It's All Greek to Me
The Greek word for city-state
polis
Government ruled by the people
democracy
The emperor of Persia at the start of the Persian Wars
Darius I
The country from which Alexander the Great came; it was able to easily conquer the Greek city-states due to their lack of unit following the Peloponnesian War
Macedonia
The student of Socrates whose philosophy transformed Western ideas
Plato
The term for those who did not speak Greek
barbarians
Government in which a hereditary ruler exercises central power
The site of the first battle between Persia and Athens
Battle of Marathon
King of Macedonia who conquered the city-states of Greece in 338 B.C.
Philip II
The philosopher who promoted "the golden mean" as a standard of behavior
Aristotle
The marketplace were most of the social and economic activity of the city took place
agora
aristocracy
The battle in which 300 Spartans under King Leonidas held the Persians temporarily, giving Athens time to prepare
Battle of Thermopylae
The city in Egypt which was the cultural center of the Hellenistic world
Alexandria
The process of posing a series of questions to someone to challenge them to examine their answers and to question their assumptions
the Socratic method
The large "tail" of the Greek peninsula
Peloponnesus
A massive tactical formation of heavily armed foot soldiers
phalanx
The Greek admiral at the Battle of Salamis who defeated the larger Persian navy through skillful maneuvering of his more nimble fleet
Themistocles
The most lasting achievement of Alexander the Great
the spread of Greek culture
The "Father of History" who emphasized the importance of research and analyzing sources
Herodotus
The two things that Greek city-states shared in common
Mythology/religion and language
Government ruled by a small, wealthy elite
oligarchy
The alliance of city-states led by Athens which organized to defend against Persia
The Delian League
The blend of Greek, Persian, Egyptian, and Indian cultures, formed as Greeks assimilated with their conquered cultures
Hellenistic culture
Wrote a history of the Peloponnesian War and emphasized avoiding bias in the writing of history
Thucydides