Western Civ Exam 2

Aristotle

A Greek Philosopher, taught Alexander the Great, started a famous school, studied with Plato

Aspasia

A foreign woman resident in Athens (ca. 470-400 B.C.E.) and partner of the statesman Pericles who was famed for her learning and wit.

Pantheon

A group of gods; a group of people so accomplished in a skill or field that they seem like gods

Parthenon

A large temple dedicated to the goddess Athena on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. It was built in the 5th century BCE, during the Athenian golden age.

Claudius

Although not the preferred choice of the Roman Senate, he proved to be an efficient emperor. His first act was to execute Cassius Chaerea and his co-conspirators, the assassins of Caligula. He brought relative peace to Rome with the restoration of the rule of law.

Xenophon

An ancient Greek philosopher, historian, soldier and mercenary, and a student of Socrates.

Gaul

An ancient region and Roman province that included most of present-day France

logos

Appeal to logic

Pericles

Athenian leader noted for advancing democracy in Athens and for ordering the construction of the Parthenon.

Demosthenes

Athenian orator who tried to unite the Greeks against Philip and his army

Actium (31 BC)

Battle: The fleet of Octavian defeated the combined forces of Cleopatra and Mark Antony at this battle near modern-day Preveza in the Ambracian Gulf of Greece. Marcus Agrippa commanded Octavian's fleet, which consisted of small, nimble Liburnian ships. Antony's fleet consisted of massive Quinqueremes, which were less mobile. Following his victory in the battle, Octavian titled himself Princeps, and later Augustus. To some, Actium signals the end of the Roman Republic.

Thebes

Capital city of Egypt and home of the ruling dynasties during the Middle and New Kingdoms. Amon, became one of the chief gods of Egypt. Monarchs were buried across the river in the Valley of the Kings. (p. 43)

Hannibal

Carthaginian military commander who, in the Second Punic War, attempted a surprise attack on Rome, crossing the Alps with a large group of soldiers, horses, and elephants.

Carthage

City located in present-day Tunisia, founded by Phoenicians ca. 800 B.C.E. It became a major commercial center and naval power in the western Mediterranean until defeated by the expanding Roman Republic in the third century B.C.E.

Alexandria

City on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt founded by Alexander the Great . It became the capital of the Hellenistic kingdom of Ptolemy. It contained the famous Library and the Museum and was a center for leading scientific and literary figures in the classical and postclassical eras.

Gaius Caligula

Cruel and tyrannical Emperor ruled Ancient Rome through fear and terror. Rampaging through Rome committing murder, adultery and acts of debauchery, his reign came to an abrupt end when he was brutally assassinated after only four years.

Roxane

Cyrano's cousin, a beautiful and intellectual heiress. She has a soft spot for romance and a love for poetry and wit.

Nicias

Dovish Athenian general and politician. He rejected Athens' aggressive imperialism and negotiated a peace treaty between the two sides.

Tiberius Gracchus

Grandson of General Scipio, Elected tribune in 133BC, Proposed law to take land back from Senators and give it to the landless, Very popular with the masses, Opponents organized a riot where he was killed

Thucydides

Greek historian. Considered the greatest historian of antiquity, he wrote a critical history of the Peloponnesian War that contains the funeral oration of Pericles

Epicurus

Greek philosopher who believed that the world is a random combination of atoms and that pleasure is the highest good (341-270 BC)

Ptolemy

His ideas on science influenced Muslim and European scholars from Roman times until the Scientific Revolution. He was a Greco-Roman writer famous as a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet. He lived in the city of Alexandria in the Roman province of Egypt, wrote in Greek, and held Roman citizenship.

Octavian/Augustus

Julius Caesar's grandnephew, later known as Augustus. By defeating Mark Antony, he gained rule of all roman lands. He was Rome's first true emperor.

Aegospotami

Last great battle of the Peloponnesian War where the Athenian fleet was destroyed in 405 B.C by the Spartans

Philip II

Macedonian king who sought to unite Greece under his banner until his death or murder. He was succeeded by his son Alexander.

Scipio Africanus

Roman general who commanded the invasion of Carthage in the second Punic War and defeated Hannibal at Zama (circa 237-183 BC)

Quintus Fabius Maximus

Roman general who tried to delay Hannibal instead of attacking him outright ("The Delayer" or "Cunctator"), dictator

Catullus

Roman lyric poet remembered for his love poems to an aristocratic Roman woman (84-54 BC)

Marcus Tillius Cicero

Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, and writer who vainly tried to uphold republican principles in the final civil wars that destroyed the Roman Republic.

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus

The leader of the Optimate forces against Caesar. Died 48 B.C.E. in Egypt, assassinated by Ptolemy XIII.

Geocentrism

The outlook that the earth was the center of the universe and every thing rotated around it.

Epaminondas

Theban general and politician that led Thebes out of Spartan subjugation to a place of preeminence in Greece. His tactics at Leuctra were revolutionary.

Leuctra

Thebes defeated Sparta in 371 at this town...this defeat lead to the downfall of Sparta's military as Thebes exposed their weaknesses

issus

This major defeat of Darius by Alexander the great sealed the fate of the Persian empire; however, Darius escaped. [333BC]

Consul

Under the Roman Republic, one of the two magistrates holding supreme civil and military authority. Nominated by the Senate and elected by citizens in the Comitia Centuriata, the consuls held office for one year and each had power of veto over the other.

Vergil

a great Roman epic poet during the Golden Age of Latin literature; author of the Aeneid.

imperium

absolute power.

Delian League

an alliance headed by Athens that says that all Greek city-states will come together and help fight the Persians

Aristophanes

an ancient Greek dramatist remembered for his comedies (448-380 BC)

Cannae

ancient city is southeastern Italy where Hannibal defeated the Romans in 216 BC

Po

by mouth

Pontifex Maximus

chief priest

Plebeian

crude or coarse; characteristic of commoners

Gaius Julius Caesar

elected to consul and governor of illyricum and Gaul for five years and after return Crassus dead and pompey and senate against his; started civil war that ended in his victory and dictatorship; eventually assassinated by the senate

Aeschylus

father of greek tragedy

League of Corinth

federation of Greek states created by Philip II of Macedon after the Battle of Chaeronea

lares

guardian spirits of each family

equestrian

horseback rider(so called because they served in the Roman cavalry) were neither peasants nor senators. Some were businesspeople who supplied goods and services to the Roman state and collected its taxes. Almost continuous warfare and the need for tax collection in the provinces had made many of them rich. Most of the time, these wealthy men had the same outlook as the Senate; generally, they used their profits to purchase land and to try to reach senatorial rank themselves. Still, they had a special interest in Roman expansion and in the exploitation of the provinces. Kagan, Donald. Western Heritage, The (p. 118). Pearson Education. Kindle Edition.

Pyrrhus of Epirus

king of Macedon and Epirus throughout the years. one of the strongest voices against Rome and the Hellenistic world. Greek general who came to help Taranto with 25,000 Macadonians and elephants in 280 BC. He defeated the Romans and attempted to invade Apulia, but the Romans wouldn't quit and eventually Pyrrhus' victories were too costly and he withdrew. Drove the Carthaginians out of Sicily -- military dictatorship. Repelled by the Romans in 275. Killed by woman who dropped a roof tile on his head.

Lucius Cornelius Sulla

rival of Marius who raised his own army to defeat Marius and take control of Rome

Cato the Censor/ Elder

the Elder (Major) and the Wise (Sapiens), was a Roman soldier, senator and historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenization. He was the first to write history in Latin.

Centuriate Assembly

the chief popular assembly of the Roman Republic. It passed laws and elected the chief magistrates.

veto

to reject

Porus

was an ancient Indian king whose territory spanned the region between the Hydaspes and Acesines, in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. He is credited to have been a legendary warrior with exceptional skills.

Second Triumvirate

was the political alliance between three of the Roman Republic's most powerful figures: Octavian, Mark Antony, and Lepidus.