Greek Vocabulary

Vocabulary

peninsula- a body of land with water on three sides

Crete- island that lays southeast of the Greek mainland

Mycenae- ancient city in Greece

Agamemnon- a Mycenaean king

Peloponnesus- a peninsula in southern Greece

colonies- settlement in a new territory that keeps close ties to its homeland

polis- Greek city-state

agora- an open area that served as both a market and a meeting place

tyrant- someone who takes power by force and rules with total authority

oligarchy- government where few people hold power

democracy- government in which all citizens share running in the government

Sparta- city in ancient Greece and capital of Laconia

Athens- capital of Greece

helots- workers held captive by the Spartans

Solon- noble trusted by other nobles

Peisistratus- tyrant that seized power in 560 B.C.

Cleisthenes- an important leader after Peisistratus

Persia- the country that is now known as Iran

Cyrus the Great- leader that united the Persians into a powerful kingdom

Darius- reorganized the Persian government to make it better

satrapies- the 20 provinces that Darius divided the Persian empire into

satrap- means “protector of the kingdom”; official who ruled a state in the Persian Empire under Darius

Zoroastrianism- the Persian religion

Marathon- plain in ancient Greece northeast of Athens

Xerxes- son of Darius became the Persian king

Themistocles- Athenian general that came up with a plan to fight the Persians

Thermopylae- mountain pass in Ancient Greece

Salamis- island in eastern Greece

Plataea-city in Greece northwest of Athens

Delos- Greek island in the southern Aegean Sea

direct democracy- people gather at mass meetings to decide on government matters

representative democracy- citizens choose a smaller group to make laws and government decisions on their behalf

Pericles- statesman that guided Athens for more than 30 years

philosophers- deep thinkers

Aspasia- woman that taught public speaking to many Athenians

Myths- traditional...