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| Explaining the origin of something. Example: The myth of Pandora and Epimetheus, Prometheus's brother, is the causation myth for the creation of women. |
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| One of the two sons of Atreus. Brother of Menelaus the husband of Helen. Father of Orestes. Leader of the Argive expedition against Troy and king Priam. His quarrel with Achilles is the central theme of Homer's Iliad. Upon his return home, he is killed by his wife Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus, an event that is portrayed in Aeschylus's Orestia trilogy. |
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| Greek word for "contest". Namely in the context of athletics, literary and philosophical contests |
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| Located on a high rocky outcrop above the city of Athens. It housed buildings such as the Erechtheion, Parthenon and the Temple to Athena Nike. |
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| An object or symbol which is believed to have the ability to ward off evil. Ex: The Gorgon head or the image of a Phallus |
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| A time period of 750-500 BC, possibly when the great poet Homer wrote his Iliad and Odyssey |
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| The study of human activity in history dealing with the recovery and analysis of material evidence and enviromental data. |
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Meaning "sprung from the Earth". The original inhabitants of a country as opposed to settlers, and those of their descendants who kept themselves from mixing with foreign peoples. For Athens, some of these figures include Cecrops I and Erichthonius. |
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| The woman which king Agamemnon steals from Achilles in the Iliad after he is forced to give up his own female prize Chryseis, the daughter of Chryses an Apollonian priest. |
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| An empire formed from the Eastern Roman Empire towards the end of the 5th century. It's capital, Constantinople (Byzantium) was created by the first Roman Christian emperor, Constantine. This empire survived as a nation until the demise of its capital by the Ottoman Empire |
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| An offering of wine or other nourishing liquid (such as milk/honey/oil) for the underworld gods (the chthonic deities), ancestors, or deceased heroes. |
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| Daughter of the Apollonian priest Chryses. Is taken as a prize for King Agamemnon, but is later given back. |
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| A time period from 500-323 BC. A time when Greek culture flourished and great advancements in Greek identity, art, and philosophy took place. Also a time of great wars; such as the Peloponnesian War, and the Persian invasions. This period ends with the death of Alexander the great, and is followed by the Hellenistic period. |
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| The capital of the Byzantine empire. It fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453 AD |
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| A biography of Cyrus the Great written in the early 4th century BC by the Athenian, Xenophon. |
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| "Designed or intended to teach people a lesson". Example: Hesiod's Works and Days |
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| A literary genre which is written in dactylic hexameter and is centered on a hero's journey for kleos and timé. Examples include Homer's Iliad (Hero: Achilles) and Odyssey (Hero: Odysseus) as well as Virgil's Aeneid (Hero Aeneas). |
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| the study of inscriptions of epigraphs as writing |
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| A short phrase or statement honouring a deceased person |
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| A person, place or thing which provides a name source to something else. Example: The myth of Pelops explains the naming of the Peloponnese, and Helle daughter of Athamas explains the naming of the Hellespont |
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| A temple on the Athenian akropolis honouring the gods Athena and Poseidon. Associated with the "naming of Athens" myth. |
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| Houses classical sculptures in Germany in a neo-classical style. Example: It houses the Barberini Faun. |
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| "These letters are Greek- they are not read". A phrase written by monks during the Renaissance |
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| A general term used for the Greeks and Hellenic cities. |
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| Time period of 323-31 BC. Begun by the death of Alexander the Great, we see a large spread of hellenization throughout the Mediterranean and the Near East. This time period ends with the battle of Actium and the victory of Augustus over Mark Antony and Cleopatra, which begins the Imperial period. |
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| A stone pillar with a sculpted head in the shape of Hermes, or sometimes a popular politician. Marked boundaries, and had an apotropaic phallus carved on their bodies. The Hermokopidae Scandal involved desecration and vandalism to them, by which Alcibiades was blamed the night before the Sicilian Expedition. |
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| A bronze age archaeological site on Crete discovered by Sir Arthur John Evans where the Minoan civilization was thought to have originated from, and lived upon. Two scripts were found at this site; Linear A and Linear B |
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| "A possession for all time". A term applied to works of art or literature. Ex: Thucydides uses this term to describe his work History of the Peloponnesian War |
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| A ritual pouring of liquid (often wine) as an offering to a god. Two seperate types includes spondai and choe |
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A term coined by Sir Arthur John Evans as he was excavating Knossos on Crete.
A people who were thought to have flourished between 1500-1200 BC. |
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| "Come and take it". A sentence carved into the monument of the Spartan king Leonidas representing the Spartans' battle against the Persian invasions at the battle of Thermopylae |
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A bronze age civilization which was contemporary to or right after the flourishing of the Minoan people.
It's demise led Greece into the Dark ages (1200-750 BC). In Homer's Iliad, Agamemnon is from Mycenea
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| From the greek work mythos meaning speech, tale or story. Unlike its counterpart logos , which is associated with truth, myth can be either true or false. The audience of myth knew how the story would end, but the poet or author had the freedom to determine how they got there |
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| Can refer to the collective myths of a people or the study of mythological stories and their context. |
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| The study of currency, including coins and paper money |
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| A political form of governance meaning "ruled by a few". Sparta, who had two kings at a time, was considered Oligarchic; as opposed to Athens, which favoured democracy |
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| Refers to the Ottoman Empire |
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| The study of ancient writing |
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| Study of ancient writings on papyrus, as well as their preservation. |
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| Began being built in 447 BC on the Athenian Akropolis to worship the goddess Athena. Had doric columns. |
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| A thick, heavy garment worn by women in Ancient Greece, often married women. Although, Athena is seeing wering a peplos, being married to her craft (virgin goddess). |
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| A shallow ceramic bowl used for making libations |
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| "The love of Greek culture" |
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Definition
| The study of language in written historical sources; a combination of history, linguistics and literary criticism |
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| A fire bird which does not die; upon its death an egg is produced from the ashes and it is reborn. On one side of the German Glyptothek is a pediment which shows an illustrated pheonix, representing the rebirth of Greece. |
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Definition
| The art of painting in several colours as applied to ancient art or architecture |
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| The entrance to the Athenian Akropolis which used Ionic columns on the inside, and Doric columns on the outside. |
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| The European cultural rebirth which spanned from the 14th century to the 17th where the Classical period was looked back on for inspiration in art and philosophy |
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Definition
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| Refers to the type of libation where wine was poured from a phiale to honour the gods |
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| The study of ends. Aristotle followed teleology and created his theory of potentiality which states that chage is always progressing to an end, and that end causes the change. Nothing is self caused, and it all works towards a telos, an end. |
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Definition
| A graded oligarchy as proposed by Solon which gives power to those with money and land. Slaves, women and metics not included. |
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| An individual whom seizes power in an unnatural, and forced way. Example: Peisistratos. |
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Definition
| The killing/assasination of a tyrant for the common good. Example: Harmodius and Aristogeiton killing the tyrant Hipparchus, whom they believed was abusing his power. |
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| A historian and student of Socrates who lived from ca. 430-354 BC. He is credited with writing a continuation to Thucydides' Peloponnesian War as well as the Cyropaedia, a biography of Cyrus the great. |
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Definition
| "Starting from the beginning". Epics such as the Aeneid and the Iliad do not start this way. They start in medias res meaning, in the middle of things. |
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Definition
| The sexual desire for a statue |
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| A sudden realization had by the hero of the story when they understand the reality of a situation. A critical discovery. Example: Oedipus realizing his actually did kill his father and sleep with his mother |
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| The recounting of past tribulations by the protagonist of epic. Example: Odysseus in books 9-12 recounts the tales of his journey from the end of the Trojan war to how he ended up on the island of the Phaecians. (These are the famous scenes of the Odyssey; including the blinding of the cyclops Polyphemus) |
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| The act of a mortal transcending into a God state. Examples: Herakles and later on during the Imperial period Julius Caesar and Augustus |
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| A Hellenic statue depicting a man scraping the dirt/oil/sweat from his body with a strigil after working out or performing an athletic contest |
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| Meaning excellence. In the context of epic literature, it is the moment when a hero has his finest moment in combat- often this moment leads to their death |
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| The promoter/producer who financed playwrights in all things that were not covered by the state. They were also in charge of finding and hiring the chorus. They threw a party afterwards. |
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Definition
| A term which is attributed to Alexander the Great's generals, whom after his death, fought over his lands for supreme authority. |
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| A greek sculpture depicting a man throwing a discus. Particular detail on the man's positioning and muscles |
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Definition
| an ancient Greek hymn sung in the honour of Dionysus. Sung by a chorus of 50 men or boys, who may have danced in a circle |
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| A long race added to the standard Olympic stadion races in 720 BC |
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| meaning pity, compassion or mercy. In Athens there was an altar dedicated to the personification it as a God. |
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Definition
| A section of tragedy that comes between choral songs |
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| Adolescent boys who were in the process of becoming men |
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Definition
| Refers do the older man in a pederastic relationship |
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Term
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Definition
| Meaning "beloved". The younger boy in a pederastic relationship |
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| Victorious odes composed and sung out for victors of athletic contests. Example: Pindar wrote some. |
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Definition
| A poem written for a bride on her wedding day. Example: Sappho seems to have written some of these |
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Definition
| an adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality characteristic of the person or thing mentioned. Example: Swift-footed Achilles, Achilles son of Peleus, Cunning Odysseus, Brave Odysseus. |
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Definition
| A work which is made shorter. A summary or miniature form of the original; sometimes with the inclusion of the authors opinion |
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Definition
| A section of tragedy after which there is no song of the chorus. |
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| A type of Oral poet from the Balkans. They have been the subject of study in the hopes of recognizing patterns that may have been also used by Homer. |
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| The ancient long jump. Individuals would hold "halters" (weights) to help them jump further. Part of the pentathlon |
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Definition
| weights used for working out and held during the halma to help the jumper go further |
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Definition
| Characterized by dactyls and spondees. Epics such as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey were written in this form. |
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Definition
| Similar to an escort. These women were educated and sophisticated. They would enter sexual relationships with men who would pay them in gifts. |
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Definition
| Citizen soldiers who were primarily equipt with large circular shields and spears. Their armour was heavy and expensive; they had to buy this themselves. They are most famous for using the Phalanx formation |
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| The purging of pain and fear after witnessing a tragic play. Discussed by Aristotle |
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Definition
| The glory which is sought after by heroes. Great deeds are done in hopes of attaining this. Example: Achilles chooses to die to attain it, rather than live a long and happy life |
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| a lyrical song of lamentation performed by the chorus and the protagonist at the climax in a tragedy |
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| A vessel used for mixing wine. |
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| The practice of males tying their penises up bu the foreskin so that they would not bounce as they ran in the stadion races. Means "dog leash" |
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| The descendants of the house of Labdacid, named after the Theban king Labdacus. Members of this family include: Cadmus, and later on Oedipus and his daughter Antigone |
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| A local festival which included tragic and comic performances. Two tragic poets would compete |
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A king who offered the hand of his daughter, Hippodamia, to any man who could best him in a chariot race. With the aid of Poseidon and the betrayal of a kings servant, Pelops beats the king and takes Hippodamia. This story is an aetion for chariot racing.
He is also the great-grandfather of Menelaus and Agamemnon |
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| The recitation of poetry without the aid of any written text. Oral poetry was the key to an individuals kleos and so Oral poets were considered somewhat connected to the Gods (considering their relationship with the muses). They were respected. Example: Homer and Demodocus featured in the Odyssey in the Phaecian court. |
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Definition
| The sport of wrestling between two individuals. It was eventually added to the Olympic games. |
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| A word used to describe an event or action which encompasses all of Hellenes. Example: The Olympic games |
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Definition
Later on added to the Olympic games, this is a full out fight between two individuals which has very few rules (no eye gauging).
It was very dangerous. |
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Definition
| The first utterance of the chorus |
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Definition
| "Love for boys". Composed of an Erastes and an Eromenos. |
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| The classical circuit in which the PanHellenic games would occur. The schedule. Example: Olympic games every four years. |
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Definition
| The turning point in a play or in literature. A moment of discovery which will eventually cause a change in the outcome |
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Definition
| A Greek infantry formation where the soldiers would wield large shields and would cover their left side. Philip of Macedon later improved upon this formation. |
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| meaning fear. Often personified as a god that instilled fear in individuals. |
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Definition
| A great procession on the first day of the festival with dancing and singing. Huge phallus were carried, and bulls and other animals were driven along to be sacrified at the theatre. |
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Definition
| meaning lower class prostitute; the cheapest kind |
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Definition
| A few days before the festival the playwrights announced their chorgoi, actors, musicians, chorus and the titles of their play |
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| A nation formed after the death of Alexander the Great in the region of Egypt. It's class system was structuralized so that the Greeks were upper class, and the local Egyptians were lower. It fell with the death of Cleopatra. |
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Definition
| "I rot" or "to rot". Another name for Delphi. It's aetion involved the myth where Apollo defeated a giant snake and left it there. |
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Definition
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Definition
| A narrator touches on a number of subjects until a significant subject is reached and then continues their narrative by retracing backwards the subjects he has just mentioned. Seen in the Odyssey |
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| 15 ft long pike introduced by Phillip II of Macedon |
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Definition
| used to counteract the seriousness of the tragic play which proceeded it. It was performed on the last day of the Dionysian festival. The humor was often crude. |
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Definition
| After the death of Alexander, Seleucid created and Seleucid empire which was one of the three main Hellenistic superpowers. |
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Definition
| a two handedled deep wine cup |
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Definition
| a song of the chorus without anapaests or trochees |
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Definition
| ancient running event. First Olympic discipline. Most honour attached to it. |
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Term
| Staphanite (or Staphanai) |
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Definition
| "Crown competitions". A competition in which you would win a crown. Solon underlined the importance of receiving a crown in regard to kleos and time |
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Term
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Definition
| "A viewing from the wall". The author gives background information that the reader normally wouldn't get. |
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Term
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Definition
| topic, train of thought or an argument that holds through an entire work or rhetorical segment |
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Term
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Definition
| ancient word for lesbian, meaning "to rub". |
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Term
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Definition
| refers to the tragic trilogies composed by the ancient playwrights for the Dionysian festival. |
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Definition
| Guest/host friendship. An epithet for Zeus is Zeus Xenox because he is the ultimate keeper of guest friendship and host etiquette. The Odyssey explores this concept; with the suitors displaying horrible guest etiquette. |
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Definition
| A philosophical school of thought founded by Plato in 387 BC in Athens. |
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Definition
| A branch of philosophy that deals with beauty, what it is, in the form of nature and in art |
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Definition
| He was a very famous poet who lived from 570-485 and was born in Teos. He wrote skolions and hymns. When Hipparchus took power over Athens, he sent a ship to bring this man to Athens. |
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Definition
| A student of Plato. He served as a teacher to Alexander the Great, and opened a philosophical school called the Lyceum. He created the theory of potentiality, stating that change is a progress to an end and the end causes the change. He also coined terms such as; the Prime mover, and the doctrine of the mean (which states that between extremes is what a man should strive for; Courage is between cowardice and recklessness) |
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Definition
| A two shafted pipe wind instrument |
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Definition
| A branch of philosophy founded by Diogenes. Practiced and taught others that we must fulfill our natural needs in the simplest and easiest way possible. "Live like a dog" |
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Definition
| A form of reasoning based upon dialogue of arguments and counter arguments. Stating that logic will give way to finding the truth of any issue. Practiced by Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. |
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Definition
| One of the three streams of speeches. Argued whether a past action was just, or unjust. It was addressed to a court in either the form of an accusation or a defence. |
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Definition
| A branch of philosophy created by Epicurus. Pleasure is the key to life, and doing things that do not bring you pleasure is meaningless. Epicurus created a school called The Garden |
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Term
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Definition
| The founder of Epicureanism and the philosophical school The Garden. Believed in peace and freedom, and the absence of pain. |
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Term
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Definition
| One of the three streams of speeches. Concerning present deeds and takes the form of praise or blame. Example: The funerary speech of Pericles written by Thucydides. |
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Term
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Definition
| A branch of philosophy which concerns itself with knowledge. "What do we know, how do we know what is real?" |
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Definition
| technique of mural painting. Water based paint is painted onto lime plaster, and when it dries the paint becomes solidified in the lime. The Tomb Of The Diver uses this method. |
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Term
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Definition
| Led embassy from hometown to Athens and eventually settled there. Famous for two speeches: the defense of Helen, and the Defense of Palamedes |
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Term
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Definition
| A type of greek pottery used for drinking. Associated with Dionysos, fertility and vegetation |
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Term
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Definition
| An ancient couch used in the Symposia, but also used as a laying spot for dead bodies during funerals. |
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Definition
| A ritualistic drunken procession performed by revelers. |
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Term
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Definition
| a game played during the Symposium in which individuals reclining would fling wine lees at a target. |
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Term
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Definition
| A type of wine drinking cup used by individuals at the Symposium. Broad and relatively shallow. The image at the bottom would only be displayed once the wine was drunk. |
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Term
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Definition
| Female follower of Dionysus brought over from the East. They were turned mad and are often displayed holding the thyrsus. |
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Term
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Definition
| branch of philosophy which deals with the causes of things, the principals by which the world exists and the substances the world is composed of. |
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Term
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Definition
| In a comedy it is the point in the play when all the actors leave the stage and the chorus is left to address the audience |
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Term
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Definition
| A motive in Greek and Augustan love elegy: usually places a lover outside the closed door of his beloved, seeking entry. This was often the result of komos after a symposium. |
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Definition
| King of Thebes in Euripides' The Bacchae. Son of Agave, daughter of Cadmus. He is ripped apart by Maenads (including his own mother) upon rejecting the notion that Dionysus deserves his worship. |
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Definition
| Name given to the students of Aristotle who agreed with his notions. |
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Definition
| All forms of philosophy which came before Socrates. They were more concerned with, a more modern, view of science. Some of them include: Zeno, Thales, Pythagoras and Democritus. |
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Term
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Definition
| a commissioner/magistrate in Greece, referring to the Oligarchic regime following the Peloponnesian wars. This is alluded to in the play Lysistrata |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| meaning "cooler" in Greek. Was used as a wine cooler, a type of Greek pot. |
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Definition
| Presocratic philosopher interested in the workings of nature and the world around him. |
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Term
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Definition
| A drinking container, often in the shape of an animal. |
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Definition
mortal mother of Dionysus, whom is tricked by Hera to ask Zeus to see his true form. Upon seeing it, she is burnt to a crisp, and the unborn Dionysus is sown into Zeus's thigh, where he is later born from.
She was also the daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia |
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Term
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Definition
| A companion of the wine god Dionysus. The oldest, drunkest and most devoted satyr in the god's retinue. |
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Term
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Definition
| Individuals in the pre Socratic period who went around teaching others how to argue, good or bad topics, for a fee. Socrates despised their immoral course of action, claiming them to not participate in real philosophy. |
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Term
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Definition
| "to tear or pull apart". Refers to Pentheus's death in Euripides' play The Bacchae where he is torn apart by his mother and other bacchants |
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Definition
| School of philosophy which taught that emotion would ruin one's life. They believed fire drove the world. A famous member of this school was the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. |
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Term
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Definition
| One of the three streams of speech, focuses on delivering future courses of action in regards to what should be done. It is addressed to an Assembly. Example: Should Athens invest in the Sicilian expedition. |
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Term
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Definition
| A drinking party where elites would gather and discuss ideas. Plato wrote a work called The Symposium which discusses love and the meaning of true love. |
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Term
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Definition
| A pre-socratic philosopher from Miletus. He is considered one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Believed the world was primarily composed of water. |
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Definition
| Wand or staff decorated with ivy (sometimes with a pinecone on top) and carried by Dionysian creatures and followers. |
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