A
What's Sparta?
southern Greek city-state located on the Peloponnesus; once was a land of poets & artists; it got changed it to an armed camp in 800 B.C.
What's a citizen?
a free member of a political community who receives benefits from their society; has rights, duties and responsibilities
What's a city-state?
a city and its surrounding territory that is an independent country
What's a phalanx?
battle formation where rows of soldiers marched forward together, shoulder-to-shoulder, creating a protective wall with few openings
What's Athens?
largest city-state in Greece located northeast of Sparta on the mainland; named after a goddess
What was life like for Athenian girls?
stayed at home and were taught household duties by moms; they didn't have a lot of freedom, though
What was life like for Spartan boys?
What's democracy?
govt. in which all citizens share in running the govt.; every citizen has the right to for laws
What was life like for Athenian boys?
Boys: learned reading, writing, math, sports, music; became citizens at age 18
What was life like for Spartan girls?
What's the Dark Age (don't say a time that was dark)?
350 difficult years for the Greeks because of poverty, lost teaching, and forgetting how to read and write
Who's Cleisthenes?
credited with making Athens’ government a democracy; he gave more power and opportunities to the non-rich
What's an oligarchy?
government in which a small group of people holds the power
What's draconian?
cruel or harsh (named after Draco: Athenian leader who wrote 1st written laws in Athens with severe punishments)
What's a polis?
the Greek term for a city-state; a tiny Greek independent country made on a large hill (fortified area)
What's an acropolis?
top of the polis, religious center with temples and altars to honor gods, safe refuge in case of attack
Who were excluded from citizenship in ancient Greece?
slaves, foreigners, women, and children were originally excluded
What's the Peloponnesus?
southern Greece connected to the mainland by a narrow neck of land
What was the Council of 500?
lottery-chosen citizens proposed laws, looked over treasury, dealt with foreign countries
What's an agora?
open area below acropolis for debates and markets
What are helots?
conquered people who became slaves to the Spartans; Sparta was extremely paranoid of the helots rebelling
What's a hoplite?
heavily armed (round shield, short sword, 9-foot spear) infantry citizen soldier in ancient Greece
hoplites were good soldiers because they took pride in fighting for their city-state and it was one of their duties as citizens
What's Hellenes?
what ancient Greeks called themselves
What were demes?
new tribes who could now participate in govt. (they used to be looked down upon as outsiders)
What's laconic?
using very few words; Spartans were taught to use as few words as possible; named after Laconia–the valley the Spartans lived in; examples: