Key events and figures in Western civilization from ancient Greece through the 1600s, tested on the CLEP Western Civilization I exam. Front: the term, event, or figure. Back: a one to two sentence explanation of its significance.
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- Mesopotamia
- A region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers where some of the earliest cities and writing systems developed.
- Code of Hammurabi
- An early written law code from ancient Babylon that set out punishments for specific offenses.
- Ancient Egyptian pharaoh
- The ruler of ancient Egypt, considered both a political leader and a divine figure.
- Phoenician alphabet
- An early alphabet developed by Phoenician traders that influenced the later Greek and Roman alphabets.
- Minoan civilization
- An early Bronze Age civilization centered on the island of Crete, known for elaborate palaces.
- Mycenaean civilization
- A Bronze Age Greek civilization that preceded classical Greece and inspired later legends such as the Trojan War.
- Greek polis
- An independent city-state, the basic political unit of ancient Greece, such as Athens or Sparta.
- Athenian democracy
- A system of government in ancient Athens in which free male citizens voted directly on laws and policy.
- Sparta
- A militaristic Greek city-state known for its rigorous training of citizen-soldiers.
- Socrates
- A classical Greek philosopher known for a question-and-answer teaching method and for being sentenced to death in Athens.
- Plato
- A student of Socrates who founded the Academy in Athens and wrote philosophical dialogues, including The Republic.
- Aristotle
- A student of Plato whose writings on logic, science, and ethics shaped Western thought for centuries.
- Peloponnesian War
- A prolonged war between Athens and Sparta that weakened both city-states and much of Greece.
- Alexander the Great
- A Macedonian king who conquered a vast empire stretching from Greece to India, spreading Greek culture widely.
- Hellenistic period
- The era after Alexander the Great's conquests when Greek culture blended with the cultures of conquered regions.
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