5th-Century Athens
This reform, generally credited to Cleisthenes, divided Athenian citizens into ten tribes based on where they lived rather than on family ties
What is democracy or the reorganization of the Athenian citizen body?
Pericles was given this military title repeatedly, demonstrating the trust the Athenian people placed in him.
What is Strategos or General?
The main rival city-state and leader of the Peloponnesian League that fought against Athens.
What is Sparta?
This "Father of History" wrote The Histories, covering the Persian Wars, which serves as a backdrop to the rise of Periclean Athens.
Who is Herodotus?
This famous philosopher, central to intellectual life, questioned authority and was eventually executed by the democracy on charges of impiety and corrupting the youth.
Who is Socrates?
This council of 500 citizens managed the daily affairs of Athens and prepared the agenda for the larger assembly.
What is the Boule?
This monumental building project, championed by Pericles, used Delian League funds and celebrated the glory of Athens and the goddess Athena.
What is the Parthenon?
The immediate cause of Pericles's death and a major blow to Athens early in the war, caused by the overcrowding inside the city walls.
What is the Plague or Pestilence?
He is the author of History of the Peloponnesian War, renowned for his detailed, objective approach and inclusion of speeches like Pericles's Funeral Oration.
Who is Thucydides?
Sophocles, Euripides, and Aeschylus are the three most famous writers in this dramatic genre, performed in large public festivals.
What is Tragedy?
A process where the Athenian assembly could exile a citizen for ten years, often used to prevent one man from becoming too powerful.
What is Ostracism?
Pericles introduced a measure that provided this to poorer citizens, allowing them to take time off work to participate in civic duties like jury service.
What is pay for public service?
This massive Athenian military expedition against a Spartan ally ended in a catastrophic defeat for Athens and was a major turning point in the war.
What is the Sicilian Expedition?
The anonymous author known as Pseudo-Xenophon wrote this political pamphlet, which offers a highly critical view of Athenian democracy, especially its lower-class citizens and navy.
What is the Constitution of the Athenians or Athenaion Politeia?
The financial means for Pericles's lavish beautification program and the rebuilding of the Acropolis were famously redirected from the treasury of this naval alliance.
What is the Delian League?
The name given to the defensive alliance of Greek city-states, originally formed to fight the Persians, which Athens eventually converted into its own empire.
What is the Delian League?
The famous speech given by Pericles early in the war, honoring the Athenians who had died in battle and praising Athens' democratic ideals.
What is the Funeral Oration?
This Persian Empire agreed to fund Sparta’s new fleet in the final phase of the war, a critical factor in defeating the Athenian navy.
What is Persia or the Achaemenid Empire?
His philosophical writings, particularly his accounts of the trial and death of Socrates, reflect the post-war moral and political turmoil in Athens.
Who is Plato?
The group of traveling teachers who charged fees to instruct young men in rhetoric, politics, and persuasion, often viewed with suspicion by traditional Athenians.
What are the Sophists?
This was the Athenian Assembly, the principal democratic body where all male citizens could vote on legislation and policy.
What is the Ekklesia?
Pericles's infamous strategy at the start of the war was to order all citizens outside the walls to retreat inside this fortified area.
What are the Long Walls or the city walls of Athens?
The temporary overthrow of the Athenian democracy in 411 BCE, during the later phase of the war, is known by this term, showing the internal political instability brought on by the conflict.
What is the Oligarchic Coup or the Coup of the Four Hundred?
This general and author was a student of Socrates and wrote the Hellenica, which continues the history of Greece from where Thucydides left off at 411 BCE.
Who is Xenophon?
This continuous sculpted frieze ran around the Parthenon and is generally believed to depict the great Athenian civic procession held every four years.
What is the Panathenaic Procession?