What is an area of land that is surrounded on three sides by water?
pennisula
What is a small group joined together for protection & stability that marks the beginning of Greece's classical age?
city-state
What is the Greek word for city-state?
polis
What is a high hill that fortresses usually stood on in Greek cities?
acropolis
What is the marketplace that life in the city focused on?
agora
What is the time period that is marked by great achievements for Greece?
Classical age
What are groups from city-states that eventually became independent & often traded with city-states on the mainland?
colonies
What is a type of government that started in Greece in which people rule themselves?
democracy
What is a government in which only a few people have power?
oligarchy
What is a leader who held power through the use of force that was seen in ancient Greece as a good leader, but is today seen as a harsh ruler?
tyrant
Who is a new leader who gained power in Athens & overthrew the aristocracy & developed the world's first democracy also known as the father of democracy?
Cleisthenes
Who are rich landowners that took power in Athens & made strict laws for all common people?
aristocrats
Who are people who had the right to participate in government?
citizens
Who is an elected leader of Athens who encouraged the Athenians to take pride in their city & encouraged them to participate in the government?
Pericles
What is the gathering of citizens on a hillside that created the city's laws?
the assembly
What is a form of government used in Athens that gave ALL citizens the ability to vote & had no separation of powers?
direct democracy
What is a form of government used in America that has citizens elect officials to represent them in government creating a separation of powers also called a republic?
representative democracy
What effect did the mountains covering Greece have on the people settled there?
Since there were so many mountains, there was fewer flat lands for farmland. People settled along these flatlands living in villages & towns separated by mountains. Since traveling across the mountains was so difficult, people although they spoke the same
What effect did the seas surrounding Greece have on the people settled there?
Because mountain travel was so difficult, Greeks turned to the seas surrounding them as a source of food & a way of trading with other communities. The Greeks became skilled shipbuilders & sailors & they sailed to other countries exchanging ideas & findin
What are similarities between Minoans & Mycenaeans?
They both are two of the earliest cultures settled & developed in Greece & both influenced the entire Aegean region & helped shaped later cultures in Greece.
What are differences between Minoans & Mycenaeans?
Minoans: lived on island of Crete, spent much of their time at sea, among the best shipbuilders, their ships carried goods such as wood, olive oil, & pottery all around the easter Mediterranean for trade, location (island) also had its dangers- volcano er
Why did city-states want colonies to be formed?
Because life in Greece became more settled, they could focus on other things other than just defense. They began to think about becoming rich from trade, others became curious about neighboring lands, & some worried how to deal with the Greece's growing p
What is a body of stories about gods & heroes that try to explain how the world works?
mythology
What are short stories that teach the reader lessons about life or give advice on how to live?
fables
Who is Cyrus the Great?
man who led a Persian revolt in 550 BC against the Medes & won independence for Persia & conquered the Medes in which marked the beginning of the Persian Empire. Cyrus conquered much of Southwest Asia, but he allowed those he conquered to keep their custo
What were the 10,000 soldiers chosen for their bravery & skill at the heart of the Persian army called?
the immortals
What is a unit of soldiers who ride horses?
cavalry
Who is the young prince who claimed the thrown of the Persian Empire & killed all his rivals for power & also improved Persian society & expanded the empire?
Darius I
What are governors Darius I chose to rule the provinces?
satraps
What is the road that was more than 1,700 miles long that was admired by Persian's enemies & used for the Persian messenger system called?
The Royal Road
What is the religion that arose during Darius' rule called that taught there were two forces fighting for the control of the universe- the good and the evil?
Zoroastrianism
What is the series of wars between Persia & Greece known as that began from the Battle of Marathon?
Persian Wars
What is the battle that began 9 years after the Greek cities rebelled where Darius invaded Greece sailing to the plains of Marathon near Athens & where the Greeks won because they had better weapons & clever leaders?
Battle of Marathon
What is the battle that the Spartans sent soldiers to Thermopylae, a narrow mountain pass, where Persians used a traitorous Greek solider to attack Spartans from behind winning the battle & burning the city of Athens?
Battle of Thermopylae
What is the battle that happened a few days after the Battle of Thermopylae where the Athens led the Persian navy into the narrow straights of Salamis so the smaller Athenian boats could easily sink the many Persian ships?
Battle of Salamis
What is the battle that happened soon after the Battle of Salamis where an army of soldiers from all over Greece beat the Persians at Plataea, also the battle that ended the Persian wars?
Battle of Plataea
What is an agreement to work together?
alliance
What is the alliance formed by the city-states after the Persian wars ended that agreed to help defend each other, protect trade in Aegean Sea, & pay for this defense to punish the Persians for attacking Greece?
Delian League
What is the alliance created after the Persian wars that included many cities in Southern Greece including Sparta that was named after the peninsula on which the cities were located?
Peloponnesian League
What is the war that was declared by Sparta between Athens & Sparta that threatened to tear all of Greece apart?
Peloponnesian War