2. Unit 3 Vocabulary Ancient Greece & Rome

3. Socrates: The first great Athenian Philosopher. He profoundly affected Western philosophy through his influence on Plato and Aristotle.Plato

4. philosophy The study of the laws of nature and the universe.

5. Persian War The Greek city states united to defeat the invading Persian Army. This made Athens the most powerful city- state.

6. Peloponnesian War War between Athens & Sparta that ended Athenian greatness.

7. 9. Pericles Leader of Athens who developed the direct democracy and lead Athens to a Golden Age

8. Golden Age A time in a culture of high achievement in arts, literature, and science. Generally occurs in times of peace and economic prosperity.

9. democracy A system of government in which the citizens hold the legislative, judicial, and executive power, based on majority rule.

10. Alexander the Great (356-323 bc), king of Macedonia, conqueror of Greece, Egypt, the Persian Empire, and India. One of the greatest military geniuses of all times.

11. Hellenistic Age: The time period in Greek history from 336 B.C. when Alex’s reign began to 146 B.C., when the Romans conquered Greece.

12. Republic A political system in which a country is ruled by law, has representative government, and is democratic in nature.

13. Pax Romana A 200 hundred year period of relative peace throughout the Roman Empire that occurred during the first two centuries C.E..

14. Patricians Rome’s landowning upper class who had the most power

15. Plebeians: Rome’s farmers, merchants, artisans, and traders, who made up most of the population, but had little power.

16. Law of 12 Tables: Engraved tablets which displayed the Roman laws which are the basic principles of our justice system today. They include: all are equal under the eyes of the laws and innocent until proven guilty.

17. Julius Caesar Roman general and statesman. He is responsible for setting up the imperial system in Rome which placed his grandnephew, Augustus, on the throne.

18. Augustus First emperor of Rome who restored order and prosperity to the Empire after nearly a century of turmoil. Grandnephew to Julius Caesar.

19. Colosseum An amphitheatre in the centre of Rome which is the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering.

20. Parthenon A large temple dedicated to the goddess Athena on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. It was built in the 5th century BCE, during the Athenian golden age.

21. Aqueducts A massive arch structures used to carry water from the mountains to the cities.

22. Peninsula An area of land surrounded on three sides by water. Italy, Greece, and the southern part of India are all peninsulas.