Geography
Because the Greek mainland is a peninsula covered in rugged mountains, traveling by land was very difficult. How did the Greeks mostly travel and trade?
By the Sea
In this type of government, like the one in the United States, citizens elect officials to make laws for them.
What is a representative democracy?
This Persian King became angry at the Greeks because the Athenians helped Greek colonies in Asia Minor rebel against him.
Who is Darius the I?
This term describes the "Greek-like" culture that Alexander the Great spread across three continents.
What is Hellenistic?
This famous philosopher taught his students by asking constant questions to make them think more deeply, a method still named after him today.
Who is Socrates?
The Greeks lived in independent city-states. What is the specific Greek word for a city-state?
What is a Polis?
In ancient Athens, all citizens met in one place to vote on every law themselves. What is this type of government called?
What is a direct democracy?
This was the main reason the Peloponnesian War started between Athens and Sparta.
What is Sparta’s fear of Athens’ growing power (and Athens' "bullying" of other city-states)?
Alexander the Great never lost a battle, but his empire fell apart after his death for this reason.
What is he did not name a successor (someone to take over)?
Known as the "Father of History," he was the first to carefully record the events of the Persian Wars, though he sometimes included legends in his writing.
Who is Herodotus?
Even though they shared a language and religion, a person from Athens didn't call themselves "Greek." How did they view themselves?
What is as a member of their city-state (an Athenian)?
Name the four forms of government practiced in Greece, in order from "Rule by One" to "Rule by the People."
What are Monarchy, Oligarchy, Tyranny, and Democracy?
At age 7, boys in this city-state were taken from their homes to begin a life of intense military training.
What is Sparta?
Alexander attempted to spread Greek culture throughout the world for this specific purpose.
What is to unify his empire and bring people together under one culture?
This famous blind poet is credited with writing the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epic poems that taught Greeks about heroics and the gods.
Who is Homer?
Ancient Greece was not a single country, but a collection of independent city-states. What geographic feature acted as "natural barriers" that kept these city-states isolated and prevented them from uniting under one government?
What are high, rugged mountains?
These types of stories were used by the Greeks to explain natural events (like thunder) or historical events they didn't understand.
What are myths and legends?
The Greeks defeated the much larger Persian army primarily by using this "human wall" shield formation and picking narrow battlefields like Thermopylae.
What is the Phalanx?
When Alexander the Great conquered Egypt, he was welcomed as a hero for kicking out the Persians. What title did the Egyptians give him?
What is Pharaoh?
He was the great leader of Athens during its "Golden Age" who ordered the building of the Parthenon and gave a famous speech honoring fallen soldiers.
Who is Pericles?
Because the Greek mainland is a peninsula (surrounded by water on three sides), the Greeks became expert shipbuilders. Name the three major seas that border Greece.
What are the Aegean, Ionian, and Mediterranean Seas?
In the evolution of Greek government, what was the primary difference between an Oligarchy and a Tyranny?
What is an Oligarchy is ruled by a few wealthy men, while a Tyrant is a single ruler who took power by force?
During the Persian Wars, this naval battle was the major turning point because the smaller Greek ships used a narrow strait to destroy the massive Persian fleet.
What is the Battle of Salamis?
Which Greek architectural achievement is most clearly seen in modern U.S. buildings like the Supreme Court or the Lincoln Memorial?
What are columns (or symmetrical design)?
This student of Socrates opened a school called the Academy and wrote The Republic, which described his idea of a perfect, fair government.
Who is Plato?