Ancient Greece - Middle School and High School

You don't need an oracle to tell you that it would be a tragedy to miss out on this list of terms related to ancient Greece. Learn about the geography of Greece, government and politics, philosophy, drama, and more. Review this list and you'll never confuse an agora with an amphora!
105 words 1497 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. acropolis
    the citadel in an ancient Greek city, usually on a hill
  2. Aegean
    of or relating to or bordering the Aegean Sea
  3. Aeschylus
    Greek tragedian; the father of Greek tragic drama
  4. Aesop
    Greek author of fables (circa 620-560 BC)
  5. agora
    the marketplace in ancient Greece
  6. Alexander the Great
    king of Macedon
  7. amphora
    an ancient jar with two handles and a narrow neck
  8. archaic
    so extremely old as seeming to belong to an earlier period
  9. Archimedes
    Greek mathematician and physicist noted for his work in hydrostatics and mechanics and geometry (287-212 BC)
  10. aristocracy
    a privileged class holding hereditary titles
  11. Aristophanes
    an ancient Greek dramatist remembered for his comedies
  12. Aristotle
    one of the greatest of the ancient Athenian philosophers
  13. assembly
    a group of persons gathered together for a common purpose
  14. Athens
    the capital and largest city of Greece; named after Athena
  15. barbarian
    a member of an uncivilized people
  16. capital
    the upper part of a column
  17. caryatid
    a supporting column carved in the shape of a person
  18. cavalry
    troops trained to fight on horseback
  19. chiton
    a woolen tunic worn by men and women in ancient Greece
  20. citizen
    a native or naturalized member of a state
  21. city-state
    an independent nation comprised of a single town
  22. classical
    characteristic of the ancient Greek and Roman cultures
  23. colonnade
    structure consisting of a row of evenly spaced columns
  24. colony
    a geographical area controlled by a distant country
  25. column
    a tall vertical cylindrical structure standing upright
  26. comedy
    light and humorous drama with a happy ending
  27. Corinthian order
    the last Greek order
  28. cornice
    the topmost projecting part of an entablature
  29. Crete
    the largest Greek island in the Mediterranean
  30. deity
    a supernatural being worshipped as controlling the world
  31. demagogue
    a leader who seeks support by appealing to popular passions
  32. democracy
    a political system in which power lies in a body of citizens
  33. Demosthenes
    Athenian statesman and orator (circa 385-322 BC)
  34. discus
    an athletic competition in which a circular object is thrown
  35. Doric order
    the oldest and simplest of the Greek orders and the only one that normally has no base
  36. drachma
    formerly the basic unit of money in Greece
  37. Draconian
    imposing a harsh code of laws
  38. drama
    the literary genre of works intended for the theater
  39. entablature
    (architecture) the structure consisting of the part of a classical temple above the columns between a capital and the roof
  40. epic
    a long narrative poem telling of a hero's deeds
  41. Epicurus
    Greek philosopher who believed that the world is a random combination of atoms and that pleasure is the highest good (341-270 BC)
  42. Eratosthenes
    Greek mathematician and astronomer who estimated the circumference of the earth and the distances to the Moon and sun (276-194 BC)
  43. Euclid
    Greek geometer (3rd century BC)
  44. Euripides
    one of the greatest tragic dramatists of ancient Greece
  45. fable
    a short moral story
  46. frieze
    an ornament consisting of a horizontal sculptured band
  47. golden age
    any period of great peace and prosperity and happiness
  48. Hellenistic
    relating to or characteristic of the classical Greek civilization
  49. Herodotus
    the ancient Greek known as the father of history
  50. Hippocrates
    medical practitioner who is regarded as the father of medicine; author of the Hippocratic oath (circa 460-377 BC)
  51. Homer
    ancient Greek epic poet who is believed to have written the Iliad and the Odyssey (circa 850 BC)
  52. humanism
    doctrine promoting the welfare of mankind
  53. Iliad
    a Greek epic poem describing the siege of Troy
  54. Ionian
    a member of one of four linguistic divisions of the prehistoric Greeks
  55. Ionic order
    the second Greek order
  56. isthmus
    a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas
  57. javelin
    a spear thrown as a weapon or in competitive field events
  58. Knossos
    an ancient town on Crete where Bronze Age culture flourished from about 2000 BC to 1400 BC
  59. Koine
    a Greek dialect that flourished under the Roman Empire
  60. kylix
    a shallow drinking cup with two handles
  61. libation
    the act of pouring a liquid offering as a religious ceremony
  62. Lysippus
    Greek sculptor (4th century BC)
  63. metic
    a foreigner who paid to reside in an ancient Greek city
  64. Minoan
    of or relating to or characteristic of the Bronze Age culture of Crete
  65. monarchy
    autocracy governed by a ruler who usually inherits authority
  66. Mycenae
    an ancient city is southern Greece
  67. mythology
    the body of stories associated with a culture or institution
  68. Odyssey
    a Greek epic poem (attributed to Homer) describing the journey of Odysseus after the fall of Troy
  69. oligarchy
    a political system governed by a few people
  70. Olympics
    an international multi-sport event that takes place every two years
  71. Olympus
    a mountain peak in northeast Greece near the Aegean coast
  72. oracle
    an authoritative person who divines the future
  73. oration
    an instance of formal speaking
  74. orator
    a person who delivers a speech
  75. order
    style of Greek architecture distinguished by column type
  76. ostracism
    the act of excluding someone from society by general consent
  77. Parthenon
    the main temple of the goddess Athena
  78. pediment
    a triangular gable between a horizontal entablature and a sloping roof
  79. Peloponnesian War
    a war in which Athens and its allies were defeated by the league centered on Sparta; 431-404 BC
  80. peninsula
    a large mass of land projecting into a body of water
  81. peplos
    a garment worn by women in ancient Greece
  82. Pericles
    Athenian statesman whose leadership contributed to Athens' political and cultural supremacy in Greece; he ordered the construction of the Parthenon (died in 429 BC)
  83. phalanx
    a body of troops in close array
  84. Phidias
    ancient Greek sculptor (circa 500-432 BC)
  85. philosophy
    the rational investigation of existence and knowledge
  86. Plato
    ancient Athenian philosopher
  87. polytheism
    belief in multiple gods
  88. portico
    porch or entrance to a building consisting of a covered area
  89. Praxiteles
    ancient Greek sculptor (circa 370-330 BC)
  90. Pythagoras
    Greek philosopher and mathematician who proved the Pythagorean theorem; considered to be the first true mathematician (circa 580-500 BC)
  91. pyxis
    a small box used by ancient Greeks to hold medicines
  92. slavery
    the practice or system of owning people as property
  93. Socrates
    ancient Athenian philosopher; teacher of Plato and Xenophon
  94. Sophocles
    one of the great tragedians of ancient Greece (496-406 BC)
  95. Sparta
    an ancient Greek city famous for military prowess
  96. Stoic
    pertaining to Stoicism or its followers
  97. symposium
    a meeting for the public discussion of some topic
  98. temple
    a place of worship
  99. Thermopylae
    a famous battle in 480 BC
  100. Thucydides
    ancient Greek historian remembered for his history of the Peloponnesian War (460-395 BC)
  101. tragedy
    drama exciting terror or pity
  102. trireme
    ancient Greek or Roman galley or warship having three tiers of oars on each side
  103. Trojan War
    a great war fought between Greece and Troy
  104. tyrant
    in ancient Greece, a ruler who had illegally seized power
  105. Zeno of Citium
    ancient Greek philosopher who founded the Stoic school
Created on Wed Jan 11 12:01:23 EST 2017 (updated Mon Apr 03 16:26:03 EDT 2017)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.