ANCIENT GREECE
- Peninsula: an area of land almost completely surrounded by water and connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land. It consists of two Latin words: pene meaning almost and insula meaning island. Hence, a peninsula is almost an island.
2. Acropolis: the fortified, or strengthened hill of an ancient Greek city. It consists of two Greek words: akros meaning high and polis meaning city. Hence, an acropolis is a city on a hill. Similarly, Zeus’ last name was Acreas because he was the high ruler.
3. Aristocrat: a member of a rich and powerful family. It consists of two Greek words: aristos meaning the best and Kratos meaning to rule. Hence, it can be translated as the rule of the best.
4. Tyrant: a ruler who takes power by force.
5. Democracy: a form of government in which citizens govern themselves. It is composed of two Greek words: demos which means people and Kratos which means to rule. Hence, a democracy is rule by the people.
6. Oracle: in ancient Greece, a sacred site where a god or goddess was consulted; any priest or priestess who spoke for the gods. It derives from the Latin word oraculum meaning to speak.
7. Philosopher: someone who uses reason to understand the world; in Greece, the earliest philosophers used reason to explain natural events. It derives from two Greek words: philos meaning to love and sophos meaning wisdom. Hence, a philosopher is a lover of wisdom.
8. Tragedy: a type of serious drama that usually ends in disaster for the main character.
9. Athens: a city-state in ancient Greece named after the goddess Athena; the capital of modern-day Greece.
10. Agora: a public market and meeting place in an ancient Greek city; the agora of Athens when spelled with a capital “A”. Derived from a Greek word which means to talk a great deal.
11. Slavery: condition of being owned by, and forced to work for, someone else.
12. Helot: a member of a certain class of servants in ancient Sparta. Derived from the Greek word Heliotes meaning a serf or a slave.
13. Peloponnesian War: a war fought from 431 to 404 B.C. between Athens and Sparta in ancient Greece and involving almost every other Greek city-state.
14. Plague: a wide-spread disease.
15. Blockade: an action taken to isolate an enemy and cut off its supplies.
16. Barbarian: a wild and uncivilized person. It is derived from the Greek word barbarous meaning foreign or ignorant.
17. Assassinate: to murder for political reasons.
18. Alexander the Great: King of Macedonia from 336 to 323 B.C.; conqueror of Persia and Egypt and invader of India.
19. Hellenistic: describing Greek history or culture after the death of Alexander the Great, including the three main kingdoms formed by the breakup of Alexander’s empire.