Historical Terms – V

Cyrus the Great: (c. 576 or 590-529 B.C.E.); founded Persian Empire by 550 B.C.E.; successor state to Mesopotamian empires.
Zoroastrianism: Persian religion that saw material existence as a battle between the forces of good and evil; stressed the importance of moral choice; a last judgement decided the eternal fate of each person.
Hellenism: culture derived from the Greek civilization that flourished between 800 and 400 B.C.E.
Hellenistic culture: culture associated with the spread of Greek influence and intermixture with other cultures as a result of Macedonian conquests.
Iliad and Odyssey: Greek epic poems attributed to Homer; defined relations of gods and
humans that shaped Greek mythology.
Polis: city-state form of government typical of Greek political organization from 800 to 400 B.C.E.
Solon, an Athenian reformer of the 6th century, established laws that eased the debt burden of farmers and forbade enslavement for debt.
Socrates: Athenian philosopher of late 5th century B.C.E.; tutor of Plato; urged rational
reflection of moral decisions; condemned to death for “corrupting” the minds of Athenian youth.
Direct democracy: literally, rule of the people, in Athens, meaning free male citizens; all
decisions emanated from the popular assembly without intermediation of elected
representatives.
Pericles: Athenian political leader during the 5th century B.C.E.; guided the development of the Athenian Empire.
Olympic games: one of the pan-Hellenic rituals observed by all Greek city-states; involved athletic competitions and ritual celebrations.
Oracle of Delphi: person representing the god Apollo; received cryptic messages from the god that had predictive value if the seeker could correctly interpret the communication.
Persian Wars: 5th century B.C.E wars between the Persian Empire and Greek city-states;
Greek victories allowed Greek civilization to define its identity.
Delian League: alliance formed by Athens with other city-states after Persian wars; later taken over by Athens and became the Athenian Empire.
Peloponnesian War: war from 431 to 404 B.C.E. between Athens and Sparta for domination in Greece; the Spartans won but failed to achieve political unification in Greece.
Macedon: kingdom of northern Greece; originally loosely organized under kings; became centralized under Philip II; conquered Greek city-states.
Philip II: ruled Macedon from 359 to 336 B.C.E.; founder of centralized kingdom; conquered Greece.
Alexander the Great(r. 336-323 B.C.E.); son and successor of Philip II; conquered Persian
Empire and advanced to the borders of India; attempted to combine Greek and Persian culture.
Alexandria: Egyptian city; founded 334 B.C.E.; one of many “Alexandrias” founded by
Alexander, the Great
Ptolemies: a regional dynasty after the death of Alexander; ruled in Egypt.
Seleucids: a regional dynasty after the death of Alexander; ruled in Persia.
Antigonids: a regional dynasty after the death of Alexander; ruled in Macedon and Greece.
Socrates: (b. 465 B.C.E.); Athenian philosopher; usually seen as the father of western
philosophy.
Aristotle, a Greek philosopher; teacher of Alexander; taught that knowledge was based upon observation of phenomena in the material world.
Stoics: Hellenistic philosophers; they emphasized inner moral independence cultivated by strict discipline of the body and personal bravery.
Plato: Greek philosopher; knowledge based upon consideration of ideal forms outside the material world; proposed ideal form of government based on abstract principles in which philosophy ruled.
Sophocles: Greek writer of tragedies; author of Oedipus Rex.
Aristophanes: Greek writer of comedies: author of The Frogs.
Doric, Ionic, Corinthian: three distinct styles of Hellenic architecture; listed in order of
increasing ornate quality.
Helots: conquered indigenous population of Sparta; provided agricultural labor for Spartan landowners; only semi-free; largest part of the population.