Ancient Greece Unit Study Guide
“Ancient Greece” Unit—Study Guide
Quarterly Test – 1/20 = Review Vocabulary, Review Geography and Review Essential Questions (Early Humans, Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China and Hebrews)
Greece Test – 1/29 = Greece Vocabulary, Greece Essential Questions and Review.
Part 1: Unit Vocabulary
1. *Monarchy- a system of government in which a King or Queen rules; Troy, Sparta; King Leonides of Sparta
2. *Direct Democracy- a system of government in which citizens vote directly on all decision of the government; it was practiced by Athens
3. *Citizen- a person who owes loyalty to a country; receives the responsibilities & the protections of its government
4. *Democracy- any system of government in which people rule themselves; it comes from the Greek word “demos”; people rule
5. Pericles- a famous leader of Athens; he helped strengthen democracy in Athens; encouraged people to take pride in their city
6. *Oligarchy- a system of government in which only a few people have power in the government; Sparta; like Communism today
7. *Tyrant- a leader who usually holds power through use of force; a dictator; usually a general or military leader
8. *City-State- a city and the surrounding countryside; how Greece was politically organized; polis is the Greek word for city; had their own Patron god; specialized in a craft; often at wat with each other.
9. *Acropolis- a hilltop fortress located in the middle of each city-state; the Agora (marketplace) was usually located near this site; (arch – high + polis – city)
10. Persian War- a war fought between the Greek city-states and the Persian Empire (499–449 BC); Greeks united and defeated the Persians; preserved Greek culture; Battle of Thermopylae (Movie 300 based on this battle).
11. *Peloponnesian War- a war fought between Athens and Sparta and their allies (431–404 BC); Sparta won; it severely weakened Greece; Macedonia was able to conquer Greek city-states.
12. Alliance- an agreement to work together; allies are people you can count on; city-states counted on alliances for protection.
13. *Philosophy- the study of thinking and existence; it asks fundamental questions like “What is right and wrong?”
Socrates- a Greek philosopher (470/469 – 399 BC); he was famous for teaching people by asking them questions; he was later condemned to death by poison; founder of Socratic Debate - a form of inquiry and discussion between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking.
Plato- he was a student of Socrates (424/423 – 348/347 BC); he founded the Academy for learning in Greece; he also wrote The Republic, a description of what he thought to be the perfect government
Aristotle- a Greek philosopher (384– 322BC); he was a student of Plato and emphasized reason; he was also the first known theater critic; and he taught Alexander the Great; founded the school the Lyceum.
14. *Hippocrates of Cos- a famous Greek doctor who began to successfully identify the causes of disease (460 – c. 370 BC); today, doctors take an oath (Hippocratic Oath) named after him in which they pledge to “first, do no harm” to their patients; father of modern medicine.
15. Euclid of Alexandria- a famous Greek mathematician (300s BCE); His book the Elements is one of the most influential works in the history of mathematics; the main textbook for teaching mathematics (especially geometry) from the 300s BCE until the late 19th or early 20th century
16. *Homer- one of the greatest poets in history who wrote the two epic (really big) poems the Iliad (about the Trojan War)and the Odyssey (King Odysseus of Ithica travels home from the Trojan War); 1200s-800s BCE (?);believed by the ancient Greeks to have been the first and greatest of the epic poets; author of the first known literature of Europe
17. *Mythology- a body of stories about gods and heroes that try to explain how the world works; main gods lived on Mt. Olympus; took human form; humans made in the image of the gods; worshiped with festivals, statues, the Olympic Games, etc.
18. Fables- short stories that teach the reader lessons about life or give advice on how to live; Aesop's Fables is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BCE.
19. *Alexander the Great- one of the most famous military commanders of all time (336 – 323 BCE); during his short reign, he conquered most of the known world at that time. Alexandria- a city built in Egypt by Alexander the Great (331 BCE); it was built in the Greek style and spread Greek ideas to Egypt; home to many scientists, mathematicians, inventors, etc; home to the Lighthouse of Alexandria and the ancient world’s largest library; the 2nd most important city after Rome.
20. *Hellenism- the word given to the spread of Greek ideas to other parts of the world during the reign of Alexander the Great; Hellenic is the branch of the Indo-European language that includes Greek; the Hellenistic period covers the period of the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire in 30 BCE.
21. *Import – goods or products entering a country; Rome imported Chinese silk; based on supply and demand.
22. *Export – goods or products leaving a country; Rome exported glass; based on supply and demand.
*** Indicates terms to be defined***
Part 2: Unit Essential Questions
1. Unit Essential Question: How does the legacy of ancient Greece continue to impact the modern world?
2. How did geography influence the development of Greek civilization?
3. What was the impact of government upon ancient Greek society?
4. How has classical Greek culture impacted our modern lives?
Unit Geography: You must be able to identify the following locations/geographic features on a world map.
1. North America 2. South America 3. Europe 4. Africa
5. Asia 6. Australia 7. Antarctica 8. Atlantic Ocean
9. Pacific Ocean 10. Indian Ocean 11. Arctic Ocean 12. Southern Ocean
13. Mediterranean Sea 14. Euphrates River 15. Persian Gulf 16. Mesopotamia
19. Egypt 20. Indian Subcontinent 21. Tigris River 22. Nile River
23. Equator 24. Prime Meridian 25. Red Sea 26. Arabian Sea 27. Bay of Bengal
28. Indus River 29. Ganges River 30. Himalayan Mountains 31. China
32. Yellow Sea 33. East China Sea 34. South China Sea 35. Huang He/Yellow River
36. Yangtze River 37. Israel 38. Dead Sea
Review Vocabulary: These vocabulary words were not part of this unit of study but were part of previous units of study. Questions on these vocabulary terms will appear on your next test.
1. Anthropologist - a scientist that specializes in the study of people and cultures
2. Archaeologist - a scientist that studies artifacts in order to learn about other cultures
3. Fossil - the preserved remains of something that was once alive
4. Artifact - an object that was made by people
5. Hunter-Gatherer - societies that get all of their food by hunting wild animals and gathering wild plants, seeds, fruits and nuts
6. Migrate/Migration – to move
7. Nomads/Nomadic Society – a society which has no permanent settlement
8. Agrarian/Agricultural Society - a type of society that raises livestock and farms crops
9. Fertile – capable to grow crops
10. Domesticate – the process of changing plants and animals to make them useful to humans
11. City-States – a city and surrounding countryside
12. Cuneiform – the world’s first system of writing made up of pictographs or picture symbols
13. Hammurabi’s Code – a set of 282 laws which dealt with almost every aspect of daily life
14. Silt-mixture of fertile soil and tiny rocks
15. Irrigation- supplying water to an area of land
16. Surplus- more than is needed
17. Division of Labor-workers specialize in a particular job or task
18. Social Hierarchy – the division of society by rank and/or class
19. Scribe-a writer
20. Polytheism- the belief in many gods
21. Empire-land with different territories and people under single rule
22. Silt - mixture of fertile soil and tiny rocks
23. Pharaoh – the title used by the kings and queens of Egypt
24. Monarch-a ruler of a kingdom
25. Dynasty- a series of rulers from the same family
26. Hieroglyphics - Egyptian writing system using more than 600 symbols of mainly pictures
27. Rosetta Stone - a stone slab inscribed with Hieroglyphic, Greek, and a later form of Egyptian writing which allowed historians to interpret the Hieroglyphs
28. Caste System – the social hierarchy in India; based on class and jobs.
29. Hinduism – the dominant religion in India; Hindus believe in their soul becoming one with Brahman (the universal spirit).
30. Buddhism – a religion or way of life based on the teachings of the Buddha; focus on the “Middle Way” or avoiding extremes in having everything and having nothing.
31. Hindu-Arabic Numerals – numbers used in our society
32. Confucianism – a philosophy with basic guidelines of moral values restoring family order and social harmony. Confucius – the most influential teacher in Chinese history; said Chinese needed to return to moral values
33. Daoism – a philosophy which stressed living in harmony with the Dao (the way), the guiding force of all reality. Laozi – the most famous Daoist teacher; taught people should not try to gain wealth, nor should they seek power.
34. Supply and Demand – the price of goods are based on the demand of the product; demand goes up – the price goes up, etc.
35. Monopoly – one source has complete control over a product
36. Silk Road – a 4,000-mile-long network of routes stretched westward from China across Asia’s deserts and mountain ranges, through the Middle East, until it reached the Mediterranean Sea.
37. Judaism – a monotheistic religion founded by Abraham
38. Torah – the most sacred text in Judaism; the first 5 books of the Hebrew Bible called the Tanakh
39. Ten Commandments – God’s moral laws; handed down to Moses on Mt. Sinai
Review Essential Questions:
1. How did early humans improve their lives?
2. In what ways did agriculture change human lives?
3. Why do humans form civilizations?
4. What geographic features are beneficial to the formation of a civilization?
5. How did Geography impact life in the ancient world?
6. How did religion, gender, power and social class influence society in the ancient world?
7. How did technology and culture influence future civilizations?