| A | B |
|---|
| peninsula | land that is surrounded on three sides by water |
| colony | a territory that is under control of another, usually distant, country |
| Attica | peninsula in east-central Greece, on the Aegean Sea |
| Peloponnesus | a peninsula in southern Greece, between the Ionian and Aegean Seas |
| Crete | a Greek island in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, southeast of Greece |
| Rhodes | the second largest of the Greek Islands in the Aegean Sea, southwest of Greece |
| Phoenicia | an ancient civilization located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea |
| polis | another name for city-state used by the Greeks |
| helot | a person captured by Sparta and forced to live as a slave |
| agora | the central marketing place of Athens and the site of numerous temples and government buildings |
| Acropolis | a hilltop fortress in Athens: on which stood the Parthenon and other famous buildings; "high city" |
| Sparta | a powerful Greek city-state (warriors) located on the southern tip of Peloponnesus |
| Athens | The capital of Greece; most important and powerful Greek city-state for centuries |
| Thermopylae | a narrow mountain pass in central Greece |
| Marathon | a plain in Attica, Greece, where the Athenians defeated the Persians in battle in 490 BC |
| monarchy | a system of government ruled by a queen or a king; "one ruler" |
| tyranny | a type of government in which all power is held in the hands of one ruler, usually a military leader |
| oligarchy | a government that is run by a few people, usually by members of rich, powerful families |
| democracy | a government run by the people in which citizens make their laws |
| assembly | the basic lawmaking body in a democracy, made up of a group of citizens |
| Pericles | about 495 - 429 BC; Athenian leader, Athens during the height of its power and influence |
| myth | a story about the gods and goddesses of a particular people |
| epic | a long poem that celebrates gods, heroes, or events in a people's past |
| tragedy | a type of play developed by the ancient Greeks, in which life is treated seriously; usually has a sad ending |
| comedy | a play that is funny and usually has a happy ending |
| philosophy | the study of the nature and purpose of life; the search for the truth |
| Homer | about 950 - 900 BC; Great poet; wrote two epic poems called the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey" |
| Aeschylus | about 525 - 456 BC, One of the writers of tragedies in ancient Greece |
| Aristophanes | about 448 - 385 BC; one of the most famous writers of comedies in ancient Greece |
| Socrates | about 470 - 399 BC, famous Greek philosopher and teacher |
| Plato | about 428 - 347 BC; Greek philosopher and student of Socrates |
| Thucydides | about 460 - 400 BC, Greek historian: observed and wrote about the Peloponnesus Wars |
| Philip II | 383 - 336 BC; King of Macedonia and father of Alexander the Great |
| Alexander the Great | about 356 - 323 BC: King of Macedonia; conqueror of Greece and Persia |
| Aristotle | about 384 - 322 BC; an ancient Greek philosopher |
| Macedonia | an eastern European country and empire ruled by Alexander the Great |
| Alexandria | a city in Egypt founded by Alexander the Great |
