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| People living in area of Greece from very early period (40 000 B.C.E. first people migrated to Greece - Pelasgians descendants of these people). "Aboriginals". |
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2600-1400 B.C.E.
Population living on island of Crete.
Cultural and religious impact on mainland Greece (to the west). Empire for ~900 years. Many trade relations. Peaceful, no fear of neighbours. |
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| Where Minoans lived. Island to the east of mainland Greece. |
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| Discovered Minoan's civilization, and named it after the mythical king of Crete, King Minos. |
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| Creature with the head of the bull and the body of a man. Dwelt at the centre of the Cretan labyrinth. Killed by Theseus. |
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| Had many chambers. Lots of gold. Was central point that acted as a redistribution centre. Not walled. |
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| Mural painting on fresh plaster. Often peaceful scenes. Showed Minoans were not violent. |
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| Frequently depicted in Minoan art. This animal was the subject of veneration and worship. |
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| Religion with a female deity or a group of female deities. Most likely the earliest form of religion. Has continuity (cycle of life). Shows things perish so other things can come to be. Believed in immortality. |
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| Principle figure of Chthonic religions. |
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| Chthonic deities had an association with |
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| A writing system contributed by the Minoans. Generally found on Crete itself. Has not been deciphered. |
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| Found in Chthonic religions. |
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| Having a symbol for each syllable. |
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| "First Greeks". First, fully developed ancient Greek population. A fusion of the Pelasgians, the Helladic branch oft the Indo-Europeans, and some Minoan practices. 400 years after Hellanic branch came to Greece. City-states across mainland seemed to communicate closely with each other. Redistributive economy. Wealth population (buried dead with expensive items). |
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| German archaeologist who discovered Mycenaean civilization. Excavated Mycenean civilization while looking for Troy. Found Mycenae, Tiryns, Argos, Athens, Thebes, Pylos. |
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| City Centre. Had extensive walls. Showed population lives in fear of each other. The most powerful was Mycenae |
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| Massive stones fitted carefully in place. |
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| Mycenaeans travelled extensively in Mediterranean world to trade. |
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| A syllabic script used for writing Mycenaean Greek, the earliest attested form of Greek. Disappeared with the fall of Mycenaean civilization. Discovered at Knossos by Arthur Evans. Contains the names of the Greek pantheon of gods, Zeus, Poseidon, Aphrodite etc. |
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| An English architect who deciphered Linear B. Proved it is an early form of Greek. |
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| An ancient city located in modern day Turkey, south of the southwest end of the Dardanelles ( Troy was able to control marine traffic in this vital waterway (collect taxes). Mycenaeans needed this waterway to get lumber, grain, slaves, etc, since Mycenae was not a prosperous land. |
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| A large hill found in Turkey. 9 cities built on top of one another. Excavated by Schlieman while he searched for Troy. Troy was the 6th city from the top. |
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| Formerly known as Hellespont straits. These straits lead from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea. |
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| Artwork of the Mycenaeans was violent. An example that shows they were constantly fighting among themselves. |
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| The archaeologic site found by Schliemann in Hissarlik that best fits the circumstances of Homer's Troy. |
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| Earliest Greek author, lived around 750 B.C.E. Most famous for the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey". The Iliad was written about 500 years after the Trojan war. Often quoted even in Ancient Greek writing approximately 300 years later. Influenced Alexander the Great. |
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| Homer's epic poem that is set in the 10 year of the Trojan campaign. Written about 500 years after the war. It involves the argument between Achilles and Agamemnon, Achilles's refusal to fight, Hector killing Patroclus, the fight between Achilles and Hector, Achilles's treatment of Hector's body, plea of Priam, and the burial of Hector. |
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| Homer's epic poem that is set after Troy has been destroyed. |
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| Particular kind of poetry that is thrilling/important. A poetic tradition that deals with the story of Troy. Consists of "the Cypria", "the Iliad", "the Aethiopis", "the Little Iliad", "the Iliou Persis", "the Nostoi", and "the Odyssey". |
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| A poem in the epic cycle that deals with the origins of the war. It discusses the enmity between Prometheus and Zeus, the threat the sea nymph Thetis poses to Zeus's rule, the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, the appearance of Eris (Strife), her "gift" of an apple to the fairest goddess present, the contest between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, the judgement of Paris (a prince of Troy) etc. Aphrodite is chosen by Paris and promises him the hand of Helen, who has already been married to the Greek king Menelaus (brother of Agamemnon). Paris steals Helen, the Greek kings arrange a punitive expedition and Troy is besieged for Ten years. |
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| A titan that steals fire from the gods and gives it to the humans. A former advisor to Zeus. Prometheus is punished by Zeus by having an eagle eat his liver every day. |
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| A deity with a prophecy that any man that gives her a son, the son will become greater than the man. Zeus, fearful of her prophecy, marries her off to a human, Peleus. They have a child, Achilles. |
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| The king of the Olympian gods. He threw his father off of the throne, and is wary of someone taking over from him. Prometheus warns him to avoid Thetis because their son will throw him off of the throne of Heaven. |
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| Human. Marries Thetis. Father of Achilles. |
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| Wedding of Thetis and Peleus |
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| Wedding attended by all of the gods and goddesses, except Eris (Strife) is not invited. |
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| Strife. Can mean to compete against others in a progressive fashion. Goddess who was not invited to the wedding of Thetis and Peleus, but attends anyway. |
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| Eris's gift of the golden apple |
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| Eris's gift at the wedding of Thetis and Peleus. She rolls it to the feet of the goddesses Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera. The apple reads, "For the Fairest". The goddesses fight over this apple and ask Zeus to choose. |
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| Goddess of motherhood and kingliness. |
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| Zeus asks Paris (son of Priam who is king of Troy) to make the judgement of the apple. Three goddesses offer Paris a gift so he will choose her. Athena offers him to be the wisest man alive. Hera offers to make him a king. Aphrodite offers him to have sex with the most beautiful woman alive. Paris chooses Aphrodite who now becomes his ally. Athena and Hera are now his lifelong foes. |
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| King of Troy. Father of Hector and Paris. |
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| The most beautiful woman alive with an uncanny ability to attract men. Helen's father has all her suitors swear an oath to abide by his decision and to help her new husband retrieve Helen if she is stolen. She is married to Menelaus and they go to Mycenean Sparta. Aphrodite has her fall in love with Paris, who takes her back to Troy. |
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| Brother of Agamemnon. Marries Helen. Entertains Paris when he visits. Calls brother to lead coalition against the Trojans after Paris steals Helen. |
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| King of Mycenae. Commands greatest number of troops. Brother of Menelaus. After a Greek victory, Agamemnon is given Chryseis. Agamemnon refuses her father's ransom. Agamemnon is confronted by Achilles after the army is stricken by a plague, and agrees to give up the girl but wants his share of the spoils, he asks for Achilles's share. After Achilles refuses to fight, Agamemnon pleads with Achilles to come back because the Greeks lose their battles. |
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| Hospitality. A stranger will feed and shelter you, give you a gift, keep you under his protection, and bring you to the boundaries of his region. He has the expectation that he will be treated the same when he comes to your region. Thought to be very important in well being of society. Zeus controls this "law" and will punish violators. |
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| Suppliance. If a solider is in battle and surrenders they are obligated to be captured and ransomed. They are expected to be treated with mercy and dignity. Zeus will punish anyone who harms a soldier that surrenders. |
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| Oath taking. Zeus makes sure oaths are kept. Oaths often sworn in his temple. |
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| A "hero", his mother is the goddess Thetis, and his father is a human, Peleus. The strongest general of the Greeks. Given the handmaiden Briseis as a spoil of war. Asks a prophet why the Greek army is struck with a plague. Argues with Agamemnon to give up Chryseis. Refuses to give up Briseis to Agamemnon, but Agamemnon decides to take her anyway. Achilles refuses to fight and the Greeks begin to lose all of their battles. After Hector kills Patroclus, Achilles is infuriated and battles and kills Hector. He then attaches Hector's body to his chariot and drags it around Troy. He then gives it to Priam after he pleads with Achilles. |
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| Achilles's prize after his victory in battle. Agamemnon decides to take her causing Achilles to refuse to fight. |
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| Agamemnon's prize after the victory against the Greeks. Daughter of a priest of Apollo. |
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| Priest of Apollo, father of Chryseis. Asks Agamemnon to ransom his daughter, and after his refusal, prays to Apollo to avenge him. |
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| Son of Priam. Prince of Troy. General of Trojan army. Killed by Achilles after killing Patroclus. |
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| Andromache is Hector's wife whom he loves. They have tragic vision that every triumph comes at the cost of someone else's tragedy. |
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| Son of Hector and Andromache. |
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| Best friend of Achilles. Goes into battle disguised as Achilles and is killed by Hector. |
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| King of Troy. Pleads with Achilles for the body of his son Hector. |
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| A poem in the Epic Cycle that deals with the arrival of Memnon who has come to help the Trojans. Memnon is killed by Achilles, but Achilles is shortly after killed by Paris, who shoots him in his "Achilles heel". |
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| A poem in the Epic Cycle that describes the contest among the Greeks for Achilles' arms. It also describes Odysseus's construction of the Trojan Horse. Odysseus (metis = cunning) and Ajax (bie = brute strength) fight over arms. |
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| A poem in the Epic Cycle that describes the destruction of Troy through the Greek's sneaky introduction of the massive Trojan Horse into Troy. Unbeknownst to the Trojans, this horse contains a dozen warriors at its center. These soldiers open the city to the Greek army i the dead of night and Troy is destroyed. |
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| A poem in the Epic Cycle that describes the homecomings of the various Greek heroes who have survived the ten-year war. |
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| A Homeric poem in the Epic Cycle that describes the homecoming of the Greek hero Odysseus, who is known for his vast cunning. After ten years of war, he wanders for another ten years (and experiences all sorts of adventures) before making his way home to the island of Ithaca. There he reunites with his son Telemachus (whom he left behind as an infant). Father and son kill over a hundred princes who have been trying to persuade Penelope (Odysseus' wife) to marry one of them. THey have been acting badly and eating Odysseus out of house and home. Odyssesus is then reunited with his faithful wife. |
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| The meter in which Homer composed his poems in the 8th century. |
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| An early 20th century scholar who realized the repetition in Homeric poems. |
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