Gods Almighty
Military and Empire
Your Thinking Cap
The Old Times
V.I.P.'s
200
The worship of many gods at once.
What is polytheism?
200
This Greek infantry soldier was named for the large shield — or hoplon — that they carried.
What is a hoplite?
200
From the Latin word for "city," this English adjective describes anything to do with a city.
What is urban?
200
This word literally means "first" in Greek, and refers to a very old stage of something's history.
What is archaic?
200
This student of Socrates postulated that every object and concept has an ideal "form," a perfect version of a thing that real iterations were mere imitations of.
Who is Plato?
400
Literally "half-god," this word usually refers to children of a human parent and a god. Examples include Heracles, Helen, and Aeneas.
What is hemitheos?
400
The payment owed by a subject state to its liege, usually in the form of money, goods, human labor, or military assistance.
What is tribute?
400
Although literally meaning "naked exercise," by the Hellenistic period it had evolved to also include extensive resources for training of the mind, specifically in Greek philosophy, literature, and culture.
What is gymnasium?
400
The writing system used in some Mycenean cultures identified by modern scholars as a primitive form of Greek.
What is Linear B?
400
This Lydian King went to war with Persia and lost because the oracle at Delphi promised that "a great kingdom would fall" if he went to war.
Who is Croesus?
600
The practice of merging one system of gods or cults with another by claiming two similar gods are actually just the same god by different names. This can result in a blending of myths and rituals.
What is syncretism?
600
Dominance over a union or alliance, usually held by a single community, country, or group among multiple. It describes Athens' position in the Delian League in the 5th century B.C.E.
What is hegemony?
600
The word for understanding truth through observation and experience, a concept practiced by Aristotle, who described and classified nearly every field he could.
What is empiricism?
600
The very old writing system, the deciphering of which has eluded modern scholars.
What is Linear A?
600
This student of Socrates founded a school in Athens based on the idea that study and imitation of the classics was a sound foundation for both good oratory and moral character.
Who is Isocrates?
800
The worship of one god among others. In contrast with monotheism, other deities are at least acknowledged to exist, even if they are not treated as objects of devotion.
What is henotheism?
800
Literally "world city" in Greek, the word describes Alexandria, which became this kind of a city when it grew to include many different ethnic groups, languages, cultures, and religions.
What is cosmopolitan?
800
An adjective that describes art pieces decorated with gold and ivory.
What is chryselephantine?
800
Greeks explained the size and craftsmanship of these gigantic stone walls by telling stories of one-eyed giants laying huge blocks one on top of the other.
What is Cyclopean masonry?
800
He famously whipped and "chained" the Hellespont as a show of dominance because the water did not offer his invading army favorable conditions for crossing it.
Who is Xerxes?
1000
In Greek, literally "marching down." This word is used for a type of myth where a hero descends to the underworld and returns to the world of the living.
What is katabasis?
1000
From Greek roots meaning "all Greek," this word describes the sentiment that all Greek peoples shared common points of culture, mythology, religion, and ancestry, so they should probably work together to repel non-Greek invaders.
What is panhellenism?
1000
Despite what is sounds like, this courtroom speech is not an expression of remorse, but a defense of someone accused of a crime, e.g. Socrates.
What is apologia?
1000
The father of the word "history," this Greek historian wrote about Egypt, Babylon, Persia, and other stories from past eras he didn't directly observe.
Who is Herodotus?
1000
The Persians would bow this way, prostrating themselves and touching their faces to the ground to show extreme obeisance to the Persian King of Kings. It offending the more democratic and humanist sensibilities of the Greeks.
What is proskynesis?