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Terms
Khyber Pass
The Khyber Pass is the most important pass connecting Pakistan with Afghanistan.
Throughout history it has been an important trade route between Central Asia and South
Asia and a strategic military location. The history of the Khyber Pass as a strategic
gateway dates from 326 B.C., when Alexander the Great and his army marched through
the Khyber to reach the plains of India. From their, he sailed down Indus River and led
his army across the desert of Gedrosia.
Hydaspes (Jhelum) River
One of the northern branches that merges with others to become the Indus River
Porus
He was the ruler of a Kingdom in Punjab that was located between what is now known as
the Jhelum and the Chenab rivers (in Greek sources called Hydaspes and Acesines) in the
Punjab. Porus chose to fight Alexander the Great in order to defend his kingdom and
people. Porus fought the battle of the Hydaspes River with Alexander in 326 BC. After
he was defeated by Alexander, in a famous meeting with Porus who had suffered many
arrow wounds in the battle and having lost his sons who all chose death in battle rather
than surrender. Alexander reportedly asked him, "how he should treat him". Porus
replied, "the way one king treats another". Alexander the Great was so impressed by the
brave response of King Porus that he restored his captured Kingdom back to him and
gave addition lands of a neighboring area who's ruler had fled.
Monsoon
Wind pattern associated with heavy rains. Alexander’s forces struggled with these in
India and these were part of the reasons (in addition to the elephants) that they resisted
fighting there.
Stupa
Large relic structures (the one we saw in lecture was like a big stone dome) that contain
some body part or object related to the Buddha (Siddharta).
Relic
A relic is an object, especially a piece of the body or a personal item of someone of
religious significance, carefully preserved with an air of veneration as a tangible
memorial.
Gandhara
Around 327 BC Alexander the Great invaded Gandhara and Indian Satrapies of Persian
Empire. His stay in this area was merely less than a year. This did not have any
immediate administrative or cultural effect. The expeditions of Alexander were recorded
by Arrian (around 175 AD) in Anabasis and other chroniclers many centuries after the
event.
Anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics and qualities to non-human
beings, objects, natural, or supernatural phenomena. Greek Gods were often portrayed as
humans in sculpture and painting.
Mutiny
Alexander faced two mutinies: the first in 326 at the Hyphasis (Beas) river and the
second in 324 at Opis.
Funeral pyre
A pyre is a structure, such as a mound of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral
rite. A form of cremation, a body or bodies is placed upon the pyre and the pyre is set on
fire. These were used in the time of Alexander.
Successors/Diadoch
Specifically, in hellenistic history, the Diadochi were the rival successors to Alexander
the Great and their Wars of the Diadochi followed Alexander's death. This was the
beginning of the Hellenistic period of Greek history, the time when many people who
were not Greek themselves adopted Greek philosophy and styles, Greek city life and
aspects of Greek religion.
Vergina
In 1977 Andronikos undertook a six-week dig at the Tumulus and found four buried
chambers which he identified as hitherto undisturbed tombs. Three more were found in
1980. Excavations continued through the 1980s and 1990s. Andronikos maintained that
one of the tombs was of Philip II, and another was of Alexander IV of Macedon, son of
Alexander the Great. This has now become the firm view of Greek archaeologists and the
Greek government, but some other archaeologists dispute this identification.
Tumulus
A mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves
Alexander I (a.k.a. “The Philhellene”)
Ruled Macedonia for an astonishing 45 years and was considered a friend to Southern
Greeks. Inititially, capitulated to the Persian Invasion of Greece and only later switched
sides to join the “Free Greek” side. 495-450BC
Euripedes
Major Athenian playwright. Moved to Macedonia after being underappreciated in Athens
and wrote tragedies for the king. He wrote The Bacchae while in Macedon and it won
him great awards after his death.
Philip II
Was the father of Alexander and ruled Macedonia for 25 years. He was assassinated in
Verdina. Philip had won a great honor for the people of Macedon by winning the
Olympic Games and began an expansionist policy that included organizing those in
Macedonia and building an efficient military. He expanded Macedonian territories
including taking the city of Olynthus. Philip’s effective military organization and
expansion made Alexander’s much more dramatic expansions possible.
Stater
A Greek coin that circulated from about 500BC – 50AD and represented four-drachma
(tetradrachma). Philip created his own version that often included his face or the face of
Zeus.
Tetradrachm
Worth four drachmas. The coins in Macedonia often contained pictures of Philip or Zeus
and were one of the many ways Philip reinforced his power including his placement of
name on military weapons.
Herakles
Great Greek Hero (Called Hercules in West) who Alexander traced his bloodline back to.
Herakles was known for strength and courage and one of his main symbols, the lion’s
mane, was adopted by Alexander.
Olympias
Alexander’s Mother. Married Philip after Philip had begun his expansion and was from
the house said to be descended from Achilles. Often referred to as scheming and powerhungry and depicted as such in the 1955 Alexander movie.
Siege of Olynthus
One of Philip’s great military accomplishments. He attacked the city for a year and
finally conquered it. Upon taking the city, he burnt it to the ground. His victory there
established Macedon as a great Greek power. Philip’s advanced siege technology was
one of his key military advantages.
Battle of Chaeroneia
The Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC), fought near Chaeronea, in Boeotia, was the greatest
victory of Philip II of Macedon. There, Philip (with 32,000 men) defeated the smaller
combined forces of Athens and Thebes, securing Macedonian hegemony in Greece. In
the Macedonian line, Philip commanded the right wing, while Alexander commanded the
left wing — albeit supervised by the best Commanders of the King. The famed
Companion Cavalry was situated to the rear of the Macedonian line. Macedon's
supremacy over the Greek city-states was finally established, that was later sanctioned
that year by the birth of the League of Corinth, dominated by Philip. The battle is also of
great importance in the fact that it signed the decline of the city-state institution, and the
rise of the territorial states; to this it can be added that it prepared the ground to the
Macedonian conquest of the Persian Empire a few centuries later.
Phalanx
Advanced version of Greek Hoplites. Carried long spears called Sarissa and large shields.
Were a difficult formation for enemy horsemen to penetrate because of the length of their
spears and the fact that they stayed tightly together. Depicted in the Alexander Mural
found in Pompeii.
Sarissa
A long, thin lance used by the Macedonian phalanx to great effect against horsemen
especially the Persians. Was a major advantage introduced by Philip.
Oblique line attack
A military tactic where an attacking army focuses its forces to attack a single enemy
flank.The force commander concentrates the majority of his strength on one flank and
uses the remainder to fix the enemy line. That allows a commander with weaker or equal
forces to achieve a local superiority in numbers. Famously used by Philip II and
Alexander the Great.
Demosthenes
Demosthenes grew interested in politics during his time as a logographer, and in 354 BC
he gave his first public political speeches. He would go on to devote the most productive
years of his life to opposing Macedon's expansion. He idealized his city and strove
throughout his life to restore Athens' supremacy and motivate his compatriots against
Philip II of Macedon. He sought to preserve his city's freedom and to establish an alliance
against Macedon, in an unsuccessful attempt to impede Philip's plans to expand his
influence southwards by conquering all the Greek states. After Philip's death,
Demosthenes played a leading part in his city's uprising against the new King of
Macedon, Alexander the Great.
Bucephalus
Alexander’s Horse. Bucephalus died after the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC. The
story of the taming of Bucephalus (no one else could tame him and Alexander approaches
him from side and soothingly turns him away from being scared by his own shadow and
impresses everyone, Philip says: “O my son, look thee out a kingdom equal to and
worthy of thyself, for Macedonia is too little for thee.” The two were to be inseparable for
22 years, though he often used a different horse for the edge of battle. When Bucephalus
died, he gave him a hero’s funeral and named a city after him.
Plutarch
One of the key sources of information on Alexander’s life. He was a Greek historian and
biographer. Many of his descriptions of Alexander’s appearance and life events appear no
where else. He described Alexander’s face in a way that allows analysis of sculpture
today.
Mieza
The site of Alexander’s prep-school or boot camp. Run under the direction of Aristotle.
Philip had established the site as a place for the next generation of Macedonian leaders to
learn and become athletic.
Hephaistion
Hephaestion (ca. 356 BC–324 BC), son of Amyntor, a Macedonian aristocrat. He was a
boon companion, general, and possibly even a lover of Alexander the Great. It is likely
that the two met at Mieza. Robin Lane Fox has referred to Hephaestion as Alexander's
alter ego. He excelled in logistics and was a captain of the Companion Cavalry along
with Cleitus.
Companions
The Companions were Alexander the Great's elite cavalry, the offensive arm of his army
and also his elite guard. They would be used in conjunction with his Macedonian
phalanx. The Phalanx would "fix" the enemy into place and then the Companion cavalry
would attack the enemy on the flank. After his death, they divided up his kingdom, each
taking certain parts. They were some of his most important long-term military advisors.
Pothos
Greek for “yearning,” often used to describe Alexander’s eyes: yearning for the east.
Arete
The Greek ideal of Excellence that Alexander and others strived for. It was said to be
epitomized in Greek heroes like Herakles and Achilles. Specifically, to the ancient
Greeks, it referred to the perfection of the male form and the male body of a youth up to
the age of about 20. As such it was an essential value of classical Greek thought.
Mycenae
Ancient Greek city that flourished in the Bronze Age (1600-1200 BC), was the capital of
King Agamemnon and was most prosperous from 1400-1200 BC. (Image: golden mask
of Agamemnon, 1600 BC, found in graves and serves as testament to masonry/skill of
artisans). At Mycenae there exists a citadel with the well-known Lion’s Gate, which was
the symbol of the ruling class/kings of Mycenae. Part of the great walls of fortification
built around city.
Mt. Olympus
Were the gods were thought to have lived.
Basileus
A word that signifies “sovereign”—appropriated by Bronze Age Mycenaean’s to mean
“chieftain” or someone who is high up in ruling class.
Tholos Tomb
Beehive tombs, also known as Tholos tombs, are a monumental Late Bronze Age
development of either the Mycenaean chamber tombs or tumulus burials dating to the
Middle Bronze Age. The tombs usually contain more than one burial, in various places in
the tomb either on the floor, in pits and cists or on stone-built or rock-cut benches, and
with various grave goods. After a burial, the entrance to the tomb was filled in with soil,
leaving a small mound with most of the tomb underground.
Corbel vault
A corbel arch is an arch-like construction method which uses the architectural technique
of corbeling to span a space or void in a structure, such as an entranceway in a wall or as
the span of a bridge. A corbel vault uses this technique to support the superstructure of a
building's roof.
King archon
Archon Basileus was a Greek title, meaning 'king magistrate': from the words archon
"magistrate" and basileus "king" or "sovereign". In classical Athens, the Archon Basileus
was the last remnant of monarchy.
Tyrant, tyrrany
A tyrant possesses absolute power through the people in a state or in an organization: one
refers to this mode of rule as a tyranny. In ancient Greece, tyrants were generally
aristocrats who had gained power over the others by getting the support of the poor
people by giving them land, freeing them from slavery, etc. Usually gained power on
behalf of the lower, disenfranchised people against the aristocrats.
Oligarchy
Oligarchy is a form of government where most or all political power effectively rests
with a small segment of society (typically the most powerful, whether by wealth, family,
military strength, or political influence). The word oligarchy is from the Greek words for
"few” and "rule."
Aristocracy
The Ancient Greek term aristocracy meant a system of government with "rule by the
best". This is the first definition given in most dictionaries. The word is derived from two
words, "aristos" meaning the "best" and "kratein" "to rule".
Spartan kings
Powerful city-state in Greece, rival of Athens, believed themselves to be descendents of
Herakles. Kingship came with the Peloponnesian War: 431–404 BC between Athens and
Sparta, started largely by Spartan in opposition to the Delian League. Ended in defeat of
Athens and brief transfer of power to Sparta. Delian League: alliance of city-states,
dominated by Athens, that joined in 478–447 BC against Persians. League disbanded
after Peloponnesian War but united again under Athens' leadership against Spartan
aggression in 377–338 BC. Had two kings; different from other Greek states that were
ruled by aristocrats or people (Athens)
Acropolis
Citadel or fortified part of city, usually on hill. Literally means the edge of a town or a
high city. For purposes of defense early settlers naturally chose elevated ground,
frequently a hill with precipitous sides, and these early citadels became in many parts of
the world the nuclei of large cities which grew up on the surrounding lower ground.
Agora
Public part of a city, open-space used for assemblies and markets. Greek for marketplace.
Marathon
The Battle of Marathon (490 BC) was the culmination of King Darius I of Persia's first
major attempt to conquer the remainder of the Greeks and incorporate it into the Persian
Empire, to secure the weakest portion of his Western border. Most of what is known of
this battle comes from Herodotus. Greeks win despite being outnumbered. Major burial
mound commemorates the site.
Susa
Alexander goes to Susa in Elam. Susa was a great central administrative center of the
Persian Empire, on the Royal Road. Royal Road had messengers, kings used them to
keep in touch. Susa was one of the great treasuries of the Achaemenian Empire,
Alexander finds the “Fort Knox” of the empire. Alexander sent his soldiers home very
rich. Prosperity and consumption in Macedonia increased. It was also a site where
Alexander forced many of his Macedonian officers to marry Persian women. Most of
those marriages ended in divorce.
Herodotus
“Father of History.” Ca. 484-425 B.C. The theme for his work The Histories was the
conflict between the ancient Greeks and the Persians or 'Medes'.
Satrap
The name given to the governors of the provinces of ancient Median and Persian
Achaemenid empires and in several of their heirs, the Sassanid and later Hellenistic
empires.
“To medize”
Northern part of present Iraq is Media. When somebody submitted to the Persian side
from Greek side he “medized.”
Polis
A 'polis' is a city, or a city-state. The word originates from the ancient Greek city-states.
The bounds of the ancient polis often centered around a citadel, called the acropolis, and
would of necessity also have an agora (market) and typically one or more temples and a
gymnasium. Note that many of a polis' citizens would have lived in the suburbs or
countryside. The Greeks did not regard the polis as a territorial grouping so much as a
religious and political association: while the polis would control territory and colonies
beyond the city itself, the polis would not simply consist of a geographical area.
Cuneiform writing
Literally means “wedge-shaped”; earliest form of writing devised by the Sumerians as
early as 3500 B.C., a system of pictographs used as a model for Egyptians’ hieroglyphics
just 300 years later; written on clay tablets using a stylus.
Images
Name: Alexander head from Pergamon
Approximate date: ca. 2nd century BCE
Style/culture: Greek
Material: marble
Name: Tetradrachm of Lysimachus
Approximate date: ca. 300-280 BCE
Style/culture: Macedonian
Material: silver
(You might want to look at other picture for this one because this thing is crucial.)
Name: Alexander Sarcophagus
Approximate date: ca. 325-300 BCE
Style/culture: Greco-Persian
Material: marble
Name: Funerary Mask of “Agamemnon”
Approximate date: ca. 1550 BCE
Style/culture: Mycenaean
Material: gold
Name: Portrait of King Menkaure and Queen Khamerernebti II
Approximate date: ca. 2470 BCE
Style/culture: Egyptian
Material: diorite
Name: Stele of Naram-Sin
Approximate date: ca. 2200 BCE
Style/culture: Akkadian
Material: sandstone
Name: “Croesus” Kouros from Anavyssos
Approximate date: Archaic. ca. 525 BCE
Style/culture: Greek
Material: marble
Name: Kritios Boy
Approximate date: Late Archaic. ca. 480 BCE
Style/culture: Greek
Material: marble
Name: Doryphoros
Approximate date: Classical. original: ca. 450 BCE
Style/culture: Roman copy of Greek original
Material: marble (original in bronze)
Name: Statuette of Alexander
Approximate date: ca. 300 BCE
Style/culture: Greek
Material: bronze
Name: Head of Alexander from the Athenian Acropolis
Approximate date: ca. 330 BCE
Style/culture: Greek
Material: marble