ancient greece

Ancient Greece Vocabulary

Parthenon— symbol of Ancient Greece. It was a temple to Athena. Athenians believed that the Parthenon (the temple to Athena)provided protection for their city-state

Acropolis– fortress located in the center of most city-states. A place that provided Greeks with protection, a place to worship and a place to socialize (gather).


City-State--are political units made up of a city and all surrounding lands. Many city-states were geographically formed by rugged mountains and isolated valleys

Athens– city-state located in eastern Greece. Famous for its focus on education, literature, government and art


Sparta– rival city-state of Athens. Famous for its focus on its military

Hellenistic –”Greek-like” Historians refer to blended cultures (cultures that have aspects of Greek influence) as Hellenistic.


Golden Age— a period in a society’s history marked by great achievement. In Greece it was a time when Greek thinkers, artists and writers contributed many new ideas to the world.

Pericles—most famous leader in all Athenian history. He encouraged Athenians by supporting education, art, literature and architecture


Alexander the Great— a ruler who united all of Greece.

Direct Democracy— A system of government in which the people participate directly in decision making.


The following columns were created by the Greeks and are still used in architecture today.

Doric Column--a Greek-style column with only a simple decoration around the top


Ionic Column--a Greek-style column topped by a single scroll just below the top


Corinthian Column-- a Greek-style column topped by bag of curlicues, scrolls and other lavish decoration.


Mythology--is the body of stories and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes. These stories were about the nature of the world.


Monotheism--belief in a single God

Polytheism—belief in multiple (many) gods

Zeus

God of the heavens and the earth, ruler of the weather, giver of justice

Ruled with his lightning and thunderbolts

Symbols: eagle and oak tree

Olympic Games began in Anceint Greece (776 BC). They were a religious festival in honor of Zeus

Hera

Goddess of marriage and married women; wife of Zeus

Symbol: cow

Poseidon

God of the sea and earthquakes; brother of Zeus

Symbols: trident, dolphins and horses

Hades

God of the underworld; guarded all the dead

Symbol: Cerberus (three headed dog)

Hestia

Goddess of the hearth and home; known for her pure and simple life

Symbol: hearth fire

Demeter

Goddess of all growing things; when she was sad and lonely plants did not grow (winter)

Symbols: a bunch of wheat and the cornucopia

Athena

Goddess of wisdom and war; daughter of Zeus who sprouted from his head

Symbol: owl and olive tree

Aphrodite

Goddess of love and beauty; born form the foam of the sea and rode to shore on a seashell

Symbol: dove, sparrow and rose

Ares

God of war, hatred and violence; he had a short temper

Symbols: dogs, vultures, spear and shield

Hades

God of the underworld; guarded all the dead

Symbol: Cerberus (three headed dog)

Hestia

Goddess of the hearth and home; known for her pure and simple life

Symbol: hearth fire

Demeter

Goddess of all growing things; when she was sad and lonely plants did not grow (winter)

Symbols: a bunch of wheat and the cornucopia

Athena

Goddess of wisdom and war; daughter of Zeus who sprouted from his head

Symbol: owl and olive tree

Aphrodite

Goddess of love and beauty; born form the foam of the sea and rode to shore on a seashell

Symbol: dove, sparrow and rose

Ares

God of war, hatred and violence; he had a short temper

Symbols: dogs, vultures, spear and shield

Hephaestus

God of blacksmiths, metalworkers and craftsmen; son of Zeus and Hera; married to Aphrodite

Symbol: anvil and hammer

Apollo

God of sunlight, truth, poetry, music and healing; twin brother of the goddess Artemis; protector of single men

Symbols: lyre (harp) and wreath

Artemis

Goddess of the moon, single women, hunting and childbirth

Symbols: crescent moon, stag (deer), bow and arrow

Hermes

God of trade, travel and theft; messenger for the gods

Symbols: winged cap and winged sandals

Dionysus

God of wine, parties and drama

Symbols: grapes, a wine cup or a leopard

City-States

City-States are political units made up of a city and all surrounding lands. City-States were geographically formed by mountains and valleys

The two most famous Greek city-states were Athens and Sparta

Athens

Athenians thought that having a strong mind was equally as important as being physically strong

Athens was an important trading center. (it is

located 4 miles from the coast)

Athens (Continued)

Athenian boys began school when they were six years old

boys were taught reading, writing, music and history.

a boy became a citizen in Athens when he was eighteen. (he was expected to know all the laws)

After a boy became a citizen he spent the next two years in the army

Athens (Continued)

Athens had the first democratic government. (everyone had a voice in their government)

Athens had many famous philosophers that

included Socrates, Plato and Aristotle

Sparta

Sparta was Athens’ rival city-state.

Sparta valued strength, deceit of an enemy and fearlessness about death

Sparta’s power came from its tough and professional army

Sparta (continued)

Sparta was ruled by an oligarchy (small ruling group) of rich families.

Spartans valued order and discipline.

Dominated Greece from 600 B.C.to 371 B.C.

Sparta (Continued)

Newborn babies were inspected to see if they were strong enough to be a Spartan

Boys at the age of seven left their family to begin military training

Spartan boys were whipped if they made a mistake. They were supposed to show no sign of pain while being whipped.

Sparta (Continued)

Spartan boys had only a basic education. They were instructed in reading and writing.

Men became full citizens at the age of 30. Then they could hold office or vote.

All Spartan men ate their meals with the army; not with their families .

Sparta (continued)

Spartan women’s job was to have strong healthy babies.

Spartan girls were just as athletic as the boys. They learned how to wrestle, throw a javelin and they exercised daily.

Spartan women could own their own land, run their households and conduct business.

Sparta (Continued)

Spartan men were not allowed to do any manual labor outside of their job as soldiers. Slaves were used to do the manual labor.

Spartans were expected to fight to the death.Sparta defeated Athens in the Peloponnesian

War (431 to 404 B.C.)Sparta’s dominance only lasted until 371 B.C.

when it was defeated by the city-state of Thebes.