Chapter 8 Study Guide Key 7th Grade World History

Vocabulary

• Aristocrat: Rich landowners in Greece

• Dark Age: Nothing was developed; disaster and raids; warfare and disorder; nothing got done during this time. No history

• Tyrant: A leader who held power through the use of force.

• Polis: The Greek word for a city-state

• Classical Age an age marked by great achievements; architecture, inventions, basically everything is stable (government) so people can work on improving society

• Citizens: People who had the right to participate in government

• Acropolis – A high hill around which most city-states were built

• Agora – city center – market place of city-states

Democracy

• Type of government in which people rule themselves.

• Cleisthenes created the first democracy

• Government is based on the votes of its free citizens

• People were encouraged to speak

• “Rule by Many”

Oligarchy

• A government in which only a few people have power

• Rich land owners or aristocrats took power

• Common people had little say

• “Rule by Few”

Tyranny:

• When a leader gains power (and holds it) through the use of force

• Ancient Tyrants were normally good rulers

• Tyrants were able to stay in power because they had strong armies and people supported them.

Minoans

• Lived on the Island of Crete

• They were excellent ship builders. Lived on the sea basically big in trading;

• Destroyed by a volcano and tsunami wave that destroyed the civilization.

• Weren’t considered Greek because they didn’t speak it.

Mycenaean

• Considered the first Greeks

• Attacked others and built fortresses around Greece.

• They took over Crete when Minoans declined.

• Mycenaean society began to fall apart in the 1200’s BC when invaders from Europe swept Greece. Earthquakes also destroyed many cities and Greece slid into the Dark Age.

Cleisthenes

• Father of Democracy

•Developed and created the first democracy.

•DID NOT want aristocrats to run the government.

Pericles

•A leader in Athens during the time of democracy.

•Wanted people to participate in the government – and created paying jobs for this (pay for jury duty and some elected officials)

•Believed that Athens’ government was superior to other city-states’.

Draco

•An aristocrat who created very harsh laws after the common Athenians attempted to overthrow the oligarchy (small crimes were punishable by death)

Who are considered to be the first Greek civilization? Why? •Mycenaean because they spoke Greek.

How did the Minoan civilization end?

• Not 100% sure – however, most think that in the 1600s BC a huge volcano erupted north of Crete. This caused a tsunami that flooded much of Crete. In addition the volcano threw up a lot of ash which ruined many crops and buried cities.

Explain the voting process in Athens. • For many issues 6,000 people were

needed to vote. Slaves would sometimes have to round up more people. Speeches would be made – people would be encouraged to speak. Citizens might vote by show of hands or by dropping a black or white stone into a container.

Describe the geography of Greece.

• Mountains covered much of Greece

• It was a peninsula

• Rocky shorelines, made up of hundreds of islands making it difficult to sail.

• The climate is Mediterranean. The summers are warm (mid 80s for a high) and on the dry side, while the winters are cool (40s) and moist (more precipitation.) – like Southern California

Compare Greek Tyrants to modern day

•Greek tyrants were strong leaders with strong armies and supported/respected by their people.

•Modern day tyrants rule by force and are not generally supported/respected by people.

Explain the difference between a direct democracy and a representative democracy. • Direct: citizens who vote have a direct impact on the

decision they are trying to vote on (meaning they all have to vote on everything-6,000 + citizens to do so)

• Representative: We vote for representatives (senators, governors) to vote for us in national and local matters

Give 1 positive to the democracy of Athens and 1 negative. •Positive – All citizen’s have their voice

heard & in charge of government

•Negative – Very time consuming, Women not considered to be citizens – so not all voices heard

• ***You will need to explain on the test!***