Classical Greece Test Review
Key Terms:
Epic Poem: A long poem that tells the deeds of a great hero
Arete: The qualities of excellence that a hero strives to win in a struggle or a contest
Polis: City-state (the word politics derived from this). It was a town, city, or even a village along with its
surrounding country sides that brought people together
Acropolis: A fortified gathering place at the top of a hill which was sometimes the sight of temples and
public buildings
Agora: An open area that served as a gathering place and a market
Hoplite: Heavily armed foot soldiers in the early Greek military system
Phalanx: A wall of shields created by foot soldiers marching close together in a rectangular formation
Democracy: “The rule of many”; government by the people, either directly or through their elected
representatives
Oligarchy: “The rule of few”, a form of government in which a small group of people exercises control.
Helot: In ancient Sparta, captive peoples who were forced to work for their conquerors.
Ephor: One of the five men elected each year in ancient Sparta who were responsible for the education
of Youth and the conduct of all citizens.
Ritual: A ceremony of rite
Oracle: In ancient Greece, a sacred shrine where a god of goddess was said to reveal the future though a
priest of priestess
Tragedy: A form of drama that portrays a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force and
having a protagonist who is brought to ruin or extreme sorrow, especially as a result of a fatal flaw.
Philosophy: an organized system of thought, from the Greek saying for “love of wisdom”
Socratic Method: the method of teaching used by the Greek philosopher Socrates, it employs a question
and answer format to lead pupils to see things for themselves by using their own reason.
Hellenistic Era: The Age of Alexander the Great; Period when the Greek language and ideas were carried
to the non-Greek world
Epicureanism: School of thought developed by the philosopher Epicurus in Hellenistic Athens; it held
that happiness is the chief goal in life, and the means to achieve happiness was the pursuit of pleasure
Stoicism: a school of thought developed by the teacher Zeno in Hellenistic Athens; it says that happiness
can be achieved only when people gain inner peace by living in harmony with the will of God, and that
people should bear whatever life offers.
Key People or Groups of People:
Homer: Famous Greek poet. He wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey which can be considered as the two
most influential pieces of literature of all time. His “epic poems” told stories of heroism, Triumph, and
courage.
Minoans: Bronze age civilization that was established on the large island of Crete, south-east of the
Greek mainland. Their civilization flourished between 2700 and 1450 BC. The demise of the Minoan
civilization came at the hands of the invading Mycenaeans.
Mycenaeans: Flourished between 1600 and 1100 BC. An Indo-European family of people, that spread
into southern and western Europe, India, and Iran. Gained control over the Greek Mainland. This
civilization peaked in 1400-1200 BC and was made up of powerful monarchies. Had a great military force
throughout its city states.
Aristotle: Greek philosopher that argued that a citizen did not belong to just himself: “We must rather
regard every citizen as belonging to the state”.
Solon: A reform-minded Athenian aristocrat. Solon canceled all land debts and freed people who had
fallen into slavery for debts. He refused to take land from the rich and give it to the poor. Solon’s
reforms, although popular, did not solve Athens civil turmoil between the classes.
Cleisthenes: Gained control of Athens in 510BC, when he created a new council of five hundred that
supervised foreign affairs, oversaw the treasury, and proposed the laws that would be voted on by the
assembly
Spartans: A Greek civilization that was based on a strong military. Rather than move to unoccupied land,
they conquered those near them. Male children received militaristic education until the age of
20. Once they turned 20 they served in the military until the age of 60. They had to live in a
military barracks until the age of 30. Women were very strong in Sparta; they had to stay in
good physical shape and good health to be able to give birth to strong Spartan children. The
Government in Sparta was an Oligarchy headed by two kings.
Athenians: People of Athens. Athens was originally an oligarchy under the control of its aristocrats. The
aristocrats owned the best land and controlled political life. This caused great turmoil amongst
the social classes. Many of the Athenian farmers were sold into slavery when they could not pay
back their debts. Solon attempted to reform Athens with new political ideas but they did not
solve the main issues at hand. Eventually Cleisthenes laid the foundations of a future democratic
government in Athens by creating a council of five hundred men that made the important
decisions for the city-state.
Darius: The Persian ruler that sought revenge on the Greeks on the plains of Marathon in response to
the Ionian cities revolts.
Xerxes: The new Persian monarch that took rule after the death of Darius in 486 BC. Xerxes led a
massive Persian invasion into Greece of 180,000 troops and thousands of warships and supply
vessels.
Pericles: Athenian political leader that helped the Athenian empire grow and spread democracy abroad.
Sophists: a group of traveling teachers that rejected the theories of Pythagoras and Socrates and stated
“It is beyond the reach of the human mind to understand the universe”.
Socrates: a sculptor whose true love was philosophy. He left no writings, so all we know about him
comes from writings of his pupils. Used the Socratic method to teach his pupils; used a
question-and-answer format to lead pupils to see things for themselves by using their own
reason.
Plato: One of Socrates’ students, considered the greatest philosopher of western civilization. He wrote
down much more than Socrates and was fascinated with the question of reality. How do we
know what is real?
Aristotle: One of Plato’s students, he believed in analyzing and classifying things based on observation
and investigation. He wrote about many subjects and became a widely known political figure.
Phillip II: King of the powerful Macedonian kingdom, north of Greece. He built a powerful army and
turned Macedonia into the chief power of the Greek world. He longed to unite all of Greece
under Macedonia. Phillip II gained quick control of Greece and ended the Freedom of the Greek
city-states.
Alexander the Great: the son of Phillip II. He became the King of Macedonia at the age of 20. His army
was one of the strongest forces of all time. He Conquered the Persians, Syria, Palestine, and
Egypt. He built Alexandria as the Greek Capital of Egypt. It became and remains today, one of
the most important cities in both Egypt and the Mediterranean world. Alexander the Great no
doubt left a lasting legacy on the Mediterranean world and beyond.