Vocabulary, by all members!

• Plato – Greek philosopher; knowledge based on consideration of ideal forms outside the material world; proposed ideal form of government based on abstract principles in which philosophers ruled
•  Cicero – (106 – 43 B.C.E.); Conservative Roman Senator; Stoic philosopher; one of the great orators of his day; killed in reaction to assassination of Julius Caesar
•  Roman republic – The balanced constitution of Rome from c. 510 to 47 B.C.E.; featured an aristocratic Senate, a panel of magistrates, and several popular assemblies
•  Ilaid and Odyssey – Greek epic poem attributed to Homer but possibly the work of many authors; defined gods and human nature that shaped Greek mythos
• Euclid – A mathematician; produced what was long the world’s most widely used compendium of geometry
• Augustus Caesar – Grandson of Julius Caesar; seized power in 27 B.C.E.; established the basic structures of the Roman Empire
• Pythagoras - He was a Greek philosopher and mathematician born in Samos most famous for the pythagorean theorem.
• Carthage - A state founded by the Phoenicians. It was destroyed and became a part of the Roman empire.
• Aristocracy - A class of nobility, wealth, and upper class that become very prominent and powerful members in a society by inheritance.
• Constantine - He was the emperor of Rome who later moved the Roman capital to Constantinople in Byzantium. He stopped the persecution of Christians and later named Christianity as the official Roman religion
•  Zoroastrianism - A religion and way of thinking based off of Zoroaster. It describes the power struggle between good and evil. It was established in Persia in the 6th century.
• Alexander the Great: King of Macedonia and conqueror of the entire Persian empire, Alexander is regarded as one of history's greatest military geniuses. His conquests helped sparked the Hellenistic era of Greece which occurred shortly after his death at the age of 33 in 323 C.E.
• Alexandria: Initially a small port that Alexander the Great later named after himself it soon become one of the largest cities of the Ancient world. Ptolemy made the city Egypt's capital and it becomes a major center of knowledge. Later the Great Library of Alexandria and the Great Lighthouse, 2 of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, were built there.
• Cyrus the Great: The founder of the Persian Empire, one of the largest empires in the history of the world. Lived from 600-529 B.C.E. and was immortalized in Judaism thanks to his humane treatment of conquered people and his support in the Jewish people.
• Galen: A Greek physician born in Pergamum and lived from 129-216 C.E. Viewed anatomy in high regard and recorded a number of accurate observations on the body despite primarily using animal vivisections for the basis of said observations. His theories would not be challenged until the 17th century.
• Hannibal: Praised as the “father of strategy” Hannibal was a brilliant military tactician from Carthage that lived from 248-183 B.C.E. His many battles against Roman forces proved decisive with his most famous military success involved him surprising the Romans by crossing the Alps with his army. Despite his many successes Rome proved too stubborn an enemy to defeat and the Carthaginian government forced Hannibal to abandon his campaign. Many Romans recognized the military genius of Hannibal's strategies and studied/adopted them for their own purposes.
• Hellenistic Age: An era of great cultural and scientific advancement in the Greek territories between 323-30 B.C.E. The conquests of Alexander the Great meant that many of the riches of war could be funded on improving the culture of the land with projects such as the Great Library of Alexandria built during this era. The Hellenistic Age ended after the rise of the Roman Empire under Augustus Caesar.
• Herodotus: An ancient Greek historian often called the father of history. His history of the invasion of Greece by the Persian Empire was the first attempt at narrative history and the beginning of all Western historical writing.
• Twelve Tables: the earliest code of Roman civil, criminal, and religious law, promulgated in 451--450 B.C.E
• Tyranny: the government or rule of a tyrant or absolute ruler.
• Olympic Games: One of the pan-Hellenic rituals observed by all Greek city-states; involved athletic competitions and ritual celebrations
• Socrates: Athenian philosopher of later 5th century B.C.E.; tutor of Plato; urged rational reflection of moral decisions; condemned to death for corrupting minds of Athenian young
• Battle of Marathon- greek victory during Persian Wars
• Battle of Thermopylae- a surprise strategy attack on the persians to win the war
• Augustus- Caesar's grand-nephew, seized power in 27
• Herodotus- a historian and traveller who was interested in learning how other people lived (484- 425 BC)
• "Mystery" Religions- periods of time where middle eastern religions and rituals swept through the area to provide contact with divine power.
• Phillip II of Macedon- won a crucial battle in the war (Peloponnesian) who's sone (Alexander) expanded the empire
• Ionian, Doric, Corinthian- three embellishments for the tops of columns that support massive buildings\
• King Xerxes- King of Perssia that led an amassed army and fleet against Greece which outnumbered it to one. Let his gaurd down when he heard that the Greeks divided, and fled when his navy was destroyed.
• Peloponnesian Wars- A war between Athens and Sparta for the control of Greece 431-404 BCE
• Sappho- early greek female poet during 600 B.C.E
• Sophocles- Athenian dramatist, portrayed the psychological flaws of his hero Oedipus
• City- state- a form of political organization typical of mesopatamian civilizations consted of agricultural hinterlands ruled by urban-based king
• Themistocles- Athenina leader, took out Xerces' Army
• Aristotle- greek philosopher; teacher if Alexander the Great; knowledge based on observation iof phenomena in the material world
• Vergil- roman poet, sought to link Roman history and mythology to greek fonerunner
• Punic Wars- fought between Rome and Carthage to establish dominence in the western medditeranian; won by Rome after tree seperate conflicts