1st Quarterly study Guide
Minoans
-One of the largest cities of Crete was Knossos.
-The palace was made up of a network of paths called a labyrinth. It meant “double ax” and the
palace was called the “House of the Double Ax.” Sea captains, merchants and shipbuilders were
important in trade and wealth and lived in houses around the palace.
-The Minoans had many gods. The main god was the Great Goddess, Mother Earth.
-The story of Theseus and the Minotaur explained the decline of Crete.
-The minotaur had the body of a man and the head of a bull and lived on human flesh.
-The Minoans decorated the inside of walls with brightly colored frescoes, or water paintings
made on damp plaster.
Mycenaean’s
-The Mycenaean’s attacked Troy, over Helen.
-The Greek poet, Homer, wrote about the Trojan War in his epic poem, the Iliad, which
explained the war was caused by a Trojan prince kidnapping Helen.
-The Trojans were tricked and defeated by a huge, hollow wooden horse.
-Civil wars weakened the Mycenaean’s and they were defeated by the Dorians.
Greek city States
The polis was the geographic (it had houses) and political (where the government was) center of
Greek life.
-The polis sprung up around a fortified hill called an acropolis.
-The inner part of the polis was centered around the agora or marketplace and became a city.
-Only free adult males were citizens.
-Greek citizens put the good of the polis above everything else.
Sparta
-Aristocrats were nobles who took over the government and lead the army.
-Only aristocrats could become citizens.
-They were members of the Assembly, which passed laws and decided questions on war and
peace.
-Helots, or slaves, did the farming.
-Sparta had only one goal – to be militarily strong.
Athens
-Athenian nobles, merchants and manufacturers took over the government and made it an
oligarchy – rule by a few.
-Solon prepared a constitution, a set of principles for governing.
-He allowed more Athenians to take part in government.
-Cleisthenes put into effect the first constitution that was democratic and favored equality of all
people.
-Under Cleisthenes, the Council of 500 handled the daily business of Athens.
-The Persians were the most powerful empire in the western world and conquered Ionia.
-Persian troops, under Darius, were defeated by the Greeks at the battle of Marathon.
-Athenians found rich Silver mines and used the money to build a fleet of triremes, or warships
with three levels of rowers.
-The Persians lost many of their ships when the Greeks defeated the Persian navy at the Battle of
Salamis.
-Greeks united in a defensive league under the leadership of Athens known as the Delian League
to combat the threat of Persia.
-Pericles led Athens during the Golden Age and made many improvements to the city-state and
Art, philosophy and literature reached new heights.
-The Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta lasted 30 years.
-Sparta finally defeated Athens.
Religious practices
-People went to oracles to seek advice
-The person seeking advice had to decide what he or she believed to be the true meaning of the
prophecy.
-There were 12 major gods and goddesses who lived on Mount Olympus.
-Every four years the Olympic Games were held to honor Zeus.
-The pentathalon was made up of 5 events: running, jumping, discus, wrestling and javelin.
-Olympic athletes were considered heroes. Poets wrote about them, city-states held parades for
them and gave them free meals for a year.
-Herodotus, “Father of History,” was a Greek historian who read at the Olympics.
-The theater grew out of festivals given in honor of Dionysius.
-Aeshcylus created the first play by adding another character to the chorus and acting out a story.
-Tragedies were plays about suffering.
Alexander the Great
-Alexander took over for his father, Philip II, when he was 20.
-He was a student of Aristotle, who taught him literature, political science, geography and
biology.
-He was a great general who crushed the Persian Empire and marched as far east as northern
India (past the Indus River).
-Greeks looked down on all people who did not speak Greek and called them barbaroi –
bararian comes from this term.
-The city of Alexandria was the cultural, economic and intellectual center of his empire.
-Cultural influences became stronger: Greek language was used by many, his picture ended up
on many coins, trade grew and Greek customs and methods in many fields were adopted.