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HIST 3120: ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN WORLD
MIDTERM #2 STUDY GUIDE
Date: 6 November 2017 (M), 11:00-11:50 am
Please bring: a Blue Book
Format: for this exam, you will be provided with a test bank of 8 terms. You are
expected to select 4 terms from the test bank, and write a full paragraph describing
each term’s historical significance as completely as possible in 5-6 sentences. You
will have the entire class period to complete the exam. The test bank will be drawn
from the terms below. Please use this list to guide your studies. The best IDs are
comprehensive, assessing the who, what, where, when, and why of the term while
also citing other relevant terminology from this course.
Grading: 4 short answer IDs at 5 points each = 20 possible points.
On Wednesday, November 1 at 1:00pm, I will host a 1 hour study session in the
quad area behind Bizzini Hall (weather permitting). To use that time most
effectively, please review this guide before then and bring your questions.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss this exam, please email me or
schedule an appointment. Happy studying!
Minoans-The earliest European civilization, the Minoan, developed on the
mountainous Aegean island of Crete c. 2000 BC. Named for Minos, a legendary king
of Crete, the Minoan civilization flourished for over 500 years until it was brought to
a sudden end by invaders from Greece. The Minoans are famous for their lavish
palaces with their vibrant wall paintings. The use of colour, pattern and dynamic
movement in Minoan art makes it distinct from that of other Mediterranean
cultures.
Mycenaeans-War was central to Mycenean society. Mycenaean warriors used
chariots as battlefield transport, dismounting to fight on foot with spear, sword and
dagger. For protection they used large, ok hide shields, distinctive helmets covered
with boars teeth and, rarely, crude bronze armour. Mycenaean towns had strong
walls built of massive stone blocks, bastioned gateways and tunnels to underground
springs that provided secure water supplies when under siege.
Palace complexes: Knossos-The palaces were complicated structures consisting of
a honeycomb of residential and storage rooms designed around a large courtyard.
The well-constructed palaces varied considerably in size; Knosos, for example,
covered more than 185 acres, with a population of about 12,000. The lower courses
of the walls consisted of stone and the upper generally of mud brick with timber
reinforcements to help resist earthquake shocks, which were common in Crete.
Illumination for the inner rooms was provided through light wells, and drainage and

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water supplies were good. Oil. Wine, and grain were stored in huge jars, and goods
such as clothes were kept in lead-lined stone chests.
King Minos- Famous in Greek myth for his palace with its maze (the labyrinth) and
its inmate, the Minotaur, the half-man, half-bull offspring of his adulterous wife.
King Minos was the son of Zeus.
Linear A/Linear B- Linear A is one of two writing systems used in ancient
Greece (Cretan hieroglyphic is the other). Linear A was the primary script used in
palace and religious writings of the Minoan civilization. It was discovered by
archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans. It is the origin of the Linear B script, which was later
used by the Mycenaean civilization.
In the 1950s, Linear B was largely deciphered and found to encode an early form of
Greek. Although the two systems share many symbols, this did not lead to a
subsequent decipherment of Linear A.
Megaron-The megaron was the great hall in the typical Mycenaean palace. It focus
was a central hearth. It was entered through a wide, columned portico from a
courtyard. The megaron served as a central meeting place where the king could
hold court, receive reports, give banquets, and generally conduct public business.
Tholos tombs-We know of about a dozen Tholos (vaulted) tombs scattered from
Thessaly to the Peloponnese, but few have been found intact. Three tombs-Vaphio,
Myrsinochorion, and Dendra—supply the bulk of the remains, including the usual
arsenal of weapons, with the addition of something that had not been found before:
a bronze cuirass with greaves and a boar-tusk helmet with metal cheek pieces. The
Vaphio tomb also contained a hoard of beautiful gems and gold drinking cups.
Hero of Lefkandi-The archaeological significance of the site of Lefkandi was
revealed in 1980[2]when a large mound was discovered to contain the remains of a
man and a woman within a large structure called by some a hērōön (Greek, Ancient
(to 1453): ἡρῷον) or "hero's grave." There is some dispute as to whether the
structure was in fact a hērōön built to commemorate a hero or whether it was
instead the grave of a couple who were locally important for other reasons. This
monumental building, built c 950 BC, 50 meters long and 13.8 meters wide, with a
wooden verandah, foreshadows the temple architecture that started to appear with
regularity some two centuries later.[3]
One of the bodies in the grave had been cremated, the ashes being wrapped in a
fringed linen cloth then stored in a bronze amphora from Cyprus. The amphora was
engraved with a hunting scene and placed within a still larger bronze bowl. A sword
and other grave goods were nearby. It is believed that the ashes were those of a
man.

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The woman's body was not cremated. Instead, she was buried alongside a wall and
adorned with jewelry, including a ring of electrum, a Bronze braziere, and
a gorget believed to have come from Babylonia and already a thousand years old
when it was buried. An iron knife with an ivory handle was found near her shoulder.
It is unknown whether this woman was buried contemporaneously with the man's
remains, or at a later date. Scholars have suggested that the woman was slaughtered
to be buried with the man, possibly her husband, in a practice reminiscent of the
Indian custom of sati. Other scholars have pointed to the lack of conclusive evidence
for sati in this instance, suggesting instead that this woman may have been an
important person in the community in her own right, who was interred with the
man's ashes after her own death.
Four horses appear to have been sacrificed and were included in the grave. Two of
them were found with iron bits still in their mouths.
Archaic Age-The Archaic Age in Greece refers to the years between 750 and 480
B.C., more particularly from 620 to 480 B.C. The age is defined through the
development of art at this time, specifically through the style of pottery and
sculpture, showing the specific characteristics that would later be developed into
the more naturalistic style of the Classical period. The Archaic is one of five periods
that Ancient Greek history can be divided into; it was preceded by the Dark Ages
and followed by the Classical period. The Archaic period saw advancements in
political theory, especially the beginnings of democracy, as well as in culture and art.
Polis society (plural: poleis) -Greek for “city-state.” The polis consisted of a
defined group of citizens, a demarcated territory, and generally some kind of urban
center. The average polis was a small (no more than 700 to 1000 households), self-
governing, self-perpetuating corporation. A polis may also have had many
noncitizen legal aliens (metics) and slaves. An estimated 1,500 polies were present
in the Hellenic world.
Democracy v Tyranny-DemocracyA strongly egalitarian (everyone equal) form of
constitution in which power was calculated arithmetically, no geometrically. The
rich, the powerful, the educated did not have proportionately more power precisely
because of these qualities, as was the case in oligarchies. All male citizens had equal
voting right and equal access to office. Democracies were characterized by the use
of the lot in the selection of officials. VS, Tyranny a government in which
absolute power is vested in a single ruler;especially :one characteristic of
an ancient Greek city-state
Hesiod’s Theogony- Hesiod's Theogony is a large-scale synthesis of a vast variety
of local Greek traditions concerning the gods, organized as a narrative that tells how
they came to be and how they established permanent control over the Cosmos. It is
the first Greek mythicalcosmogony. The initial state of the universe is chaos, a dark
indefinite void considered a divine primordial condition from which everything else
appeared. Theogonies are a part of Greek mythology which embodies the desire to

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articulate reality as a whole; this universalizing impulse was fundamental for the
first later projects of speculative theorizing.
Chronos- the leader and youngest of the first generation of Titans, the divine
descendants of Uranus, the sky, and Gaia, the earth. He overthrew his father and
ruled during the mythological Golden Age, until he was overthrown by his own
son Zeus and imprisoned in Tartarus.
Zeus- the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, who ruled as king of the
gods of Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child of Cronus and Rhea, the youngest of his
siblings to be born, though sometimes reckoned the eldest as the others required
disgorging from Cronus's stomach. In most traditions, he is married to Hera, by
whom he is usually said to have fathered Ares, Hebe, and Hephaestus.
Demeter- in Greek religion, daughter of the deities Cronus and Rhea, sister and
consort of Zeus (the king of the gods), and goddess of agriculture. Her name
indicates that she is a mother. The legend of Demeter centred on the story of her
daughter Persephone, who was carried off by Hades, the god of the underworld.
Demeter went in search of Persephone and, during her journey, revealed her secret
rites to the people of Eleusis, who had hospitably received her (see Eleusinian
Mysteries). Her distress at her daughter’s disappearance was said to have diverted
her attention from the harvest and caused a famine. In addition to Zeus, Demeter
had a lover, Iasion (a Cretan), to whom she bore Plutus (Wealth; i.e., abundant
produce of the soil).
Hestia-Zeus’ sister. Hestia is a goddess of the first Olympian generation. She was
the eldest daughter of the Titans Rhea and Cronus, and sister
to Zeus, Poseidon, Demeter, Hera, and Hades. Immediately after their birth, Cronus
swallowed all his children (Hestia was the first who was swallowed) except the last
and youngest, Zeus, who forced Cronus to disgorge his siblings and led them in a
war against their father and the other Titans.[10] As "first to be devoured . . . and the
last to be yielded up again", Hestia was thus both the eldest and youngest daughter.
Zeus assigns Hestia a duty to feed and maintain the fires of the Olympian hearth
with the fatty, combustible portions of animal sacrifices to the gods.[13] Wherever
food was cooked, or an offering was burnt, she thus had her share of honour; also, in
all the temples of the gods she has a share of honour. "Among all mortals she was
chief of the goddesses"
Hades- In Greek mythology, Hades is both the land of the dead and the god
who rules there. Hades the god (who the Greeks also called Pluto) is the
brother of Zeus and Poseidon, who rule the skies and the seas. The realm
called Hades, where he rules with his wife Persephone, is the region under
the earth, full of mineral wealth and fertility and home to dead
souls. Hades today is sometimes used as a polite term for Hell ("It's hotter
than Hades in here!")

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Poseidan- Poseidon was the second son of titans Cronus and Rhea. In most
accounts he is swallowed by Cronus at birth but later saved, with his other brothers
and sisters, by Zeus.Homer and Hesiod suggest that Poseidon became lord of the sea
following the defeat of his father Kronos, when the world was divided by lot among
his three sons; Zeus was given the sky, Hades the underworld, and Poseidon the sea,
with the Earth and Mount Olympus belonging to all three.
Sparta-Sparta’s polis constitution was the earliest and most radical to appear.
Conquered Messenia and made it’s people Helots or slaves of the state. The Helots
did all of the work. Spartan children were raised by the state. Males were groomed
for war beginning at age seven. Around 650 BC, it rose to become the dominant
military land-power in ancient Greece. Given its military pre-eminence, Sparta was
recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-
Persian Wars.[2] Between 431 and 404 BC, Sparta was the principal enemy
of Athensduring the Peloponnesian War,[3] from which it emerged victorious.
Helots- Helots were coerced laborers bound to the land. Helots belonged to the
state and could not be bought or sold by individual Spartans. Helots were
frequently the descendants of the original inhabitants conquered by their neighbors
or in some previous invasion.
Hoplites-In Greece, heavily armed and armored members of the infantry phalanx.
Hoplites supplied their own arms and armor. They came from the core, land-
owning, citizen farming classes of the polis, or city-state, and were the key to its
survival. Over time, the weight of armor was reduced, and hoplites became more
mobile and the phalanx more flexible.
Phalanx- The tactical formation of the hoplite infantry. It consisted of hoplites in
ranks of eight-deep armed with thrusting spears and shields. The phalanx in some
form or another was the dominant military unit from the seventh century B.C. to the
fall of the Roman Empire.
Athens-was the major urban center of the notable polis (city-state) of the same
name, located in Attica, Greece, leading the Delian League in the Peloponnesian
War against Sparta and the Peloponnesian League. Resentment by other cities at the
domination of Athens led to the Peloponnesian War in 431, which pitted Athens and
her increasingly rebellious sea empire against a coalition of land-based states led
by Sparta. The conflict marked the end of Athenian command of the sea. The war
between Athens and the city-state Sparta ended with an Athenian defeat after
Sparta started its own navy.
Solon- Established the Counsel of 500. In 594 B.C Solon ended exclusive aristocratic
control of the government, substituted a system of control by the wealthy, and
introduced a new and more humane law code. Solon sought to convince both rich

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and poor that disobedience to the law was fatal to everyone and inevitably led to the
establishment of tyranny, which subjected all of society to arbitrary government. He
was also a noted poet.
Council of 500- In Ancient Greece, particularly Athens, the Boule (Council of 500)
was an assembly of citizens that were selected to run the day to day affairs of the
city-state. The members of the Boule were chosen by lot, and their terms lasted one
year. The Boule of Athens was established by Solon in 594 B.C., with 400 members.
It was expanded to 500 members, 50 men from each of the ten tribes of Athens, by
Kleisthenes in 508 B.C.The Boule met in the Bouleterion
Acropolis / Parthenon- The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on
an extremely rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of
several ancient buildings of great architectural and historic significance, the most
famous being the Parthenon. it was Pericles (c. 495 – 429 BC) in the fifth century BC
who coordinated the construction of the site's most important buildings including
the Parthenon
Pythagoras- was an IonianGreek philosopher, mathematician, and putative founder
of the Pythagoreanism movement. He is often revered as a
great mathematician and scientist and is best known for the Pythagorean theorem
which bears his name. Discovered a relationship between musical harmonies and
numerical ratios.
Pythagoreans- Pythagorean philosophy was the prime source of inspiration for
Plato and Aristotle; the influence of these philosophers is without question
immeasurable. The school of Pythagoras was every bit as much a religion as a
school of mathematics. For example, here are some of the rules:
 To abstain from beans.
 Not to pick up what has fallen.
 Not to touch a white cock.
 Not to stir the fire with iron.

 Do not look in a mirror beside a light.
Vegetarianism was strictly practiced probably because Pythagoras preached
the transmigration of souls .
The school of Pythagoras represents the mystic tradition in contrast with the
scientific!!
Indeed, Pythagoras regarded himself as a mystic and even semi-divine. Said
Pythagoras

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"There are men, gods, and men like Pythagoras."
It is likely that Pythagoras was a charasmatic.
Life in the Pythagorean society was more-or-less egalitarian.
 The Pythagorean school regarded men and women equally.
 They enjoyed a common way of life.
 Property was communal.
 Even mathematical discoveries were communal and by association
attributed to Pythagoras himself -- even from the grave. Hence, exactly
what Pythagoras discovered personally is difficult to ascertain.
Thales of Miletus-A Greek philosopher, He is remembered primarily for
his cosmology based on water as the essence of all matter, with the Earth a flat disk
floating on a vast sea. Thales’ significance lies less in his choice of water as the
essential substance than in his attempt to explain nature by the simplification of
phenomena and in his search for causes within nature itself rather than in
the caprices of anthropomorphic gods.
Anaxomander- Greek philosopher who was the first to develop a cosmology, or
systematic philosophical view of the world.Anaximander is said to have been a pupil
or associate of the Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus and to have written about
astronomy, geography, and the nature of things.
Ionia- During the period of the 8th and 7th centuries down to about 500 BC, Ionic
rational thought dominated the intellectual life of Greece. Hecataeus of
Miletus pioneered the Greeks’ study of geography. His city, Miletus, was the
birthplace of natural philosophy in the persons of Thales and Anaximander, and
Ionians at home and overseas (Heraclitus, Pythagoras, and Parmenides) would lay
the foundations of Greek philosophy. Around 334 BCE, Alexander the
Great marched down into Ionia, offering the Greek cities democratic self-
governance under his protectorate. Most cities opened their gates without
resistance and enjoyed a new era of prosperity during the Hellenistic period, but
none of them restored their previous splendour. Miletus refused Alexander’s offer
and was finally levelled after a long siege and was never restored to its previous
status as a leading city. The region then became part of the Seleucid, and later of the
Attalid, Kingdom.
Thucydides- Thucydides was an Athenian historian and general. His History of the
Peloponnesian War recounts the 5th-century BC war between Sparta and Athens
until the year 411 BC. His account of the war is considered one of the greatest
histories ever written and one of the finest pieces of intellectual analysis of all time.

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The Melian Dialogue- The Melian Dialogue by Thucydides is a classic that
describes the overpowering Classical Realist view on international politics. In this
dialogue between the Athenians and the Melians, the Athenians have come to this
island to take over the Melians. Fortunately, the Athenians have sent
representatives to the Melian council to give them the option of either being a
tribute-paying state of Athens, or to be destroyed. However, the Melian people are
trying to convince the Athenians to understand the principle that their people are
neutral to the whole Athens vs. Sparta Conflict. The Melians, during this conflict,
explain to the Athenians that if they attack their country many terrible
repercussions will ensue from the Athenians attacking a neutral country. The island
of Milos had stayed neutral during the Peloponnesian war, refusing to become a
subject of Athens. As the war progressed, though, Athens encroached upon the
island which responded with open hostility. In 416 BC, Athens sent Cleomedes and
Tisias as commanders to bring Melos under Athenian control, whether through
submission or other means. In the end, the Melians decided to defend their nation-
state against the Athenians Army and Navy. The Melians eventually do lose the
battle and were tragically not aided by the Spartans. In the end, the Classical
Realism theory of international politics did win this battle. However, the Melians
ideas and beliefs do bear some weight to the absolute gain of a nation.
Greco-Persian War- Persian conquest of Asia Minor 546 B.C, Ioanian Rebellion
499-494 B.C, Battle of Lade and destruction of Miletus 494 B.C, Battle of Marathon
490 B.C., Invasion of Xerxes 480 B.B, Battles of Thermopylae, Artemisium, and
Salamis 480 B.C., Battles of Plataea and Mycale 479 B.C.,
Also called Persian Wars, (492–449 BCE), a series of wars fought by Greek states
and Persia over a period of almost half a century. The fighting was most intense
during two invasions that Persia launched against mainland Greece between 490
and 479. Although the Persian empire was at the peak of its strength,
the collective defense mounted by the Greeks overcame seemingly impossible odds
and even succeeded in liberating Greek city-states on the fringe of Persia itself. The
Greek triumph ensured the survival of Greek cultureand political structures long
after the demise of the Persian empire.
Battle of Marathon (490 BCE)In this battle of the Greco-Persian Wars, the
Athenians, in a single afternoon, repulsed the first Persian invasion of Greece.
Western historians have traditionally represented Marathon as a crucial victory for
European civilization over Asiatic oppressive exercise of power. Command of the
hastily assembled Athenian army was vested in 10 generals, each of whom was to
hold operational command for one day. The generals were evenly divided on
whether to await the Persians or to attack them, and the tie was broken by a civil
official, Callimachus, who decided in favour of an attack. Miltiades ordered a general
attack upon the Persian infantry. In the ensuing battle, Miltiades led his contingent
of 10,000 Athenians and 1,000 Plataeans to victory over the Persian force of 15,000
by reinforcing his battle line’s flanks and thus decoying the Persians’ best troops
into pushing back his centre, where they were surrounded by the inward-wheeling

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Greek wings. On being almost enveloped, the Persian troops broke into flight. By the
time the routed Persians reached their ships, they had lost 6,400 men; the Greeks
lost 192 men, including Callimachus. The battle proved the superiority of the Greek
long spear, sword, and armour over the Persians’ weapons. According to legend, an
Athenian messenger was sent from Marathon to Athens, a distance of about 25 miles
(40 km), and there he announced the Persian defeat before dying of exhaustion. This
tale became the basis for the modern marathon race.
Battle of Salamis (480 BCE) battle in the Greco-Persian Wars in which a Greek fleet
defeated much larger Persian naval forces in the straits at Salamis, between the
island of Salamis and the Athenian port-city of Piraeus. By 480 the Persian
king Xerxesand his army had overrun much of Greece, and his navy of about 800
galleys bottled up the smaller Greek fleet of about 370 triremes in the Saronic Gulf.
The Greek commander, Themistocles, then lured the Persian fleet into the narrow
waters of the strait at Salamis, where the massed Persian ships had difficulty
maneuvering. The Greek triremes then attacked furiously, ramming or sinking many
Persian vessels and boarding others. The Greeks sank about 300 Persian vessels
while losing only about 40 of their own. The rest of the Persian fleet was scattered,
and as a result Xerxes had to postpone his planned land offensives for a year, a delay
that gave the Greek city-states time to unite against him. The Battle of Salamis was
the first great naval battle recorded in history.
Trireme ships-The main battleship of Greek and other fleets in the classical period. The
trireme was propelled by three backs of oars arranged in outriggers. They could reach
speed of nine knots. A trireme had a complement of 200, consisting of 180 rowers and
20 marines and officers. The ship functioned as a mobile ram. It was the devastating
warship which permitted Athens to build her maritime empire and dominate
the Aegean in the 5th century BCE.
Battle of Thermopylae (480 BCE) In the Battle of Thermopylae of 480 B.C.E.[1] an
alliance of Greek city-states fought the invading Persian army at the pass of
Thermopylae. Vastly outnumbered, the Greeks delayed the enemy in one of the most
famous last stands of history. A small force led by King Leonidas of Sparta blocked
the only road through which the massive army of Xerxes I could pass. The Persians
succeeded in defeating the Greeks but sustained heavy losses, incredibly
disproportionate to those of the Greeks. A local resident named Ephialtes betrayed
the Greeks, revealing a mountain path that led behind the Greek lines. Dismissing
the rest of the army, King Leonidas stayed behind with 300 Spartans, 400 Thebans,
and 700 Thespian volunteers. Though they knew it meant their own deaths, they
secured the retreat of the other Greek forces.
The losses of the Persian army alarmed Xerxes. When his navy was later defeated at
Salamis he fled Greece, leaving only part of his force to finish the conquest of the
nation. That force was defeated at the Battle of Plataea.

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The Battle of Thermopylae can be understood in terms of an "us" and "them"
polarity that suggests an East-West dichotomy, with the West representing order,
self-restraint, and freedom while the East represents the opposite. In this process,
Xerxes was "an ideal person to be chosen as an example of Asian despotism and
excessive hubris."
King Leonidas- Leonidas (c. 530-480 B.C.) was a king of the city-state of Sparta
from about 490 B.C. until his death at the Battle of Thermopylae against the Persian
army in 480 B.C. Although Leonidas lost the battle, his death at Thermopylae was
seen as a heroic sacrifice because he sent most of his army away when he realized
that the Persians had outmaneuvered him. Three hundred of his fellow Spartans
stayed with him to fight and die. Almost everything that is known about Leonidas
comes from the work of the Greek historian Herodotus (c. 484-c. 425 B.C.).
Plataea- The Battle of Plataea was the final land battle during the second Persian
invasion of Greece. It took place in 479 BC near the city of Plataea in Boeotia, and
was fought between an alliance of the Greek city-
states (including Sparta, Athens, Corinth and Megara), and the Persian
Empire of Xerxes I.
Xerxes- Persian king (486-465 BC), the son and successor of Darius I. He is best
known for his massive invasion of Greece from across the Hellespont (480 BC), a
campaign marked by the battles of Thermopylae, Salamis, and Plataea. His ultimate
defeat spelled the beginning of the decline of the Achaemenid Empire.
Peloponnesian Wars- were ancient Greek wars fought by the Delian League led
by Athens against the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. The Peloponnesian War
reshaped the ancient Greek world. On the level of international relations, Athens,
the strongest city-state in Greece prior to the war's beginning, was reduced to a
state of near-complete subjection, while Sparta became established as the leading
power of Greece. The economic costs of the war were felt all across Greece; poverty
became widespread in the Peloponnese, while Athens found itself completely
devastated, and never regained its pre-war prosperity.[2][3] The war also wrought
subtler changes to Greek society; the conflict between democratic Athens
and oligarchic Sparta, each of which supported friendly political factions within
other states, made civil war a common occurrence in the Greek world.
Delian League- Several Ionian cities joined together in the Delian League for
mutual protection against the Persians. They placed Athens at the head (as
hegemon) because of her naval supremacy. This free confederation (symmachia) of
autonomous cities, founded in 478 B.C., consisted of representatives, an admiral,
and treasurers appointed by Athens. It was called the Delian League because its
treasury was located at Delos.

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Peloponnesian League- military coalition of Greek city-states led by Sparta,
formed in the 6th century BC. League policy, usually decisions on questions of war,
peace, or alliance, was determined by federal congresses, summoned by the
Spartans when they thought fit; each member state had one vote. The league was a
major force in Greek affairs, forming the nucleus of resistance to the Persian
invasions (480–479) and fighting against Athens in the Peloponnesian War (431–
404). Spartan power declined after the defeat at Leuctra (371), and the league
disintegrated in 366–365 BC.
Megaran Decrees- The Megarian Decree was a set of economic sanctions levied
upon Megara c. 432 BC by the Athenian Empire shortly before the outbreak of
the Peloponnesian War. The ostensible reason for the Decree was the Megarians'
supposed trespass on land sacred to Demeter (known as the Hiera Orgas), the killing
of the Athenian herald who was sent to their city to reproach them, and giving
shelter to slaves who had fled from Athens. In all likelihood, it was an act of revenge
by the Athenians for the treacherous behaviour of the Megarians some years earlier.
It may have been a deliberate provocation towards Sparta on the part of Pericles,
who was the sponsor of the decree. The decree banned Megarians from harbours
and marketplaces throughout the large Athenian Empire, allegedly strangling the
Megarian economy.
Archidamus II-King of Sparta from about 469. attempted without success to
prevent the outbreak of war with Athens (Peloponnesian War, 431–404).
Archidamus led the Spartan invasions of Attica in 431, 430, and 428 and a campaign
against Plataea in 429.
Aegospotami 405 BCE- The naval Battle of Aegospotami took place in 405 BC and
was the last major battle of the Peloponnesian War. In the battle, a Spartan fleet
under Lysander destroyed the Athenian navy. This effectively ended the war, since
Athens could not import grain or communicate with its empire without control of
the sea.
Classical Period- The term “classical Greece” refers to the period between the
Persian Wars at the beginning of the fifth century B.C. and the death of Alexander
the Great in 323 B.C. The classical period was an era of war and conflict—first
between the Greeks and the Persians, then between the Athenians and the
Spartans—but it was also an era of unprecedented political and cultural
achievement. Besides the Parthenon and Greek tragedy, classical Greece brought us
the historian Herodotus, the physician Hippokrates and the philosopher Socrates. It
also brought us the political reforms that are ancient Greece’s most enduring
contribution to the modern world: the system known as demokratia, or “rule by the
people.”
Pericles- The so-called golden age of Athenian culture flourished under the
leadership of Pericles (495-429 B.C.), a brilliant general, orator, patron of the arts
and politician—”the first citizen” of democratic Athens, according to the historian

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Thucydides. Pericles transformed his city’s alliances into an empire and graced its
Acropolis with the famous Parthenon. His policies and strategies also set the stage
for the devastating Peloponnesian War, which would embroil all Greece in the
decades following his death.
Sophists- The Sophists were educated men who, for a price, would teach the youth
the art of rhetoric or politics and the trappings of culture (it is from Sophist that we
have the word sophisticated). Although looked down upon by Plato the Sophists
provided a valuable service to the aristocracy of Athens, especially in that they
claimed to be able to provide young men with the sort of education that would give
them advantage in Athenian politics and commerce. In his Apology, Plato
has Socrates scorn this practice saying how public education in Athens could
produce the same results as the Sophists do far more easily and cheaply.
Protagoras of Abdera (485-415 BCE)- thinker and teacher, the first and most
famous of the Greek Sophists. Protagoras spent most of his life at Athens, where he
considerably influenced contemporary thought on moral and political questions. He
is best known for his dictum “Man is the measure of all things.” This was interpreted
by Plato to mean that there is no absolute truth, but that which individuals deem to
be the truth.
Physis/Nomos debate- Physis is the ancient Greek word for "nature," cognate with
the verb "to grow" (phuein ); as in English, it can be used both for the natural world
as a whole and for the "nature" (i.e., the essential or intrinsic characteristics) of any
particular thing, which it has "by nature" (phusei ). Nomos encompasses both law
and unwritten, traditional social convention. The contrast between the two concepts
is central to ancient sophistic thought, with roots in the pre-Socratic inquiry into the
underlying natures of things. For the Sophists, nomos and phusis are polar terms,
roughly equivalent (respectively) to the socially constructed and the universally,
objectively given. The contrast was most strikingly applied in relation to justice.
Antiphon's On Truth argues that justice is a matter of nomos, and nomos and phusis
conflict; one should observe the requirements of justice when there are witnesses,
but follow the dictates of nature otherwise. By "nature," Antiphon seems to
understand what is physiologically given to all humans (Greeks and barbarians
alike). By following it one gains what is advantageous to one's existence: life,
pleasure, and freedom.
Socrates (470-399 BCE)- Viewed by many as the founding figure of Western
philosophy, Socrates (469-399 B.C.) is at once the most exemplary and the
strangest of the Greek philosophers. He grew up during the golden age of Pericles’
Athens, served with distinction as a soldier, but became best known as a questioner
of everything and everyone. His style of teaching—immortalized as the Socratic
Method—involved not conveying knowledge but rather asking question after
clarifying question until his students arrived at their own understanding. He wrote
nothing himself, so all that is known about him is filtered through the writings of a

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few contemporaries and followers, most of all, his student Plato. He was accused of
corrupting the youth of Athens and sentenced to death. Choosing not to flee, he
spent his final days in the company of his friends before drinking the executioner’s
cup of poisonous hemlock. His family apparently had the moderate wealth required
to launch Socrates’ career as a hoplite (foot soldier). As an infantryman, Socrates
showed great physical endurance and courage, rescuing the future Athenian leader
Alcibiades during the siege of Potidaea in 432 B.C. Through the 420s, Socrates was
deployed for several battles in the Peloponnesian War, but also spent enough time
in Athens to become known and beloved by the city’s youth. In 423 he was
introduced to the broader public as a caricature in Aristophanes’ play “Clouds,”
which depicted him as an unkempt buffoon whose philosophy amounted to
teaching rhetorical tricks for getting out of debt. One of the greatest paradoxes that
Socrates helped his students explore was whether weakness of will—doing wrong
when you genuinely knew what was right—ever truly existed. He seemed to think
otherwise: people only did wrong when at the moment the perceived benefits
seemed to outweigh the costs. Thus the development of personal ethics is a matter
of mastering what he called “the art of measurement,” correcting the distortions
that skew one’s analyses of benefit and cost.
Socrates was also deeply interested in understanding the limits of human
knowledge. When he was told that the Delphic oracle had declared that he was the
wisest man in Athens, Socrates balked until he realized that, although he knew
nothing, he was (unlike his fellow citizens) keenly aware of his own ignorance.
One of the greatest paradoxes that Socrates helped his students explore was
whether weakness of will—doing wrong when you genuinely knew what was
right—ever truly existed. He seemed to think otherwise: people only did wrong
when at the moment the perceived benefits seemed to outweigh the costs. Thus the
development of personal ethics is a matter of mastering what he called “the art of
measurement,” correcting the distortions that skew one’s analyses of benefit and
cost.
Socrates was also deeply interested in understanding the limits of human
knowledge. When he was told that the Delphic oracle had declared that he was the
wisest man in Athens, Socrates balked until he realized that, although he knew
nothing, he was (unlike his fellow citizens) keenly aware of his own ignorance.
Plato (427-347 BCE)- ancient Greek philosopher, student of Socrates (c. 470–
399 BCE), teacher of Aristotle (384–322 BCE), and founder of the Academy, best
known as the author of philosophical works of unparalleled influence. Plato wrote
The Republic. Plato’s family was aristocratic and distinguished: his father’s side
claimed descent from the god Poseidon, and his mother’s side was related to the

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lawgiver Solon (c. 630–560 BCE). The works of Plato commonly referred to as
“Socratic” represent the sort of thing the historical Socrates was doing. He would
challenge men who supposedly had expertise about some facet of human excellence
to give accounts of these matters—variously of courage, piety, and so on, or at times
of the whole of “virtue”—and they typically failed to maintain their position.
The Republic- a Socratic dialogue, written by Plato around 380 BC,
concerning justice, the order and character of the just city-state and the just
man.[2] It is Plato's best-known work, and has proven to be one of the world's most
influential works of philosophy and political theory, both intellectually and
historically.[3][4]
In the book's dialogue, Socrates discusses the meaning of justice and whether or not
the just man is happier than the unjust man with various Athenians and
foreigners.[5]They consider the natures of existing regimes and then propose a series
of different, hypothetical cities in comparison. This culminates in the discussion of
Kallipolis (Καλλίπολις), a hypothetical city-state ruled by a philosopher king. They
also discuss the theory of forms, the immortalityof the soul, and the role of the
philosopher and that of poetry in society.[6] The dialogues may have taken place
during the Peloponnesian War.[7]
Aristotle- In 342 Aristotle was summoned to Macedonia by King Philip II to tutor
his son, the future Alexander the Great. Founded the philosophical school at the
Lyceum. The group of scholars who followed the Aristotelian doctrine came to be
known as the Peripatetics due to Aristotle’s tendency to walk as he taught.
Sophocles- One of classical Athens’ three great tragic playwrights. The best known
of his 123 dramas is Oedipus the King. In 442 he served as one of the treasurers
responsible for receiving and managing tribute money from Athens’ subject-allies in
the Delian League. Sophocles’ last recorded act was to lead a chorus in public
mourning for his deceased rival, Euripides, before the festival of 406. He died that
same year.
Euripides- Last of classical Athens’s three great tragic dramatists,
following Aeschylus and Sophocles. My favorite work by Euripides is Madea.
Considered shocking to Euripides'contemporaries, Medea and the suite of plays that
it accompanied in the City Dionysia festival came last in the festival that
year.[1] Nonetheless the play remained part of the tragedic repertoire, and
experienced renewed interest with the emergence of the feminist movement,
because of its nuanced and sympathetic portrayal of Medea's struggle to take charge
of her own life in a male-dominated world. The play has remained the most
frequently performed Greek tragedy through the 20th century.
Philip II of Macedon-Father of Alexander the Great. Took kingship for himself after
his brothers died. He reorganized the Macedonian army. Tightened Phalanx, gave

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them uniforms and made them professional soldiers. Captured Amphipolis and
acquired its’ gold and silver mines. Called Alexander a brat.
Alexander of Macedon (Alexander the Great)- son of Philip II, King of Macedonia,
and Olympias, the princess of neighboring Epirus. Alexander the Great overthrew the
Persian Empire. He took Egypt from the Persians in 332 BC and made it a part of the the
Greek Empire. Defeated Darius III at Battle of Issos. Laid the foundations for the
Hellenistic world of territorial kingdoms. From age 13 to 16 he was taught
by Aristotle, who inspired him with an interest in philosophy, medicine,
and scientific investigation.
Delphi (and the oracle of Delphi)- The oracle at Delphi is a figure of great
historical importance that was, and still is, shrouded in mystery. She spoke for the
god Apollo and answered questions for the Greeks and foreign inquirers about
colonization, religion, and power. By her statements Delphi was made a wealthy
and powerful city-state. The oracle was at the height of power around 1600 B.C.
when Greece was colonizing the Mediterranean and Black Seas (Hale), but was
stationed in Delphi from 1400 B.C. to 381 A.D.(Roach). Despite her long tenure it is
still debated today how she received the words from Apollo, weather by
hallucination or suggestion.
Battle of Chaeronea (338 BCE)-battle in Boeotia, central Greece, in which Philip
II of Macedonia defeated a coalition of Greek city-states led by Thebes and Athens.
The victory, partly credited to Philip’s 18-year-old son Alexander the Great,
cemented the Macedonian hegemony in Greece and ended effective military
resistance to Philip in the region.
Battle of the Granicus (334 BCE)- The Battle of the Granicus River in May 334
BC was the first of three major battles fought between Alexander the Great and
the Persian Empire. Fought in Northwestern Asia Minor, near the site of Troy, it was
here that Alexander defeated the forces of the Persian satraps of Asia Minor,
including a large force of Greek mercenaries led by Memnon of Rhodes.
Hellenistic Period- In 336 B.C., Alexander the Great became the leader of the
Greek kingdom of Macedonia. By the time he died 13 years later, Alexander
had built an empire that stretched from Greece all the way to India. That brief
but thorough empire-building campaign changed the world: It spread Greek
ideas and culture from the Eastern Mediterranean to Asia. Historians call this
era the “Hellenistic period.” (The word “Hellenistic” comes from the word
Hellazein, which means “to speak Greek or identify with the Greeks.”) It
lasted from the death of Alexander in 323 B.C. until 31 B.C., when Roman
troops conquered the last of the territories that the Macedonian king had
once ruled.
Alexandria- fortified port built by Alexander the Great. Following Alexander's
death, his generals divided his empire, each setting up their own kingdoms. One of

16. 16
them, Ptolemy, took Egypt as his share and made Alexandria his capital. It was
Under the Ptolemaic Dynasty that Alexandria became the cultural and economic
center of the ancient world. The Library at Alexandria was conceived largely as an
attempt to bring together in Alexandria the whole of the earlier Greek science, art,
and literature.
Persepolis (330 BCE)- After invading Achaemenid Persia in 330 BC, Alexander the
Great sent the main force of his army to Persepolis by the Royal Road.
He stormed the "Persian Gates", a pass through modern-day Zagros Mountains.
There Ariobarzanes of Persis successfully ambushed Alexander the Great's army,
inflicting heavy casualties. After being held off for 30 days, Alexander the Great
outflanked and destroyed the defenders. Ariobarzanes himself was killed either
during the battle or during the retreat to Persepolis. Some sources indicate that the
Persians were betrayed by a captured tribal chief who showed the Macedonians an
alternate path that allowed them to outflank Ariobarzanes in a reversal
of Thermopylae. After several months, Alexander allowed his troops to loot
Persepolis. Around that time, a fire burned "the palaces" or "the palace". The partial
burning of Persepolis did not affect what are now referred to as the Persepolis
Fortification Archive tablets
Ptolemaic Dynasty (Egypt)-The Ptolemaic dynasty was founded by Ptolemy son of
Lagus, a general of Alexander the Great. It was under the Ptolemaic Dynasty that
Alexandria truly became the cultural and economic center of the ancient world.
Egypt was ruled from Alexandria by Ptolemy's descendants until the death
of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC. The early Ptolemies raised the quality of Egyptian
agriculture by reclaiming cultivatable land through irrigation and introduced crops
such as cotton and better wine-producing grapes. In addition, they increased the
wealth of their population by increasing foreign trade, making more luxury goods
available to more people.
Seleucid Empire- Seleucus, one of Alexander’s leading generals, became satrap(governor)
of Babylonia in 321, twoyears after the death of Alexander. In the prolonged powerstruggle
between the former generals of Alexander for controlof the disintegrating empire, Seleucus
sided with Ptolemy I of Egypt against Antigonus I, Alexander’s successor on the Macedonian
throne, whohad forcedSeleucus out of Babylonia. In 312 Seleucus defeated Demetrius at
Gaza using troops supplied by Ptolemy,and with a smaller forcehe seized Babylonia that
same year, thereby founding the Seleucid kingdom, or empire. By 305, having consolidated
his powerover the kingdom, he began gradually to extend his domain eastward to the Indus
Riverand westwardto Syria and Anatolia, where he decisively defeated Antigonus at Ipsus
in 301. In 281 he annexed the Thracian Chersonesus. That same year, he was assassinated
by Ptolemy Ceraunus, the disgruntled son of Ptolemy I.
Religious syncretism (Serapis and Isis)-
is the combining of different beliefs, while blending practices of various schools of
thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally
discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thus

17. 17
asserting an underlying unity and allowing for an inclusive approach to other faiths.
Syncretism also occurs commonly in expressions of arts and culture, (known
as eclecticism) as well as politics (syncretic politics).
The Temple of Isis and Serapis was a double temple in Rome dedicated to the
Egyptian deities Isis and Serapis. Both temples were made up of a combination
of Egyptian and Hellenistic architectural styles. Much of the artwork decorating the
temples used motifs evoking Egypt, and they contained several genuinely Egyptian
objects, such as obelisks.