Vocabulary

Polises were ancient Greek city-states ruled by their citzens. They all were Greek and had different opinions therefore creating issues and problems which then influenced Plato and Aristotle to write there philosophies on government.

Homer is known to be the author of the two earliest existing poems from ancient Greece (the Iliad and the Odyssey). The ancient Greeks referred to him as the “holy poet” because he created a whole new view on mankind that was entertaining and somewhat realistic to what was happening at that time.

Iliad & The Odyssey were two epic poems written by Homer that were mildly ironic. These poems are important because they show us what the ancient Greeks believed in and their overall morals and values.

Pericles was a general and politician in ancient Athens. He believed that the Assembly was not good enough and that there was not a sufficient amount of people participating in the meetings. Therefore, he created radical democracy, in which they pay politicians using taxes.

The Persian War started when Xerxes came to power, in which the Persians launched a retaliatory mission against Athens. Themistocles prepared the Athenians for war by suggesting a navy-building project. In fact, he convinced the Athenians to invest the profits from a newly discovered silver mine into this project. Sparta, Corinth, and Athens lead the thirty-one city-states that decided to fight in the war against the Persians. Sparta was made leader of all land and sea operations. In the end, Sparta's king (Pausanias) lead the battle of Plataea, and their army retreated back to Persia.

The Peloponnesian War was an ancient Greek war, fought by Athens and its empire against the Spartans and their Peloponnesian League. The conflicts started when Sparta started attaching Attica and Athens used their naval advantages to raid the coast of the Peloponnese. A treaty was soon signed, but then broken by Sparta, and Peloponnesian League, when they ambush Athens. The war came to an end when the Athenian naval fleet was destroyed. The war changed ancient Greece in many ways. For example the struggle between Athen's idea of democracy and Sparta's idea of Oligarchy made civil war common in the Greek society

The Centuriate Assembly was composed of citizens only. Status was very important in this assembly. The more money, armor, land, etc that you had, the more your vote counted. There were 98 wealthy groups and 95 poor (rigged toward wealthy) and about 193 people in all. The wealthy were known as the Patricians and the poor were the Plebeians. These groups were called centuries and each had one vote. The senate ruled above everyone.

Conflict of the Orders started when the poor (Plebeians) decided to go on strike by refusing to fight in wars, or be in the military. This strike lasted for about 200 years, but luckily Rome was not invaded during that time. The Patricians finally gave in and the Plebeians gained quite a bit. For example, the wealthy and poor were mixed because the groups were divided according to what region you lived in. Plebeians were also given the opportunity to run for office and intermarry.

Tribal Assembly was established after the Patricians decided to give the Plebeians fair voting rights. They did this by dividing up the centuries according to what region you lived in; therefore, mixing the poor with the rich. This made voting more accurate and just.

A Patrician was a member of an important, or wealthy, family in ancient Rome. They controlled most of the voting rights and government before the Plebeians boycotted the military. They were well educated, aristocratic people who were usually significant officals.

The Plebeians were known as the common people, or the poor. They were the lower class citizens in ancient Rome and were often the ones fighting in the war (huge part of the military). They gained reasonable voting rights when they rejected their military duties for about 200 years. They also were allowed to run for office.

A Senator was a powerful Roman citizen who helped make laws and control the city. Senators were elected to do different jobs in the senate. They were extremely wealthy and owned the finest of clothing. Senators also had a right to the best seating at public displays next to members of the Priesthood, the Vestals, and the ruling King, Consuls or Emperor and entourage. To be in the Senate you first had to serve as a magistrate. Once elected to a magistracy, membership in the Senate was for life, although censors sometimes tried to take senator's immorality.

The Consul were two men elected by the Comitia centuriata. They were only allowed to be in power for one year in order to prevent corruption. They were the head of the Senate, controlled the Roman army, and had the highest juridical power in the Roman empire. One had to be at least 43 years old to become consul.