Where did ancient Greek civilization develop?
In the Balkan Peninsula, the Aegean islands, and the coasts of Asia Minor.
Where did ancient Greek civilization later spread?
Throughout the Mediterranean.
What did ancient Greeks share despite lacking a unified state?
A language, religion, culture, and worldview.
What political form did the ancient Greeks lack?
A unified state.
When did Minoan civilization flourish on Crete?
From 3000 to 1450 BC.
When did Mycenaean civilization flourish in mainland Greece?
From 1600 to 1200 BC.
When did the Dark Age last?
From 1200 to 800 BC.
When did the Archaic period last?
From 800 to 490 BC.
What areas and institutions formed a polis?
A city-state with its own government, laws, army, and surrounding farmland, woodland, and pasture.
Who governed an aristocracy, and what did they call themselves?
A privileged minority called themselves the aristoi, meaning “the best.”
How were state powers concentrated under tyranny?
One person concentrated all the powers of the state.
Which pressures contributed to Greek emigration from the 8th to 6th centuries BC?
Population growth, poor soil, insufficient food production, and concentrated land ownership.
Where were Greek colonies established to facilitate transport and trade?
Near coasts.
Which traditions did Greek colonies retain from their founding polis?
Its religion, customs, and organization.
What does democracy mean in the Athenian context?
Government of the people.
Who voted on laws in the Athenian ekklesia?
Citizens over 20.
What major decisions did the Athenian ekklesia make?
It decided war and peace.
What was the Athenian boulē’s main role?
Preparing matters for the assembly.
How were the 500 members of the Athenian boulē chosen?
They were chosen by lot.
What does oligarchy mean in the Spartan system of government?
Government by a few.
What powers did Sparta’s two kings from different families exercise?
Military and religious power.
What could Sparta’s gerousia do regarding laws and the kings?
It proposed laws and could judge the kings.
At what age did Spartan boys leave their mothers for communal upbringing and severe training?
At age 7.
In what year did Greek cities under Persian rule rebel, beginning the Persian Wars?
499 BC.
Who led the Greek poleis that supported rebels during the Persian Wars?
Athens.
How did the Persian Wars end?
In Greek victory.
In which years did the Peloponnesian War begin and end?
It began in 431 BC and ended in 404 BC.
Which polis won the Peloponnesian War and became hegemonic?
Sparta.
What materials, colors, and general plan characterized Greek temples?
They were stone, brightly painted, and generally rectangular.
What subjects and settings were common in Greek sculpture?
Gods, goddesses, and heroes appeared in freestanding works and temple reliefs.
How many heads tall was the Greek sculptural canon?
Seven heads tall.
What bodily ideal did Greek sculptors pursue through harmonious proportions?
Ideal bodily beauty.
What distinguishes Archaic Greek sculpture from Classical and Hellenistic sculpture?
Archaic sculpture was rigid and schematic.
What kind of religion was ancient Greek religion?
Polytheistic.
Where did the principal Greek gods live?
On Mount Olympus.
What made a Greek hero powerful yet mortal?
A Greek hero was born from a god or goddess and a human.
Where did Greek religious rites take place outside temples?
At household altars and shared sanctuaries.
What writing system did the Minoans use?
Linear A.
What was Linear B in Mycenaean society?
The earliest form of Greek.
What happened to writing during the Greek Dark Age?
Writing was lost.
When did the Olympic Games resume during the Archaic period?
776 BC.
Who governed early Archaic poleis before political power passed to wealthy aristocrats?
Local chiefs.
Which polis exemplified aristocratic government?
Sparta.
What political process began after 6th-century BC revolts against aristocrats and tyrants?
A process that led to democracy.
Which polis became the principal example of democracy?
Athens.
Which peoples did Greek colonization bring Greeks into contact with?
The Phoenicians, Etruscans, and Egyptians.
What did Greek colonization spread beyond Greece’s original borders?
Greek civilization.
What did Athenian magistrates do?
They carried out assembly decisions.
How were Athenian courts selected?
By lot each year.
When did Athens reach its greatest splendor, especially under Pericles?
During the 5th century BC.
What powers did the five Spartan ephors have?
They executed the gerousia’s decisions.
Who belonged to the Spartan assembly?
Free Spartan men over 30.
Why was the power of the Spartan assembly limited?
The gerousia could veto its decisions.
What were hoplites in Sparta and other poleis?
Heavily equipped foot soldiers forming the army’s main body.
What led Greek cities to join opposing camps supporting Athens or Sparta?
Athens’s political, economic, and cultural rise threatened Spartan interests and those of other poleis.
What weakened Greek city-states and facilitated Macedonia’s rise?
Internal conflict and economic crisis.
In what year did Athens and other poleis revolt against Spartan domination?
403 BC.
What did Greek architectural orders regulate?
The size and proportions of columns and their supported elements.
Which materials were most used in Greek sculpture?
Bronze and marble.
How were lost Greek bronze sculptures often preserved?
Through Roman copies.
Which Greek god ruled the other gods and was associated with the sky?
Zeus.
Which Greek goddess protected marriage?
Hera.
What was an oracle in ancient Greek religion?
A deity’s answer to a question, interpreted by priests.
Who delivered prophecies at Delphi’s sanctuary of Apollo?
The Pythia.
Answer 26 questions on Ancient Greek Civilization.
1. Which regions formed the main setting of ancient Greek civilization before it spread across the Mediterranean?
2. What best explains how the ancient Greeks could share a civilization without forming a unified state?
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