HIEU 2031 Midterm IDs
Achaeans - ANS-Who/What: The people who fought Troy in the Trojan War
When: ~1200 BC possibly
Where: Troy
Significance: Homeric values tell us about Dark Age values: aretai, birth and wealth, competition
(agon), agathos vs. kakos, aristos, kleos, and timē
Achilles - ANS-Who/What: Homeric hero who kills Hektor in the Iliad and is the greatest Greek
fighter
When: ~1200 BC possibly
Where: Ancient Greece
Significance: Achilles' physical dominance emphasizes the importance of combat prowess in
Greek society. Argues with Agamemnon about different types of timē
Aegina - ANS-Who/What: small island near Athens, daughter of the river god. According to
Herodotus, Aegina had a feud with Athens over stolen statues
Agamemnon - ANS-Who/What: King of Mycenae that leads the Achaeans in the Trojan War in
the Iliad When: ~1200 BC possibly
Where: Mycenae / Troy
Significance: Agamemnon has timē through god-given inheritance, raises questions about skill
of Achilles vs. following of Agamemnon in regards to timē
agathos - ANS-Who/What: Homeric value that is opposite of kakos (attractive/good)
When: 1200-700 BC
Significance: · The relationship between these two characteristics is cosmic; gods ensured that
agathos always beat those with less timē (kakos) and the terms offered were used in the context
of battle/fighting/athletics
agōn - ANS-Who/what: contest/struggle, opportunity to show aretai
When: Dark Age
Significance: Show aretai through sport, assembly (metis), gift giving (xenia), battle (aristea).
Competition pervaded all levels of society
agora - ANS-Who/What: term for place of gathering near the acropolis (place for trade,
semi-sacred so couldn't go there if you had ritual pollution)
When: Homeric period (Dark Ages)
Significance: Lingering in the agora was the best way to inform oneself about public affairs,
make business contacts, collect gossip
Alcaeus - ANS-Who/What: Aristocratic Poet from Lesbos that details noble power struggle
,When: Late 7th century BC
Significance: best known for his sharp critiques against other aristocrats, but significant for
illustrating symposiastic themes that offered relief from strife (love, wine, parties)
Alcmaeonids - ANS-Who/What: aristocratic family, considered to carry a miasma due to Cylon
conspiracy
When: 632 banishment date, 508 cleisthenes date
Where: Athens
Significance: Aristocratic families dominated 6th century in Athens, until Cleisthenes (an
Alcmaeonid) reformed to democracy
Archilochus - ANS-Who/What: Poet known for scathing wit that he directed against Homeric
ideals.
Significance: First to mention a tyrant, quite lyrical and personal and talks about sex, loss of
comrades, pretentiousness of aristocrats, hatred of enemies. Lyrical poetry in the Archiac period
was much different from Homer and Hesiod
archon - ANS-Who/What: archons were the highest ranking magistrates in early city states
(including Athens). Initially, there were 3 archons and they performed religious, war, and
eponymous or chief archon duties. At some point, 6 thesmothetai or law givers were added and
became annual rather than for life.
Where: Athens
When: Archaic
Significance: Even during the classical period when the strategoi were the most important
officials in Athens, 9 archons were chosen to perform judicial and administrative functions
Areopagus - ANS-Who/What: When archons ceased to be archons, they became a council
known as the Council of the Areopagus
When: Solon restructured the Areopogus through his 594/3 reforms
Significance: Importantly, the Areopagus decided on issues of miasma (ritual pollution) and
provided advice to King/current archons. Remained unsympathetic to the poor despite his
reforms
Aristagoras - ANS-Who/What: Tyrant of Miletus who led the Ionian revolt, frustrated by higher
taxes under Persians.
When: 499, defeated at Lade in 494 BC
Where: Miletus in Ionia
Significance: Aristagoras persuaded the Athenians and Eretrians to support the revolt against
the Persians. The burning of Sardis led to the Persians seeking revenge in the Great Persian
War
aristocracy - ANS-Who/What: rule by wealthy families
When: Early Archaic period 8th - 6th century
, Significance: Aristocratic power strongest even through Solon's reforms, but weakened as
strong democratic sentiments formed in poleis
Artemis Orthia - ANS-Who/What: Festival of boys, supposed to run and steal cheese while older
boys whipped you
Significance: started as a competition in metis, became a competition in sophrosyne and
enkrateia to see who could endure the most pain. Competition was key to Spartan upbringing -
cared more about victory than life.
Artemisium - ANS-Who/What: Greeks delayed the Persians who were subjected to a storm and
reduced to a more reasonable number (relative stalemate)
Where: Northwest of Euboea
Significance: Greeks thought there was divine intervention from Boreas (north wind). One of the
instances where Persian advantage was reduced
Ascra - ANS-Boeotian village that is the site of Works and Days
Athens - ANS-Who/What: Democratic Greek polis in Attica
When: First inhabited before 3000 BC
Where: Attica
Significance: home of democracy
Bacchiads - ANS-Who/What: Corinthian basileus named Bacchis founded a new line of chiefs
called Bacchiads, name persisted despite fictional descent
When: 747 (Bacchis descendends ruled until then) and then 657 (oligarchy of wealthy oikoi took
name
Significance: good example of how power and authority of basileus was perpetuated through
royal clans
basileus - ANS-Who/What: term for "king". When Mycenaean kingdoms broke up, it became the
title of warrior-chiefs who ruled villages in the Dark Age. The hierarchy of basileus was replaced
in the Archaic Age by landed aristocrats who ruled as an oligarchy.
When: 1600 BC to 700 BC
Where: Ancient Greece
Significance: Basileus had a religious and judicial role in the life of the community in addition to
his functions as the military and political leader. The shifting role of the basileus illuminates the
changing governance structures throughout Ancient Greece.
Black Figure - ANS-Who/What: Style of Athenian pottery where figures were shown in black
silhouettes, more traditional than emerging red-figure technique
When: 550 BC
Where: Athenian origin
