Geography of Greece
Key Vocabulary
Early Greece
City-States: Sparta and Athens
The Persian Wars
100

What is a peninsula?

A land mass with water on three sides

100

What is a polis?

A city-state in ancient Greece. Each polis was its own community with its own government.

100

Where did the Minoans live?

The island of Crete

100

What is an agora?

A marketplace and meeting place in a city-state

100

How far was the Battle of Marathon from Athens?

26 miles

200

Name one of the three seas that surrounded Greece.

Aegean, Ionian, or Mediterranean Sea.

200

What is democracy?

A government where people vote to make decisions

200

How did the Greeks defeat the Trojans?

They hid several soldiers inside of a wooden horse that the Trojans then brought inside their gates believing that it was a gift.

200

Who were the helots in Sparta?

Slaves

200

Why did the Spartans choose to make their stand at Thermopylae?

Mountains to the West, Ocean to the East, and a narrow path that limited the number of Persians that could enter

300

What geological features separated most Greek city-states?

Mountains

300

What does oligarchy mean?

A government ruled by a few people

300

What is a tyrant?

A ruler who takes power by force

300

What is Direct Democracy?

A type of democracy where people vote on every issue directly, as they did in ancient Athens

300

What is a satrap?

A governor of a province in the Persian Empire who was responsible for collecting taxes and maintaining order

400

Why was the sea important to ancient Greece?

It helped with trade and travel

400

What is an acropolis?

A high, fortified part of a city, usually with important buildings like temples

400

What is a colony?

A settlement ruled by a faraway city-state

400

What is a Representative Democracy?

A type of democracy where people elect leaders to vote on their behalf, similar to how modern democracies work

400

What are satrapies?

The provinces, or regions, in the Persian Empire 

500

What is the Peloponnesus?

A smaller peninsula that hangs off of the main peninsula of Greece

500

What is a phalanx?

A group of soldiers standing in close formation in battle protecting themselves and the soldier next to them with their shield

500

What mythical creature was said to stalk the palaces of Minoa?

The Minotaur

500

What is a Philosopher?

A person who seeks wisdom and tries to understand life and the world around them

500

What was the main religion of the Persian empire?

Zoroastrianism