| A | B |
|---|
| acropolis | a rocky hill, highest point in a city-state |
| agora | outdoor market where shopping and meetings were held |
| ancient | very old, or from times long past |
| Archons | judges in the government of Athens |
| aristocracy | ruling class of nobles |
| artifacts | objects made by humans |
| barracks | buildings where soldiers live and sleep |
| barter | exchange of goods or services for other goods or services |
| braziers | open pan for holding hot coals |
| Bronze Age | A time period where bronze was used to make tools and weapons |
| Capitals | top sections of columns |
| Chanters | The singers in a chorus who helped tell the story in plays |
| chiton | a garment in ancient Greece |
| chlamys | a short cloak |
| citizen | a "free" male over the age of 18 who was born in that city-state |
| civilization | group of people with common language, culture, laws, tradition and history. |
| comedy | humorous drama about the event of everyday life. |
| Currency | money |
| deity | a god or goddess |
| democracy | government elected and controlled by the people |
| draughts | a game like checkers |
| dynasty | a series of rulers or leaders who came from the same family |
| epic poem | long narrative poem about heroes and their deeds |
| erosion | when ancient civilizations removed the trees that held the soil in place this occured to the soil |
| exported | goods were sent to other countries to be sold |
| favours | special treatment |
| forage | to search for food or supplies |
| gymnasium | a building in which people can exercise or play indoor sports |
| Helots | slaves in ancient Sparta |
| himation | a long cloak |
| Hoplites | foot soldiers in ancient Greece |
| marathon | foot race run over the distance of 42.2 kilomtres or 26 miles. |
| oligarchy | government controlled by a few wealthy people |
| orator | person who is good at giving formal, public sppeches |
| orchestra | area in front of the seats in a theatre where the chorus danced and chanted |
| Ostracism | banishment or removal from a group |
| paedogogos | family slave who was the guardian to the children and took them to school |
| Prankration | violent, no-holds barred combination of wrestling and boxing |
| peninsula | a portion of land surrounded by water on three sides and connected to the mainland on the fourth |
| perioeci | class of people in Sparta, who were free but had no vote, included farmers and artisans |
| petasos | wide brimmed felt hat |
| portico | a kind of porch with columns before the entrance of a building |
| punches | a tool that makes holes |
| rites | formal religious ceremonies |
| scholar | a person who is well educated |
| Serfs | slaves who work the land for their owners. |
| Sirens | sea goddesses in mythology that sang a lured sailors to their deaths. |
| strigil | flat scraping tool used by ancient Greeks to remove olive oil and dirt from their bodies |
| symposium | after-dinner party for men |
| terraced | layers |
| tragedy | drama dealing with human unhappiness |
| Triremes | powerful military ships - on the bow was a broze-tipped battering ram, which could easily slice through a wooden ship |
| tyrant | ruler - usually took power by force |
| weaving | process for making cloth from thread |
| Balkan Peninsula | a stretch of land that extends southward into the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea |
| Mediterranean Sea | a large body of water bordered by Europe, Asia and Africa |
| Aegean Sea | the sea that separates Greece from Asia Minor |
| Asia Minor | the western edge of Asia |
| Ionian Sea | the sea that separates western Greece from southeastern Italy |
| Crete | an island in the eastern Mediterranean Sea; the center of Minoan civilization |
| Mycenae | an early city-state of Greece |
| Plato | Ancient Greek philosopher and disciple of Socrates who was one of the most famous thinkers of ancient Greece |
| plunder | valuables taken in war |
| Mount Olympus | a mountain in northern Greece thought by the ancient Greeks to be the home of their gods |
| Athens | a city-state that was the best example of ancient Greek democracy;the capital of modern Greece |
| Sparta | an ancient Greek city-state that was under strict military rule |
| Homer | Ancient Greek poet who composed two poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey, about the Trojan War |
| Pericles | Ancient Athenian leader who strove to make Athens the center of art and literature and who was responsible for building the Parthenon |
| myth | a traditional story that may include gods and goddesses and often tries to explain events in nature |
| Immortal | to live forever |
| oral tradition | the passing down of stories from person to person orally |
| Assembly | in Ancient Greece, an Athenian governing body of all citizens older than 18 |
| Trojan War | war fought between the Greeks and the people of Troy |
| Olympic Games | athletic contests held by the ancient Greeks about 3500 years ago and revived in modern times |
| Marathon | a plain northeast of Athens, Greece |
| Thebes | a Greek city-state that defeated Sparta |
| Macedonia | an ancient country in northern Greece; a nation formed after the breakup of Yugoslavia |
| Socrates | Ancient Greek philosopher who developed an approach to teaching based on asking questions |
| Aristotle | Ancient Greek philosopher and student of Plato who wrote more than 170 books |
| marathon | the longest race in the Olympics, a footrace of about 26 miles |
| philosopher | a person who studies truth and knowledge |
| reason | logical thinking |
| plague | an epidemic of an often fatal disease |
| mercenary | a hired soldier |
| Socratic method | an approach to teaching developed by the Greek philosopher, Socrates, which involves teaching people to think by asking questions |
| Delian League | in ancient Greece, an alliance between Athens and other Greek city-states |
| Peloponnesian War | war between Athens and Sparta |
| Alexandria | an Egyptian seaport city on the Mediterranean, a center of trade and learning in the Hellenistic Age |
| Hippocrates | Ancient Greek doctor who is often called the "father of medicine" |
| Archimedes | Scientist of the Hellenistic Age who was the first person to explain how levers work |
| Pythagoras | Ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician whose ideas led to the field of geometry |
| Euclid | Greek mathematician who developed the system of plane geometry |
| Hellenistic Age | a period of time when ancient Greek and Asian cultures mixed |
| allegiance | loyalty or devotion to one's ruler or country |
| colony | a territory that is under control of another, usually distant, country |
| Minoans | Colonized Greece from island of Crete, invented copper plumbing |
| Peloponnesus | a peninsula in southern Greece, between the Ionian and Aegean Seas |
| Crete | Island south of Greece in Mediterranean Sea, southeast of Greece |
| Rhodes | the second largest of the Greek Islands in the Aegean Sea, southwest of Greece |
| polis | another name for city-state used by the Greeks |
| 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 that invented democracy |
| 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 |
| Draco | developed written code of Athenian law 620 BC |
| 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 |
| citizen | person who belongs to a country and is entitled to its protection |
| Socrates | about 470 - 399 BC, famous Greek philosopher and teacher |
| Plato | about 428 - 347 BC; Greek philosopher and student of Socrates |
| terrain | physical features of a tract of land |
| Focused on molding strong soldiers | Sparta, but not Athens |
| Focused on developing fair laws | Athens, but not Sparta |
| 3 Elements of Greek Democracy | Male assembly, Council of 500, Rotating council of 50 |
| monarchy | form of government where a king or queen rules |
| polis | city-state |
| Pericles | Athens' leader during the Golden Age |
| Athena | goddess of wisdom and war, patron goddess of Athens |
| Zeus | King of the gods |
| Hera | Queen of the gods |
| Aphrodite | Goddess of love and beauty |
| oracle | women through which the gods communicated; could tell the future |
| Minoans | peace-loving people who settled Crete |
| peninsula | land that is surrounded on three sides by water |
| 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 |
| assembly | the basic lawmaking body in a democracy, made up of a group of citizens |
| 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 |
| Balkan Peninsula | a stretch of land that extends southward into the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea |
| Mediterranean Sea | a large body of water bordered by Europe, Asia and Africa |
| Aegean Sea | the sea that separates Greece from Asia Minor |
| Asia Minor | the western edge of Asia |
| Ionian Sea | the sea that separates western Greece from southeastern Italy |
| Crete | an island in the eastern Mediterranean Sea; the center of Minoan civilization |
| King Minos | Legendary King of the Minoan civilization in Crete |
