| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Polis | A city-state of ancient Greece |
| Acropolis | A walled high area surrounding a polis |
| Agora | An open area that served as a meeting place and market in early Greek city-states |
| Helots | In ancient Greece,state slaves |
| Hoplites | foot soldiers in ancient Greece |
| Hubris | Great pride |
| Democracy | A government run by the people |
| Solon | Athenian statesman;he introduced the first civil democracy in Greece and created the Boule |
| Tyrant | A strong man who seized power by force and claimed to rule for the good of the people |
| Ciesthenes | Ancient Greek ruler often called the father of democracy ;He increased the size of the council that governed Athens to 500.and he reorganized Athenian tribes on geographical rather than familial basis |
| Direct Democracy | A type of governing system where all people vote directly on an issue |
| Archon | A chief of state of ancient Athens |
| Phalanx | A military formation composed of rows of soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder carrying pikes or heavy spears |
| Pericles | Athenian statesman;he encouraged the spread of democracy in Athens and the growth of the city-states power |
| Socrates | Greek philosopher of Athens ;his teaching style was based on asking asking questions.He wanted people to question their own beliefs.He was arrested and condemned to death for challenging authority |
| Plato | Greek philosopher;a student of Socrates,he started a school in Athens called Academy.In the republic he describes an ideal society run by philosopher kings |
| Aristotle | Greek philosopher ans student of Plato;he taught that logic was the tool for any necessary inquiry;his work later became the basis for medieval scholasticism |
| Reason | Clear and ordered thinking |
| Logic | The process of making inferences |
| Homer | Greek poet,he wrote the epic poems the Iliad and the odyssey,which tell stories set during and after the Trojan war |
| Lyric Poetry | A type of poetry that gained its name from the lyre,an instrument that played while the poetry was sung |
| Herodotus | Greek historian;his most famous work is The Histories,which describes major events of Persian wars. |
| Thucydides | Greek historian of Athens;He wrote The History of the Pelponnesian War.He is regarded as the first critical historian and is often ranked as the greatest historian of antiquity. |
| Alexander The Great | King of Macedon and conqueror of Asia;he is considered one of the greatest generals of all time |
| Hellenistic | The blending of Greek cultures with those of Persia,Egypt,and Central Asia following the conquests of Alexander the Great |
| Euclid | Greek geometer;he created practical books on geometric forms and mathematics.His work formed the basis for later European studies in geometry |
| Eratosthenes | Greek astronomer and geographer;he calculated the circumference of the globe using careful observations and simple geography |
| Archimedes | Greek mathematician and inventor;he was known for his work in geometry,physics,and mechanics |
Chapter 5