helot | in the society of ancient Sparta, a peasant bound to the land |
| democracy | a government controlled by its citizens, either directly or through representatives |
| Persian Wars | a series of wars in the fifth century BC, in which Greek city-states battled the Persian Empire |
| direct democracy | a government in which citizens rule directly rather than through representatives |
| classical art | the art of ancient Greece and Rome, in which harmony, order, and balance were emphasized |
| tragedy | a serious form of drama dealing with the downfall of a heroic or noble character |
| comedy | humorous form of drama that often includes slapstick and satire |
| Peloponnesian War | the war between Sparta and Athens |
| philosophers | thinkers who use logic and reason to investigate the nature of the universe, human society, and morality |
| Socrates | Greek philosopher who asked a series of leading questions |
| Plato | Greek philosopher and student of Socrates, founded a school called The Academy |
| Aristotle | a Greek philosopher that questioned the nature of the world and of human belief-basis for scientific method |
| Philip II | king of Macedonia that conquered Greece |
| Macedonia | north of Greece with rough mountains and a cold climate |
| Demosthenes | Athenian orator that tried to warn Greece about Philip II |
| Alexander the Great | son of Philip II and conqueror of Persia |
| Darius III | Persian king that fled to avoid capture by Alexander the Great |
