Key Figures and Concepts of Ancient Greek Civilization

Foundations of Ancient Greece

• The Ancient Greeks were excellent in poetry, politics, and philosophy.
• The Minoans were the earliest civilization in the vicinity of Greece.
• Mycenae: A fortress city surrounded by walls 10 feet thick and royal tombs.
• Homer: Blind poet and creator of the Iliad and Odyssey, two poems still widely read and admired.

Greek Mythology and Culture

• Zeus: King of the gods.
• Apollo: God of the sun.
• Poseidon: King of the sea.
• Agora: Marketplace, a busy place of commerce, conversation, and political debate.
• Gymnasium: Place of physical training and games of skill.
• Olympic Games: First held in 776 B.C. and conducted every 4 years in honor of Zeus.

Historical Figures and Leaders

• Darius I: Persian King.
• Leonidas: Spartan King.
• Pericles: Aristocrat who dominated Athens and brought Athenian democracy to its fullest; he died of a plague.
• Socrates: First philosopher to insist that morality or proper conduct is a part of philosophy.
• Plato: One of the greatest philosophers of all time.
• Alexander the Great: Became king at the age of twenty when his father, Philip II, was murdered.
• Aesop: One of the best-known Greek authors and writer of famous fables.
• Herodotus: Wrote a history of the Persian Wars.
• Thucydides: Wrote the literary masterpiece, History of the Peloponnesian War.

Government and Society

• Ignoble: People without a family religion.
• Monarchy: Form of government that means rule by one.
• Aristocracy: Form of government that means rule by the best.
• Oligarchy: Form of government that means rule by the rich, rather than one or many.
• Tyranny: A bad form of one-man rule.
• Democracy: Form of government that means rule by the many or the common people.
• Representative Democracy: People elect a few men who represent them in the government.
• Direct Democracy: People themselves make the big decisions of government directly rather than indirectly through representatives.

Conflict and Legacy

• Peloponnesian War: Sparta was the first to declare war, and Athens eventually surrendered.
• Parthenon: Beautiful temple of Athena.
• Greek Language: The most important legacy of the Greeks.