Ancient Greece Vocab.

Question	Answer
peninsula	body of land surrounded on three sides by water Ex. Greece
Mt Olympus	The highest mountain in Greece, where the ancient Greeks believed many of their gods and goddesses lived
Crete	largest island off of Greece; the Minoan civilization flourished here from 2700 BC to 1450 BC
Arthur Evans	archeaologist who excavated Knossos, the palace of legendary King Minos on the island of Crete
Mycenaeans	name for the civilization that developed on the Greek mainland; they dominated the whole Greek mainland for about 500 years
Homer	Ancient Greek poet. Famous for his epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey
Polis	A city-state in ancient Greece
Athens	For many centuries the most powerful of all ancient Greek city-states; capital or present-day Greece
acropolis	A large hill in ancient Greece where city residents sought shelter and safety in times of war
Agora	A central area in Greek cities used both as a marketplace and as a meeting place
Parthenon	A temple to the goddess Athena, built on the Acropolis in Athens
Direct Democracy	type of democracy in which EVERY citizen participates in making laws
Philosophy	The study of or search for truth, wisdom, and the right way to live
polytheism	The belief in many gods and goddesses
Sparta	argest Greek city-state; focused on fighting and war
oligarchy	government in which a “few” rule ; rule by a few Ex. aristocracy or plutocracy
Helot	A slave in the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta

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	Created by Summer Addington about 10 years ago