Vocabulary

Question 1

Mycenaeans

Answer 1

created Green language
formed the core of Greek religious practices, art, literature
war oriented, strong government

Question 2

Trojan War

Answer 2

war between Troy and Greek city states

Question 3

Dorian

Answer 3

• moved into war-torn countryside after Mycenaeans
• spoke a dialect of Greek
• were far lessadvanced than the Mycenaeans
• no written records exist from the 400-year period between 1150 and 750 B.C. = the Dorian Age

Question 4

Homer

Answer 4

the greatest storyteller, he was blind, his great epic poems: the Iliad

Question 5

Epics

Answer 5

narrative poems celebrating heroic deeds

Question 6

Myth

Answer 6

Greeks traditional stories about their gods

Question 7

Polis

Answer 7

the city-state
- fundamental political unit in ancient Greece
- it was made up of a city and its surrounding countryside

Question 8

Acropolis

Answer 8

a fortified hilltop where citizens gathered to discuss city government

Question 9

Monarchy

Answer 9

a form of government where a single person (king) ruled

Question 10

Aristocracy

Answer 10

a government ruled by a small group of noble, landowning families

Question 11

Oligarchy

Answer 11

a government ruled by a few powerful people

Question 12

Tyrants

Answer 12

• rulers, populist
• weren’t consider harsh and cruel
• they were looked upon as leaders who would work for the interests of the ordinary people

Question 13

Democracy

Answer 13

state ruled by its citizens; citizens participated directly in political decisions making

Question 14

Helots

Answer 14

• peasants forced to stay on the land they worked
• each year, the Spartans demanded half of the helots’ crops
• Greek slaves

Question 15

Phalanx

Answer 15

• the fearsome formation, it became the most powerful fighting force in the ancient world
• made up of hoplites

Question 16

Persian wars

Answer 16

a series of wars between Greece and Persian Empire (500 – 479 B.C.)

Question 17

Direct democracy

Answer 17

a form of government in which citizens rule directly and not through representatives

Question 18

Classical art

Answer 18

ideal beauty, not realism; values of harmony, order, balance and proportion

Question 19

Tragedy

Answer 19

• a serious drama about common themes such as love, hate, betrayal;
• dramatists: Aeschylus (Oresteia), Sophocles (Oedipus the King, Antigone), Euripides (Medea)

Question 20

Comedy

Answer 20

• contained scenes filled with slapstick situations and crude humour
• Aristophanes (The birds, Lysistrata)

Question 21

Peloponnesian War

Answer 21

war between 2 city-states (Athens & Sparta);
- Athens: the stronger navy
- Sparta: the stronger army
Athens lost its empire, power and wealth

Question 22

Philosophers

Answer 22

‘’lovers of wisdom’’
- thinkers who were determined to seek the truth, no matter where the search led them

Question 23

Socrates

Answer 23

• critic of Sophists
• he believed that the absolute standards did exist for truth and justice
• he encouraged question themselves and their moral character

Question 24

Plato

Answer 24

• a student of Socrates
• The Republic - where he set forth his vision of a perfectly
  governed society: 3 groups of citizens: farmers & artisans, warriors, and the ruling class; the person with the greatest insight and intellect from the ruling class = philosopher-king
• The conversations with Socrates - all the teaches of Socrates

Question 25

Aristotle

Answer 25

• questioned the nature of the world and of human belief, thought, and knowledge
• Plato’s student

Question 26

Philip II.

Answer 26

king of Macedonia, a brilliant general and a ruthless politician

Question 27

Macedonia

Answer 27

ancient kingdom north of Greece, had rough terrain and a cold climate

Question 28

Alexander the Great

Answer 28

• Philip’s son, Aristotle’s student
• known for his unexpected actions
  -created the biggest empire

Question 29

Darius III.

Answer 29

Persian king

Question 30

Hellenistic culture

Answer 30

• Greek culture blended with Egyptian, Persian and Indian influences
• Koine - the popular spoken language used in Hellenistic cities

Question 31

Alexandria

Answer 31

• Egyptian city
• it became the foremost centre of commerce and Hellenistic
  civilization
• its diverse population exceeded half a million people

Question 32

Euclid

Answer 32

a highly regarded mathematician who taught in Alexandria
his work is still the basis for courses in geometry

Question 33

Archimedes

Answer 33

Hellenistic scientist, he estimated the value of pi

Question 34

Colossus of Rhodes

Answer 34

the largest known Hellenistic statue
this bronze statue stood more than 100 feet high