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Classical GreeceKW
Greece
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| City-State | A city that functions much like an independent country. |
| Tyrant | Powerful individuals who gained control of a city-state's government by appealing to the poor for support. |
| Trireme | Strong wooden ships built with battering ram in front. |
| Myth | A traditional story about gods, ancestors, or heroes, told to explain the natural world or the customs & beliefs of a society. |
| Iliad | Poem written by Homer telling the tale of how the Greeks & Trojans battled for 10 years after Paris stole Helen away from Menalaus. |
| Odyssey | Poem written by Homer telling the story of Oddyssey's return from the Trojan Wars to his home in Ithaca. |
| Phalanx | A military formation where soldiers fought shoulder to shoulder & shied to shield for protection. |
| Thermopylae | Mountain pass where 300 Spartan soldiers held off thousands of Persian soldiers during the Persian Wars. Also called The Hot Gates. |
| Marathon | Marshy plain where the Athenians successfully defeated an invading Persian force during the Persian Wars. Also origin of Marathon run due to messenger Pheidippides. |
| Hoplite | Name of the soldiers used in the battle of marathon. |
| Acropolis | Foritified hilltop. |
| Monarchy | A government ruled by a king or queen. |
| Oligarchy | A government in which power is in the hands of a few people ~ especially one in which rule is a based on wealth. |
| Democracy | A government controlled by its citizens. |
| Aristocracy | A government in which power is in the hands of a hereditary ruling class or nobility. |
| Philosopher | A thinker who uses logic & reason to investigate the nature of the universe, human society, & morality; Also known as lover of wisdom. |
| Hellenism | Blending of Greek, Macedonian, Persian, Egyptian, & Indian cultures due to Alexander's conquest. |
| Colossus of Rhodes | An enormous bronze, Hellenistic statue that formerly stood near the harbor of Rhodes. At 100 ft tall it was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. |