Entry words are in boldface; within an individual entry, any word for which there is a separate entry is also in boldface. Where the student might have difficulty in finding a translation of an author’s work, a reference to a translation is given whenever one exists. For the historians, the number in Brill’s New Jacoby is given, since this reference work includes a translation. Otherwise, if the author is covered in a volume in the Loeb series, that reference is given by way of preference, since that volume will normally be the most easily accessible.
Academy see Plato.
Achaian War War between Rome and the Achaian League in 146 BC. It ended with Rome’s destruction of Corinth.
Acropolis Most Greek cities lay near a hill which might serve as a place of refuge in case of attack; the generic name for such a hill was “acropolis” (“high city”). The best-known is that in Athens.
Aelian Claudius Aelianus was a Roman writer of the second century AD, best known for his Varia historia (“Historical Miscellany”), a collection of historical anecdotes.
Aeneas the Tactician Fourth-century BC author of a tract on sieges. Aeolians One of the three phylai (“tribes”) into which the Greeks themselves divided themselves up (see also Dorians and Ionians). In the classical period, Aeolians dwelled in Boeotia, in eastern Thessaly, on Lesbos, and on the northwestern coast of Anatolia.
Aeolic The dialect of Greek spoken by the Aeolians. Since the subdialects of Aeolic (eastern Thessalian, Boeotian, Asiatic Aeolic) differ widely from each
A History of Greece: 1300 to 30 BC, First Edition. Victor Parker.
© 2014 Victor Parker. Published 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Other, it is not easy to characterize Aeolic, but the Greeks themselves viewed it as a distinct dialect.
Aeschines Athenian orator and politician of the fourth century. See Box 18.3.
Aeschylus One of the three great Athenian tragedians of the fifth century, he took part in the battles of Marathon and Salamis.
Agamemnon In Greek mythology, the king who led the Greeks against Troy in the Trojan War.
Agiads One of the two royal houses at Sparta. See also Eurypontids.
Agoge The system for the education of Spartiate boys and girls. It consisted of rigorous athletic training for both sexes as well as instruction in literacy and rhetoric. The boys, for whom it lasted from age seven to thirty, received military training also.
Ahhiyawa A land mentioned in the Hittite texts of the 13th century BC. It lay in the far West, was reached by ship, and was probably a Mycenaean state, whether on an Aegean island or on the mainland. See Box 2.4.
Alcaeus Mytilenaean poet of the mid-sixth century BC. Although he is best known for his drinking songs, he also wrote political poetry. Trans.: Loeb, Greek Lyric, vol. I.
Alcmaeonids A wealthy and powerful aristocratic clan in Athens which produced some of the most famous Athenian politicians, including the reformer Cleisthenes (end of the sixth century) and Pericles who dominated Athenian politics in the mid-fifth century.
Alcman A Lacedaemonian poet of the late seventh century BC. His most famous poem is the elaborate Partheneion or “Maidens’ Hymn” to be performed by Spartiate girls during a religious festival. Trans.: Loeb, Greek Lyric, vol. II.
Alexander Romance The most popular prose text in antiquity, edited and re-edited countless times both in Greek and in other languages such as Syriac. In existence by the third century AD, its historical utility is limited.
Alphabet A script in which the signs represent individual phonemes. The Greek alphabet was unique in the ancient world in that it consistently wrote vowels in addition to consonants. See also syllabary.
Ammianus Marcellus Fourth-century AD historian of the Roman Empire.
Amphictiony Literally “an association of those dwelling on both sides (i. e., of a landmark).” Specifically, the Pylaean Amphictiony.
Anaximander Sixth-century philosopher from Miletus, a successor of Thales. Diels-Kranz, VOrsokratiker, Nr. 12.
Andocides Athenian orator of the late fifth, early fourth centuries BC.
Annalists Roman historians who used a year-by-year format. Owing to their partisan bias and “creativity” in making their case, they have a poor reputation overall. Livy commonly used them (next to Polybius), and their work also appears in later compilatory works such as Appian and Cassius Dio.
Antigonids The dynasty which eventually gained control of the Hellenistic kingdom of Macedonia.
Antiochus of Syracuse Late-fifth-century BC author of a history of the western Greeks. BNJ 555.
Apokletoi The standing committee of the Boule of the Aetolian League. It comprised at least thirty members.
Apollonius of Rhodes Third-century BC epic poet. Originally based in Alexandria, he emigrated to Rhodes where he composed an epic on the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts.
Apophasis A report prepared by the Council of the Areopagus at the request of the Assembly in Athens.
Appian Second-century AD historian. His history of Rome is divided up into sections according to the Romans’ wars, whether against foreign enemies (e. g., Macedonian Wars or Syrian Wars) or against each other (Civil War).
Arcado-Cyprian The dialect of Greek spoken in Arcadia and on Cyprus, two widely separated regions. Closely related to the Mycenaean dialect, it did not figure in the Greeks’ own discussions of dialects.
Archaic Denoting the period (roughly from 800 to 479 BC) which precedes the classical period.
Archidamian War The first phase of the Peloponnesian War, from 431 to 421 - named after the Lacedaemonian king Archidamus.
Archilochus Parian poet and soldier of the mid-seventh century BC. He emigrated from Paros to the colony of Thasos. Trans.: Loeb, Elegy and Iambus, vol. II.
Archon A common term for an official. At Athens, one of a college of nine annually selected officials. The chief of the college was the eponymous archon who gave his name to the year. The others were the archon basileus, the archon polemarchos, and the six thesmothetai. The nine archons were the chief executive magistrates of Athens, but their role became increasingly ceremonial in the course of the fifth century as the office of the generalship gained in importance.
Archon basileus The “King Archon.” One of the nine archons at Athens, he made certain sacrifices on behalf of all Athenians.
Archon polemarchos The “War Archon.” One of the nine archons at Athens. In the year 490 BC, he (at least officially) commanded the Athenian army. In that year, when the ten tribal generals deadlocked, the archon polemarchos cast the deciding vote.
Arion of Methymna Sixth-century poet, none of whose poetry survives.
Aristobulus of Cassandreia Late-fourth-, early-third-century BC historian. Arrian relied heavily on his history of Alexander’s expedition. BNJ 139.
Aristocracy A constitutional form in archaic Greece whereby a clan (or group of clans) such as the Bacchiads or Penthilidae held political power.
Aristodemus Greek historian of uncertain date. BNJ 104.
Aristophanes The most important Athenian comic playwright of the fifth century BC.
Aristotle Important fourth-century BC philosopher. He was Plato’s pupil and, when he did not succeed Plato as leader of the latter’s school, the Academy, he founded the Peripatetic school. He was the tutor of Alexander the Great.
Arrian L. Flavius Arrianus was a second-century AD Roman statesman, commander, and author from Bithynia. He wrote a history of Alexander the Great, the Anabasis, based principally on the works of Ptolemy and Aris-tobulus. Other important works include the Indica and the compilation of the teachings of the Stoic philosopher Epictetus.
Asclepiodotus Author of a military handbook which was in existence by the second century AD.
Asius of Samos Early-sixth-century BC poet. Trans.: Loeb, Elegy and Iambus, vol. I.
Assembly A meeting, ideally, of all adult male citizens in a Greek state or community. It usually held the final authority to make decisions. As a general rule, an assembly made decrees (as distinct from laws).
Assibilation The development of the sound /ti/ to /si/ - an important criterion for classifying Greek dialects. Conservative dialects (such as Doric) regularly retained original Greek /ti/; in progressive dialects (such as Mycenaean) it regularly became /si/ (except where /s/ preceded).
Assyria Near Eastern kingdom centered in northern Iraq. It was destroyed by the Medes in the late seventh century BC.
Athenaeus Highly learned second-century AD author of a work called the Deipnosophistae. Its chief value lies in its countless quotations from older authors’ works.
Athenian Empire or League The First Athenian League developed from the Delian League after the Persian Wars. It was dissolved at the end of the Peloponnesian War. The Second Athenian League was formed in 377 BC and finally dissolved in 338 BC.
Aurelius Victor Fourth-century AD historian of the Roman Empire. The tract De uiris illustribus (“On famous men”) is falsely attributed to him.
Autocrator Used in Diodorus as Alexander’s title in the League of Corinth.
Autonomy Etymologically, the condition of making and having one’s own laws. The political concept of “autonomy” is closely linked with that of “freedom.” While there was general agreement among the Greeks that, as a rule, states should be “free and autonomous,” a concrete definition of the concept as well as of which states qualified for it proved elusive.
Bacchiads Aristocratic clan which ruled over Corinth in the seventh century BC before the Cypselid tyranny.
Basileus (pl. basileis) The generic word for “king” in post-Mycenaean Greece. The Mycenaean form of the word was gwasileus. Many Greek states in preclassical times were governed by basileis, and some states such as Sparta and the Greek cities on Cyprus continued under the rule of basileis through the classical period. The term basileus was freely used also for the monarchs of non-Greek peoples such as the Lydians, Thracians, and Persians; the rulers of Macedonia were also called basileis, as were all the rulers of the Hellenistic kingdoms.
Boule A common term for a state’s executive council; see also Gerousia. In fifth-century Athens, there were 500 members in the Boule, fifty for each of the ten Cleisthenic tribes (phylai). Both the Achaian and the Aetolian Leagues had a Boule in the third and second centuries BC - see synhedrion and synkletos.
Bronze Age The conventional name for the period from ca. 3000 to 1200 BC in the eastern Mediterranean world. For the division into Early, Middle, and Late Bronze Age, see the chart at the beginning of Chapter 2.
Cadmeia The acropolis of Thebes.
Caesar C. Julius Caesar (100-44 BC); Roman dictator, general, and author. He wrote two historical works, the Gallic Wars and the Civil War.
Callimachus Third-century BC poet who worked at Alexandria. He is best known for his erudite Aitia (“origins”).
Callisthenes of Olynthus Greek historian of the late fourth century BC. A nephew of Aristotle’s, he accompanied Alexander the Great as the expedition’s official historian until he fell from grace in the early 320s. BNJ 124.
Carthage, Carthaginians Carthage, in modern-day Tunisia, was a colony founded by Phoenicians from Tyre in the tenth or ninth century BC. The Carthaginians founded numerous settlements in the western Mediterranean, including on Sicily, where they frequently came into conflict with the Greeks.
Cassius Dio Second - to third-century AD historian who wrote an eighty-book history of Rome. See also Zonaras.
Chares of Mytilene The majordomo at Alexander’s court, he compiled a history of Alexander’s expedition. BNJ 125.
Charon of Lampsacus Fifth-century BC Greek historian. BNJ 262.
Chiliarch The Greek term for the “vizier” or second-in-command in the Persian Empire. The position still existed at the courts of Alexander and his immediate successors.
Chremonidean War A war waged in 269 or 268 BC by Athens and Sparta against Macedonia.
Cicero M. Tullius Cicero was a Roman orator, lawyer, statesman, and prolific writer (106-43 BC).
Cimmerians A non-Greek people which carried out plundering raids in Anatolia during the seventh century BC.
Classical Denoting the period (roughly from 478 to 323 BC) which is traditionally viewed as the apogee of Greek civilization, hence the name.
Claudius Ptolemy Second-century AD astronomer, mathematician, and geographer. His most famous work is the Almagest, an astronomical tract, but his Geographia is an important source of geographical information about the ancient world.
Cleitarchus of Alexandria Greek historian of the mid-third century BC. His racy history of Alexander the Great was widely read in antiquity; Curtius relied heavily on it, and Diodorus produced a condensed version of it in his Book XVII. Scholars often refer to the tradition based on Cleitarchus as the vulgate. BNJ 137.
Cleomenean War A war waged by Cleomenes III of Sparta from 228 to 222 BC, initially against the Achaian League but later against Macedonia.
Cleruch, cleruchy A cleruchy was an Athenian settlement abroad on land confiscated from another community and distributed in equal plots to Athenian settlers (so-called cleruchs).
Colony A settlement founded abroad by a Greek community. A colony, unlike an emporion, was an independent, fully functioning political entity.
Common Peace see koine eirene.
Council see Boule and Gerousia.
Council of 400 A council introduced by Solon in Athens. Each of the four tribes (phylai) then in existence selected by unknown means 100 men for service on this council. Its functions are unknown, but were probably similar to those of the later Boule or Council of 500.
Council of 500 see Boule.
Council of the Areopagus A council in Athens which consisted of all living former archons. It met on the Areopagus, a hill sacred to Ares, just to the west of the Acropolis. Before the time of Solon, the Council of the Areopagus probably had a role similar to that of the Boule in the fifth century. Until 462 it retained the “guardianship of the laws.” It tried cases of homicide and had certain religious functions as well. In the fourth century BC, the Assembly began to defer to it in difficult matters.
Cratippus Greek historian who wrote a continuation ofThucydides - possibly identical with the Oxyrhynchus Historian. BNJ 64.
Cretan Hieroglyphic An undeciphered script in use on Bronze Age Crete. See also Linear A.
Crypteia A “secret service” in which young Spartiate males served; its purpose was to spy on and control Helots.
Ctesias Greek doctor from Cnidus who in the late fifth and early fourth centuries BC resided at the Persian court. He composed a history of Persia. BNJ 688.
Ctesicles Author of an historical work composed between the late third century BC and the second century AD. The author’s name may have been “Stesicleides.” BNJ 245.
Curtius Q. Curtius Rufus was a Roman historian, most likely of the first century AD, who wrote a history of Alexander the Great. His chief source was Cleitarchus.
Cypselids The dynasty of tyrants which ruled Corinth from ca. 620-550 BC (“low” chronology) or 657-584 BC (traditional “high” chronology). The tyrants were Cypselus, his son Periander, and the latter’s nephew Psamettichus.
Damio(u)rgos (pl. damio(u)rgoi) In many Greek states, the title of a magistrate; in Mantinea, the chief executive official in the classical period. In the Achaian League, a member of the standing committee for the Boule.
Damos see demos.
Dananaeans One of the Sea Peoples. They settled in the later Adana in Cilicia.
Dark Age An historical period characterized by an absence or paucity of illuminating source material; in regard to Greece, the period immediately after the downfall of the Mycenaean palaces ca. 1200 BC and before the archaic period.
Decarchy A college of ten officials, specifically one installed by Lysander in various Greek cities after the end of the Peloponnesian War. The decarchies, filled by members of the pro-Lacedaemonian faction in each city, were to govern each city in Sparta’s interests.
Decree An enactment by an assembly which an assembly could undo whenever it so chose. Decrees, in the event of a conflict, yielded to laws.
Dekas A file in the Macedonian phalanx. Although it literally means a group of ten, it had sixteen members under Alexander the Great. One of the sixteen was its commander, the so-called dekadarch.
Delian League An alliance formed in the early 470s BC by the Athenians and various Greek cities in Asia Minor, on the north Aegean Coast, and on the Aegean islands. The initial purpose of the alliance was to wage war against the Persians. The Delian League soon developed into the First Athenian League or Athenian Empire.
Delphi The site, in Phocis, of the most important Panhellenic shrine, dedicated to Apollo. The oracle here, besides its religious and cultural importance, had political significance as well, since by tradition the oracle sanctioned many state undertakings.
Demarch The official in an Athenian deme who presided over the deme assembly and kept the roll of male Athenian citizens.
Deme In Greek: demos. The lowest level of political organization in Athens. In the city itself demes were neighborhoods; in the countryside they were villages or hamlets grouped together. Demes, according to their size, sent councillors to the Boule. A sufficient number of demes were grouped together to form a trittys.
Demetrian War A war of the 230s BC waged by Demetrius II of Macedonia against the Aetolian and Achaian Leagues.
Demochares Historian of the late fourth, early third centuries BC. BNJ 75.
Democracy A constitutional form characterized by the use of the lot to fill offices and by monetary compensation for the holding of office.
Demos (The form in Mycenaean (as well as in other dialects) was damos.) In Mycenaean times, the damos was the official name for a community within the Kingdom of Pylos. It retained the ownership of land classified as ktoinai kekhesmenai. In classical times, the word demos had many meanings: the citizens of a state; the assembly; the state itself. In Athens it was also the lowest level of the political organization of the state - in this sense it is conventionally anglicized as deme.
Demosthenes Athenian orator, lawyer, and statesman of the fourth century BC, best known for his speeches against Philip II of Macedonia, the so-called Philippics. His speech De corona (“On the Crown”) was and still is regarded as the finest of the Greek orations.
Dexippus Third-century AD historian. BNJ 100.
Diadochi (sg. Diadochus) Literally “successors.” The collective term for the officers who took over Alexander’s empire upon his death.
Dinarchus Fourth-century BC Athenian orator.
Diodorus First-century BC compiler of a vast historical encyclopedia which covered the history of the ancient world down to his own day. Diodorus produced this encyclopedia by summarizing and abridging the works of earlier historians such as Ephorus, Timaeus, Cleitarchus, Hieronymus of Cardia, Polybius, and Poseidonius.
Dioecism The reversal of a synoecism.
Diogenes Laertius Third-century AD author of a collection of biographies of Greek philosophers.
Dionysius of Halicarnassus First-century BC historian and rhetorician. His chief work, the Roman Antiquities, has much information about the Greek colonies in the West as well.
Do(h)ela, do(h)elos A woman or man respectively of unfree status in Mycenaean Greece (cf. eleuthera). The later Greek forms of the words are doule and doulos.
Dorian Invasion This purely conventional term refers to the entrance into Greece of the Dorians, probably in the eleventh (?) and tenth centuries BC.
Dorians One of the three phylai into which the Greeks themselves divided themselves up (see also Aeolians and Ionians). The Dorians themselves were originally divided up into three phylai (in the canonical order: Hylleis, Dymanes, and Pamphyli) which in the late archaic and classical periods were mostly being renamed or replaced. In classical times, Dorians dwelled in the southern and eastern Peloponnese, on Crete, on the southern Cyclades, on the Dodecanese, and on the southwestern coast of Anatolia.
Doric The dialect of Greek spoken by the Dorians. It is most noticeably distinguished both from Mycenaean and Ionic by a general absence of assibilation and from Ionic additionally by the retention of the sound /a/.
Drachma The basic coin in Greece. There were six obols to the drachma. As to the value of the coin, money is worth what money will buy. In the midsixth century BC in Athens, one drachma apparently bought a bushel of grain. In mid-fifth century BC Athens, two obols were a standard daily wage. About a generation later, at the start of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) three obols were a standard daily wage.
Duris of Samos Late-fourth-, early-third-century BC Greek historian. BNJ 76.
Dymanes see Dorians.
Early Helladics An archaeologically attested culture in Greece during the periods Early Helladic I and II (see chart at beginning of Chapter 2).
Egypt Kingdom lying along the River Nile in northern Africa, often controlling much of Palestine. The Persian king Cambyses conquered Egypt in the 520s, but it frequently revolted from the Persian Empire. Alexander the Great incorporated it into his empire in 332 and 331 BC. After his death in 323 BC, the satrap of Egypt, Ptolemy, made Egypt an independent kingdom once again (albeit under a Greco-Macedonian dynasty). In 30 BC his descendant Cleopatra VII died, and Egypt became a Roman province.
Ekklesia see assembly.
Eleusinian Mysteries A “mystery” cult was one in which only those who had been initiated into it could take part. The Eleusinian Mysteries, celebrated in the town of Eleusis, were the most important annual festival of the Athenians, almost all of whom were initiated into this cult.
Eleuthera, eleutheros A woman or man respectively of free status in Mycenaean Greece (cf. do(h)ela, do(h)elos).
Elymians A non-Greek people in northwestern Sicily.
Emporion A trading-post abroad at which Greeks resided on a continuing basis, but which, unlike a colony, was never a politically independent community.
Engyesis Betrothal. The engyesis-contract recorded how a woman’s legal guardian (usually her father) handed over a dowry to her groom. The bride retained legal ownership of the dowry, the groom gained possession. As long as he had possession, he was legally obligated to support her. Upon her death, her heirs (usually her and her husband’s sons) inherited the dowry.
Enneakrounos The “nine heads (or spouts)” - the name of Athens’ main public fountainhouse, built by the Peisistratids.
Ephor One of a college of five annual officials at Sparta. By the fifth century BC, the ephors were the chief executive magistrates of Lacedaemon. The chief ephor gave his name to the year.
Ephorus of Cyme Fourth-century BC historian who wrote a thirty-volume history of the Greek world from the time of the Dorian Invasion to 340 BC. The sections on Greece and the East in Diodorus, XI-XVI 76 are taken from Ephorus. BNJ 70.
Epibatai (sg. epibates) Infantrymen who served above deck on a trireme.
Epic Strictly speaking, poetry composed in dactylic hexameters; specifically the two long poems, Iliad and Odyssey, conventionally attributed to “Homer.”
Epimeletai A college of officials at Mantinea, responsible for recording the names of newly enrolled citizens.
Episkopos (pl. episkopoi) An Athenian official during the time of the First Athenian League. The episkopoi helped supervise the League’s members.
Epitome A “condensed” or abridged version of a longer book.
Eteocretans A non-Greek people living on Crete during the classical period.
Eteocyprians A people living on Cyprus who were neither Greek nor Phoenician. The chief Eteocyprian town was Amathus.
Ethnos (pl. ethne) A people or tribe; a specific form of state in the Greek world - the “tribe-state” or “league.” In the latter sense its counterpart in the Greek world was the polis (see Box 4.1). Although of little importance during the fifth century, ethne gain in importance during the fourth. In the third and second centuries two large ethne, the Achaian and the Aetolian Leagues dominate Greece. Ethne are frequently termed “leagues” or “federal leagues” or “federal states.”
Etruscans A people in central Italy. Their league of twelve cities dominated central Italy before the rise of Rome. In the seventh to fifth centuries BC they occasionally came into conflict with Greek colonists in the area.
Euripides One of the three great Athenian tragedians of the late fifth century.
Eurypontids One of the two royal houses at Sparta. See also Agiads.
Eusebius Late-third-, early-fourth-century AD Christian historian and theologian. In regard to Greek history, his most important work is the Chronicon.
Federal league, federal state see ethnos.
Frontinus First-century AD author of a collection of military strategems.
Gazophylakion In the Seleucid Kingdom, the technical term for the treasury in the physical sense, the vault. The first element (gaz-) is Persian, the second element (phylakion, “guard-house”) is Greek.
Gellius Second-century AD author of a compilatory work, the Attic Nights. Its chief value consists in its many quotations from older authors.
General, generalship (Greek: strategos, strategeia.) Generally a military command, but often enough a high political office. In classical Athens, ten generals were elected, initially by each of the ten tribes (phylai) separately, but eventually by the voting population at large. These generals eventually displaced the archons as the most important officials. In both the Achaian and Aetolian Leagues, the highest political official bore the title strategos. In the Seleucid Kingdom, the satrap was usually called a strategos in Greek.
Geometric Denoting a type of pottery (named after the geometric motifs used to decorate it) prevalent in Greece in the ninth and eighth centuries BC.
Geomori On Samos, the governing aristocracy before Aeaces I established a tyranny there in the sixth century.
Gerousia Literally “council of elders.” A common term for a state’s executive council - see also Boule. In Sparta, the Gerousia consisted of thirty members, two of whom were the kings (see also basileus).
Graphe, graphe paranomon A graphe was a motion in the Athenian Assembly. A motion which ran contrary to a law was a graphe paranomon. Moving such a motion exposed the mover to prosecution.
Great Rhetra The Great Rhetra at Sparta was a constitutional text, probably from the late eighth century, which among other things regulated the membership of the Gerousia as well as meetings of the Assembly.
Gwasileus (pl. gwasilewes) A functionary in the Kingdom of Pylos; the form of the word in classical Greek is basileus.
Harmost A governor appointed by the Lacedaemonians to oversee a community, especially in the period after the Peloponnesian War.
Hecataeus of Miletus Greek genealogist and geographer of the late sixth and early fifth centuries BC. BNJ 1.
Hegemon A generic word for a military commander. Used for Philip II’s position as leader of the League of Corinth.
Hegemony Greek historians’ word for one state’s predominant military position either in a region (“hegemony of the Peloponnese”) or in a particular sphere (“hegemony by land”).
Hellanicus of Lesbos Greek historian and mythographer of the late fifth century BC. BNJ 4.
Hellenica Oxyrhynchia An anonymous historical work preserved on papyrus fragments found in the Egyptian village of Oxyrhynchus. This work proved to be a continuation of Thucydides and ran from 411 to 386 BC. BNJ 66.
Hellenistic The conventional name denoting the period after the death of Alexander the Great (323 BC) down to the death of Cleopatra VII (30 BC).
Hellenize, Hellenization “To Hellenize” is to make, act, or become in some respect Greek. The process by which non-Greeks become Greek is “Hellenization.”
Hellenotamiai The treasurers of the Delian League/First Athenian League.
They were always Athenians.
Helots The third and lowest of the three main tiers of Lacedaemonian society. See also Perioeci and Spartiates. The Helots counted as between free and slave. Helots who had become free against future military service were Neodamodeis; those who passed through the agoge became Mothakes.
Herm A stylized statue of the god Hermes in Athens.
Hero In Greek religion, an immortal who might receive offerings, but who ranked below the gods proper. Some mortals (e. g., oecists) became heroes upon death.
Herodotus Traditionally called the “father of history,” he wrote the oldest fully surviving Greek work of history in the second half of the fifth century BC.
Hieronymus A. k.a. St. Jerome. A prolific Christian historian, theologian, and translator of the fourth century AD.
Hieronymus of Cardia Late fourth, early third centuries BC. Greek historian who wrote a history of the Diadochi. Books XVni-XXII of Diodorus were taken from him. BNJ 154.
Hippeis (sg. Hippeus) Literally “Horsemen,” this word commonly denoted a social class (e. g., at Eretria), as the horse was a status symbol that only the wealthy could afford. It could also denote a college of officials (e. g., at Sparta or on Crete). In Athens, the Hippeis were the second highest census class from the time of Solon onwards; they held property valued at between 500 and 300 bushels of grain. After the introduction of coinage, it was between 500 and 300 drachmas.
Hippias of Elis Philosopher of the late fifth, early fourth centuries BC. BNJ 6.
Hippias of Erythrae Greek historian of uncertain date, but definitely earlier than the second century AD. BNJ 421.
Hittites A people in central Anatolia during the Bronze Age. They left behind extensive records in several (mostly cuneiform) languages. Their kingdom was destroyed ca. 1200 BC.
Hollow Syria Phoenicia and Palestine - in older textbooks commonly called “Coele Syria.”
Homer In Greek tradition, a blind poet who composed the Iliad and the Odyssey. He is highly unlikely to have been a genuinely historical person.
Hoplite The standard Greek heavily armed infantryman. See Box 10.1.
Hylleis see Dorians.
Hypereides Fourth-century BC Athenian orator.
Hypomeiones (sg. hypomeion) Men who were born of Spartiate parents and had passed through the agoge, but were not members of a syssition whether through lapse of membership or failure to gain admission. Hypomeiones had no political rights.
Ibycus of Rhegium Poet of the sixth century BC. Trans.: Loeb, Elegy and Iambus, vol. I.
Iliad An epic poem, traditionally attributed to Homer. The Iliad deals with an episode during the tenth year of the Trojan War (see also Odyssey).
Ion of Chios Fifth-century Greek poet and philosopher.
Ionian Revolt Despite the name, a revolt of all Greek cities in Asia Minor against the Persian Empire (from 499 to 494). The Carians as well as many Cyprians, both Greek and Phoenician, joined the revolt.
Ionians One of the three phylai into which the Greeks themselves divided themselves up (see also Aeolians and Dorians). The Ionians in classical times dwelled in Athens, on Euboea, on the Cyclades, and on the central western coast of Anatolia including the islands just off the coast.
Ionic The dialect of Greek spoken by the Ionians. It is most noticeably distinguished from other Greek dialects by the development of the sound /a/ to /e/.
Isaeus Fourth-century BC Athenian orator.
Isocrates Prolific Athenian orator and pamphleteer (436-338 BC).
Isodore of Charax Geographer, probably of the first century BC; author of the tract Parthian Stations, a description of the road from Zeugma to Alexandria in Arachosia. BNJ 781.
Isthmian Games One of the four Panhellenic festivals, dedicated to Poseidon and celebrated on the (Corinthian part of the) Isthmus. They took place every other year, in an Olympic year and then again two years later.
John Chrysostomus Fifth-century AD patriarch of Constantinople.
Josephus Joseph bar Matthias, a. k.a. T. Flavius Josephus, wrote two major works in the first century AD, the Jewish Antiquities and the Wars of the Jews, on the history of the Jewish people.
Juror, jury In Athens, trials were decided by juries consisting of 201, 501, 1001, etc. jurors, based on the importance of the case. (The odd number guaranteed that there would be no tie; there was no “judge” in the modern sense at an Athenian trial.) The jurors were drawn from those who had entered their names on the jury-rolls; if there were more than 6,000 names on the rolls, then the lot was used to select the required jurors.
Justin M. Junianius Justinus in the fourth century AD produced an epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus.
King see basileus.
King Archon see archon basileus.
Knosos In the Bronze Age, this Cretan city was a center of the Minoan civilization and later the chief city of a Mycenaean kingdom.
Koine eirene A “common peace” - a multilateral peace treaty, ideally encompassing all of Greece; specifically any of the various multilateral peace treaties sworn in Greece starting with the King’s Peace of 386 BC.
Ktitas (pl. ktitai) In the Bronze Age Kingdom of Pylos, a ktitas was probably the owner of a ktoina ktimena. As such he was obligated to military service. A metaktitas was in some sense a dependent of a ktitas.
Ktoina (ktoina ktimena, ktoina kekhesmena) (pl. ktoinai) A plot of land in Mycenaean Greece. In the Kingdom of Pylos individuals could own ktoinai ktimenai, whereas individuals could merely lease ktoinai kekhesmenai to which the damos retained title. Both types of plot were under cultivation in the kingdom’s final year.
Lamian War A war waged by Athens against Macedonia in 323 and 322 BC.
Laodiceian War see Third Syrian War.
Law An ordinance made by a lawgiver or lawgiving college such as the Nomothetai in Athens. Unlike a decree, a law was, in theory, permanent and in the event of any conflict overruled a decree made by an Assembly. An Assembly could not overrule or abolish a law; only another lawgiver or duly authorized lawgiving college could do that.
Lawagetas The second highest official in the Bronze Age Kingdom of Pylos. His title means “leader of the army.”
Lawgiver A man duly authorized by a Greek state to make laws. Once he had received this authority he could make whatever laws he found fitting. Solon is the best-known of the ancient Greek lawgivers.
League, league-state see ethnos.
League of Corinth In 338 BC, Philip II forced all the Greeks in mainland Greece to join this military alliance of which he became the leader or hegemon.
Lefkandi An important Dark Age archaeological site on Euboea.
Lelantine War A war waged by the Euboean cities of Chalcis and Eretria over the Lelantine Plain. It lasted, off and on, from the late eighth to the midseventh century.
Linear A An undeciphered script in use on Bronze Age Crete. See also Cretan Hieroglyphic and Linear B.
Linear B A syllabary, developed from Linear A and used by the Mycenaeans for writing Greek in the Late Bronze Age.
Livy T. Livius was a Roman historian of the first century BC. For his treatment of Hellenistic history, Livy depended heavily on Polybius of Megalopolis, but also on the Annalists. The loss of many books of Livy’s history is mitigated by the so-called Periochae (summaries of individual books), one epitome (Florus), and several other works so heavily based on Livy as to be effective epitomes (Eutropius, Festus, Orosius; cf. also Obsequens).
Lucian of Samosata Prolific second-century AD essayist who despite his Syrian origins wrote in Greek.
Lycurgus Fourth-century BC Athenian statesman and orator.
Lydia A kingdom in western Anatolia which Cyrus the Great conquered for the Persian Empire in 546 BC. The last five Lydian kings were Gyges, Ardys, Sadyattes, Alyattes, and Croesus. Croesus was famous for his wealth; under him, the Lydian kingdom reached its greatest extent encompassing all of western Asia Minor with the exception of Lycia.
Lyric In the narrower sense, poetry composed in a tripartite stanzaic form and in certain meters. The best-known examples are the victory odes of Pindar and the choral passages in tragedy.
Lysias Athenian orator in the late fifth and early fourth centuries BC.
Macedonian War The name for any of four wars waged by the Romans against the Macedonians: the first from 214 to 206 BC, the second from 200 to 197, the third from 171 to 168, the fourth in 148 BC.
Malalas Sixth-century AD Greek historian.
Maniple A unit within a Roman legion. A Roman legion of 3,000 men was divided up into three lines: at the front the hastati; then the principes; and at the back the triarii. There were ten maniples in each line; those of the first two consisted of 120 men, those of the third of 60. The maniples of the three lines were staggered (like three rows of bricks in a wall).
Medes, Media The Medes were an Iranian people living in what is now northwestern Iran. The Median Empire arose in the late seventh century BC and eventually extended as far as Parthia in the east and as far as the Halys River in Asia Minor to the west. Cyrus the Great, a Persian vassal of the last Median king, Astyages, successfully revolted in 550 BC; and the Median Empire became the Persian Empire.
Megaron The central hall in a Mycenaean palace during the Bronze Age. See Figure 2.7.
Megasthenes Third-century BC Greek historian who led a diplomatic mission to India and wrote a book about that land. BNJ 715.
Memnon First-century BC Greek historian who wrote a history of his hometown Heracleia Pontica. BNJ 434.
Messenian War This name is applied to either of two wars in the course of which the Lacedaemonians conquered Messenia. First Messenian War: ca. 690-670 BC; Second Messenian War: ca. 630-600.
Metaktitas see ktitas.
Minoan The name (after the mythological king Minos) conventionally given to the Bronze Age civilization which flourished on Crete before the Myc-enaeans conquered that island in the Late Bronze Age.
Mithridatic War The name applied to any of three wars waged by Rome against Mithridates VI of Pontus: the first from 88 to 84 BC, the second from 83 to 82, the third from 74 to 65.
Mothakes (sg. Mothax) Helots who had passed through the agoge, normally as companions to boys of Spartiate parents.
Mother-city The city which founded a colony. Mother-city and colony ideally maintained friendly relations; a colony might expect aid from its mother-city in time of need, and a colony owed its mother-city deference and respect.
Mycenaean The name (after the site Mycene) conventionally given to Late Bronze Age Greek civilization. Linguistically, “Mycenaean” refers to the dialect of Greek written in the Linear B tablets.
Mycene A city on the Peloponnese; an important Bronze Age archaeological site where a Linear B archive was found. In some versions of Greek myths, Agamemenon reigns in Mycene.
Myron of Priene Third-century BC author of a history of Messenia. BNJ 106.
Nearchus of Crete An officer of Alexander’s, he commanded Alexander’s fleet which sailed from the Indus into the Persian Gulf. He later wrote a book about his experiences on which Arrian relied heavily in the latter part of the
Anabasis and in the Indica. BNJ 133.
Nemean Games One of the four Panhellenic festivals, dedicated to Zeus of Nemea. The Nemean Games took place every two years, in the year immediately after and again in the year immediately before the Olympic Games.
Neo-Babylonian Kingdom Based on Babylon, in the sixth century BC it extended from the Persian Gulf, along the Rivers Euphrates and Tigris, across Syria to the Mediterranean and down into Phoenicia and Palestine. It also controlled Cyprus. Cyrus the Great conquered it for the Persian Empire in 539 BC.
Neodamodeis Former Helots who had obtained freedom in exchange for future military service. Neodamodeis appear in the late fifth century BC, and become prominent in Lacedaemonian armies during the fourth.
Nepos Cornelius Nepos was a first-century BC Roman biographer. He relied heavily on Ephorus.
Nicolaus of Damascus First-century BC court historian of Herod the Great in Judea. He relied heavily on Ephorus. BNJ 90.
Nomophylaces Officials charged with enforcement of laws in Athens under Demetrius of Phalerum in the late fourth century BC.
Nomothetai In Athens from the early fourth century BC onwards, a lawgiving commission. If the Athenian Assembly deemed a law needful of revision, then it arranged for the selection of Nomothetai from those who had entered their names on the jury-rolls. The Nomothetai then conducted a formal jury-trial of the old law with the proposer of the new law acting as the plaintiff; specially appointed officials called Syndikoi defended the old law.
Obe In Sparta, a geographically based division of the people. Six obes are known. The obes coexisted with the three traditional Dorian phylai, Hylleis, Dymanes, and Pamphyli.
Obol see drachma.
Odyssey An epic poem traditionally attributed to a blind poet called Homer. The Odyssey deals with Odysseus’ return home from the Trojan War.
Oecist The man who led colonists from their mother-city out to the colony and settled it. In the earlier period, the oecist remained in the colony until his death, after which the colonists honored him as a hero.
Old Oligarch The conventional term for the oligarchic author of an anonymous fifth-century BC tract on the Athenian constitution. The tract is conventionally, though falsely, attributed to Xenophon and printed with his works.
Oligarchy A constitutional form characterized by the restriction of political rights to a select group of male citizens (e. g., to a specified number or to those who possessed a specified amount of wealth), by the use of election to fill office, and by the absence of pay for holding office.
Olympic Games The most important of the four Panhellenic festivals, dedicated to Olympian Zeus. The festival took place in Elis every four years. A list of victors in the footrace was preserved and published in the late fifth or early fourth century BC by the philosopher Hippias of Elis. The earliest entry is for the year 776 BC, traditionally held to be the date of the first Olympic Games.
Onesicritus of Astypalaea An experienced sailor, he functioned as chief helmsman in Alexander’s fleet under Nearchus’ command. He later wrote a history of Alexander’s expedition. BNJ 134.
Orientalizing Denoting a type of Greek pottery (named after the “oriental” motifs, such as lions, used to decorate it) from the eighth century BC.
Orkha (pl. orkhai) In the military of the Kingdom of Pylos, one of ten groups of troops assigned to a watch along the coast.
Orthagorids A family of tyrants which ruled Sicyon for a hundred years (ca. 650-550 on the “high”, ca. 610-510 on the “low” chronology). The founder of the line was Orthagoras; the best-known tyrant was Cleisthenes (early sixth century).
Ostracism Annual vote in classical Athens to banish a politician for ten years without loss of citizenship. A “ballot” was a pottery sherd (ostrakon), hence the name.
Ostrakon see ostracism.
Oxyrhynchus Historian see Hellenica Oxyrhynchia.
Palaistine, Palaistinoi In Greek, the Philistines, one of the Sea Peoples, were called Palaistinoi. In the eleventh century BC, the Palaistinoi settled in Palestine (Greek: Palaistine) which the Greeks named after them.
Pamphyli One of the three phylai (the third in the canonical order) into which the Dorians were originally divided up. Etymologically, it means “people from all (manner of) phlyai” - i. e., initially it was a sort of collective appellation for people who had initially belonged to other phylai.
Panathenaean Games The chief festival at Athens, dedicated to the goddess Athena. The “Greater Panathenaea” took place every four years in the second year of an Olympiad. The “Lesser Panathenaea” were an annual festival.
Pausanias Second-century AD author of a tourist’s guide to Greece. The work is invaluable for identifying Greek villages as well as structures within excavated cities. Since Pausanias included brief historical accounts of the cities and regions which he was describing, he occasionally preserves information not attested elsewhere.
Peisistratids The family of tyrants which ruled in Athens from the 560s to 511 BC. The two rulers were Peisistratus and his son Hippias.
Peloponnesian League A network of military alliances commanded by Sparta, it arose in the mid-sixth century. In Greek, it was referred to as “the Lacedaemonians and their allies.”
Peloponnesian War A major war between Athens and Sparta which began in 431 BC and did not end until 404 BC.
Pentacosiomedimni (sg. Pentacosiomedimnus) Literally “500-Bushel-Men.” The highest census class in Athens from the time of Solon onwards. They held property valued at 500 bushels of grain or higher; after the introduction of coinage, the amount was 500 drachmas or higher.
Pentecontaetia A period of fifty years - specifically the period between the Persian War (480-479) and the Peloponnesian War (431-404) even it is not quite fifty years long.
Penthilidae Aristocratic clan which ruled in Mytilene before various tyrants seized power in the sixth century BC.
Perioeci (sg. perioecus) Etymologically: “dwellers about.” In Sparta the second of the three main tiers of Lacedaemonian society. The Perioeci were free, but had no political rights. Cf. Helots and Spartiates. In Thessaly, the perioeci were peoples living around Thessaly who were subject to the Thessalians - the Phthiotic Achaians, the Perrhaebians, and the Magnesians.
Peripatetic see Aristotle.
Periplus “Circumnavigation, sailing around.” Specifically, a sailing around the Peloponnese.
Persia, Persian Empire Founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC, the Persian Empire at its height extended from central Greece in the West to the Indus River in the East. It incorporated all the territory of older kingdoms such as Lydia, Media, the Neo-Babylonian kingdom, and (during certain periods) Egypt. Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire in the 330s, though as a political and administrative entity it survived largely intact in the Seleucid kingdom.
Persian War(s) In the narrowest sense, Xerxes’ invasion of Persia and its repulse (480-479 BC). Occasionally, the Marathon campaign of 490 BC as well as operations after 479 BC are included in the term.
Phalanx A densely packed military formation with the individual infantrymen arranged in ranks and files. Both hoplites and sarissophoroi fought in this type of formation.
Philaids A prominent aristocratic clan in Athens; Miltiades the Elder, Miltia-des the Younger (whose plan led the Athenians to victory at Marathon in 490 BC), and Cimon were prominent members.
Philistines see Palaistine.
Philochorus Late-fourth-, early-third-century BC Athenian historian. BNJ 328.
Phocian War Also called the Third Sacred War. This war (355-346 BC) pitted the Phocians against the rest of the Pylaean Amphictiony; in the end Philip II of Macedonia defeated the Phocians.
Phoenicides Third-century BC comic playwright.
Phoros A “tribute” - a tax paid by a dependent community (e. g., by a member of the First Athenian League to Athens, or by a Greek city to a foreign power such as Lydia or Persia).
Phratry In Athens, a traditional clan association. An Athenian boy was accepted by vote into his father’s phratry - the clan’s vote to accept proved the boy’s legitimacy. This took place before the boy was enrolled in his father’s deme at age 18.
Phyle (pl. phylai). A subdivision of a group of people such as the inhabitants of a state - in general, a “tribe.” A Greek state was generally divided up into phylai. In fifth-century Athens, there were ten such phylai. The word was also applied to the three main groups into which the Greeks themselves divided themselves up (Aeolians, Dorians, and Ionians) as well as to the three groups into which the Dorians themselves were divided up.
Pindar Lyric poet of the fifth century BC. He is best known for elaborate odes which the victors in contests at athletic festivals such as the Olympic Games commissioned.
Plato Important philosopher of the fourth century BC, a pupil of Socrates. His most famous work was the Republic, an extended disquisition on the ideal state. His most famous pupil was Aristotle who, however, did not succeed him as leader of the school which he had founded, the Academy. See Box 17.2.
Pliny the Elder First-century AD writer. He died in the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A. D. 79.
Plutarch Second-century AD Greek biographer and essayist. His works are grouped into two main collections, the Lives and the so-called Moralia, a diverse body of argumentative tracts, erudite disquisitions, and compendia of trivia.
Polis (pl. poleis) A city in the physical sense; a specific form of state in the Greek world - the “city-state” (its counterpart in this sense was the ethnos - see Box 4.1); or, loosely, just “state.”
Pollux Second-century AD philosopher and lexicographer.
Polyaenus Second-century AD author of a collection of military stratagems, largely collected from earlier Greek authors, especially Ephorus.
Polybius of Megalopolis Greek historian of the second century BC. His History chronicled the rise of Rome and the decline of the Hellenistic world in the third and second centuries BC. Books XXIII-XXXII of Diodorus are taken from Polybius.
Porphyry Third-century AD philosopher and historian. The historical fragments are collected at BNJ 260.
Poseidonius of Apameia First-century BC Greek historian. Diodorus, Books XXXIII-XXXVIII/XXXIX are based on him. BNJ 87.
Proskynesis Prostration; in Greek and Macedonian culture, this gesture was performed before gods only; in the Persian Empire, it was a polite gesture routinely performed before a social superior and in particular before the king.
Prytany One of the ten periods into which the Athenian official year was divided in the classical period. During the year each of the ten tribes (phylai) held a prytany when the fifty men of that tribe (phyle) who were currently on the Boule were in session.
Ptolemaic, Ptolemies The Kingdom of Egypt in Hellenistic times is commonly called “Ptolemaic Egypt”; its rulers are collectively the “Ptolemies,” as all the male rulers bore the name Ptolemy.
Ptolemy I Soter An officer under Alexander the Great, he became satrap of Egypt in 323 BC and founded the Ptolemaic dynasty there. He also wrote a history of Alexander the Great; BNJ 138.
Punic War The name applied to any of three wars waged by Rome against Carthage. First Punic War: 264-241 BC; Second Punic War: 220-201; Third Punic War: 149-146.
Pylaean Amphictiony An amphictiony consisting of twelve ethne dwelling on both sides of the pass at Thermopylae (see chap. 18). Originally based on the sanctuary of Demeter at Anthela, since it later administered the sanctuary at Delphi also, it is sometimes known as the Delphic Amphictiony.
Pylos In the Late Bronze Age this city was the center of a kingdom conventionally named after it.
Pythian Games One of the four Panhellenic festivals, dedicated to Apollo at Delphi (Apollo’s special name at Delphi was Pytho). The Pythian Games were quadrennial and took place two years before (or after) the Olympic Games.
Quadrireme see trireme.
Quinquireme see trireme.
Sacred war A war fought on behalf of a sanctuary or temple. Specifically, any of the four wars fought in relation to the sanctuary at Delphi: First Sacred War: early sixth century BC; Second Sacred War: mid-fifth century BC; Third Sacred War (a. k.a. the Phocian War): 355-346 BC; Fourth Sacred War:
339-338 BC.
Sallust Roman politician and historian (86-35 BC), best known for two small tracts that survive intact, the Conspiracy of Catiline and the Jugurthine War.
Samnite Wars Three wars waged by the Romans, from the mid-fourth to the early third centuries BC, against the Samnites, a people of southern Italy.
Sappho Mytilenaean poet of the mid-sixth century BC. She is best known for her highly personal love poetry which heavily influenced later poets. Trans.: Loeb, Greek Lyric, vol. I.
Sarissa, sarissophoros (pl. sarissai and sarissophoroi respectively) The sarissa was a fifteen-foot thrusting spear used in a Macedonian phalanx. Those who wielded it were sarissophoroi. By the mid-second century, the length of the sarissa had grown to about 20 feet.
Satrap The Persian Empire was divided up into some twenty satrapies, each under the rule of a satrap. The satrap was the chief military, political, financial, and judicial officer in the satrapy. On a day-to-day basis, he was largely independent of any centralized control. Under Alexander the Great the satraps lost some power, but under both him and the Diadochi satrapies continued to exist. The Seleucid Kingdom was still divided up into satrapies, though the satrap was then usually called a strategos (see general).
Satyrus Third-century BC Greek historian.
Scythians A non-Greek people living to the North of the Black Sea.
Sea Peoples The purely conventional name given to a number of migratory peoples ca. 1200 BC. The name is based on a description of the Ekwesh in an Egyptian text of the pharoah Merneptah (Breasted, III, Nr. 588) even if the Ekwesh are not among the migratory peoples listed by the pharaoh Ramses III (ANET, p. 262). Although the Ekwesh practiced circumcision (a custom unknown among the Greeks), some scholars have identified them as Greeks on the basis of “kling-klang” etymology.
Seleucid, Seleucids The Hellenistic kingdom which, geographically at least, replaced the Persian Empire, is usually called the “Seleucid Kingdom.” Its rulers, descended from Seleucus I Nicator, are collectively called the “Seleucids.”
Shaft Graves Burial sites (from the Middle Helladic III and Late Helladic I periods) at Mycene. The goods deposited in these graves were exceptionally rich.
Shekelesh One of the so-called Sea Peoples mentioned by the pharaoh Ramses III (ANET, p. 262). The Egyptians commonly hired them as mercenaries in the thirteenth century BC, and some of them must have joined the genuinely migratory peoples with whom Ramses III groups them. The connection of the Shekelesh with Sicily is based on “kling-klang” etymology.
Shikalaeans One of the so-called sea peoples who invaded Egypt at the end of the Bronze Age - see Box 3.1.
Sicanians A non-Greek people on Sicily, eventually forced into the interior by Greek colonists.
Sicels A non-Greek people on Sicily, eventually forced into the interior by Greek colonists. The island came to take its name from them.
Social War Literally “allies’ war.” The term is applied to two wars in Greek history (in the 350s and in the 210s BC) and to one in Roman History (91-88 BC).
Socrates An Athenian philosopher of the late fifth and early fourth centuries BC. Although he himself left behind no writings, his pupils, Plato and Xenophon, did.
Solon Athenian statesman and lawgiver of the first half of the sixth century BC. He composed numerous poems, many political. Trans.: Loeb, Elegy and Iambus, vol. I.
Sophocles One of the three great Athenian tragedians of the fifth century BC.
Spartiates The highest of the three main tiers of Lacedaemonian society. The Spartiates alone had political rights. See also Helots and Perioeci. There were two prerequisites for being a (male) Spartiate: passage through the agoge and membership in a syssition. If a Spartiate’s membership in a sys-sition lapsed, he lost his political rights and became a hypomeion.
Stephanus of Byzantium Sixth-century AD Greek grammarian and compiler of a geographical dictionary.
Stesicleides see Ctesicles.
Strabo Late-first-century BC, early-first-century AD geographer. Strabo’s long work, the Geographica, is not only indispensable for ancient geography, but is useful historically as well since it contains long extracts from historians.
Strategos see general.
Suetonius C. Suetonius Tranquillus was a second-century AD Roman biographer.
Suffetes The two annual chief executive magistrates at Carthage (see Livy, XXVIII 37 and XXX 7; also Aristotle, Pol. 1272b, who calls them “kings”); etymologically, the word is the same as the Hebrew word conventionally translated as “judges” in the Old Testament.
Suidas On the basis of a misunderstanding, an enormous Greek lexicon of the tenth century AD was until recently attributed to this non-existent author. It is now known that the lexicon’s title is “Suda,” which probably means “stronghold.” Both ways of citing the work - “Suda” and “Suidas” - are in common usage.
Syllabary A script in which the signs represent syllables (e. g., da, de, di, do, du) instead of individual phonemes (e. g., b, d, g). Cf. alphabet.
Sympolity A political union of two (or more) states such that there is no physical relocation of the any state’s citizens, all of whom continue to live in their old cities as before. Cf. synoecism.
Synarchiai The members of the standing committee of the Boule of the Achaian League.
Syndikoi see Nomothetai.
Synhedrion The name for the Boule in the Aetolian League.
Synkletos The name for the Boule in the Achaian League.
Synoecism The process whereby people living in two or more communities come to live together in one larger settlement. This larger settlement may be, but need not be, a fully new foundation (for example, in the case of two cities, the inhabitants of the smaller one might simply move to the larger).
Syntaxis A notionally voluntary payment which usually tended to be obligatory in fact. Unlike a phoros, a syntaxis did not of itself imply the dependent status of the community paying it.
Syrian War Any of six wars fought between the Seleucids and the Ptolemies. First Syrian War: mid-270s BC; Second Syrian War: mid-250s BC; Third Syrian War (also called the Laodiceian War): 245 BC; Fourth Syrian War: 219-217 BC; Fifth Syrian War: 201-198 BC; Sixth Syrian War: 170-168 BC.
Syssition At Sparta, a communal mess or dining club at which a male Sparti-ate took his meals. A syssition in the classical period had about fifteen members; their unanimous approbation in a secret ballot was required by a prospective new member. Members paid dues out of which the meals were financed. Failure to pay the dues resulted in the lapse of one’s membership. See also hypomeion.
Tacitus P. Cornelius Tacitus was a late-first - to second-century AD Roman historian; his chief works are the Annals and the Histories.
Tagos The specific term among the Thessalians for their elective basileus.
Temenos A plot of land which in Mycenaean times the damos awarded to the wanax and the lawagetas. In the Iliad, a community can award a temenos to a king or other benefactor.
Tetrad Any one of the four “quarters” into which Thessaly was traditionally divided; each tetrad stood under a tetrarch.
Tetrarch A tetrarch was an official or ruler who governed a region which was a “quarter” of a larger region - see tetrad. In Judea under Roman rule, some regions were at various times called tetrarchies.
Thalassocracy A sea-borne empire such as the Cretans had in Greek mythology.
Thales Sixth-century philosopher from Miletus. Diels-Kranz, Vorsokratiker, Nr. 11.
Thebes In the Bronze Age, this city was the center of a kingdom conventionally named after it; a Linear B archive existed there.
Theocritus of Syracuse Third-century BC poet at the court of Ptolemy II Philadelphus. He founded the genre of Bucolic or pastoral poetry.
Theognis Sixth-century BC Megarian poet whose often bitter poems chronicle the changing society and politics in the Megara of his day.
Theophrastus Late-fourth-, early-third-century BC philosopher. A pupil of Aristotle’s and his successor as head of the Peripatetic school.
Theopompus of Chios Fourth-century BC historian. His chief works were an epitome of Herodotus, a continuation of Thucydides (from 411 to 394 BC), and a history of the age of Philip II of Macedonia. BNJ 115.
Theoric Commission A financial commission at Athens. Originally responsible solely for providing subsidies to poor Athenians to attend festivals, in the mid-fourth century it acquired almost sole control of all Athens’ finances.
Thesmothetai Six of the nine archons at Athens. Among other things they supervised trials and juries.
Thesmotoaroi A college of officials at Mantinea, responsible for keeping the records of newly enrolled citizens.
Thespis Sixth-century BC poet who produced the first tragedies in Athens.
Thetes (sg. Thes) The lowest census class in Athens from the time of Solon onwards, who defined them as holding property worth less than 200 bushels of grain. After the introduction of coinage, it was less than 200 drachmas.
Thracians A non-Greek people living to the north of the Aegean Sea.