Notes

glossary
polis: city-state, independently ruled cities ranging from the Greek mainland, across the Aegean Sea, and into the Italian peninsula and mainland Asia minor

akropolis: "the top of the city," the religious center of the polis

agora: the open space at the foot of the acropolis that functioned as public gathering place

stoa: the primary structure that served as market place and public area for the debate of ideas, instruction of philosophy, settling of disputes, and exchanging of news

archaiologia: "knowing the past" through legend

feudalism: "system of political organization held together by ties of allegiance between a lord and those who relied on him for protection" (Sayre, 2020, p. 48)

arete: "being the best you can be," "reaching your highest human potential" (Sayre, 2020, p. 49)

kouros: genre of sculpture of a young, physically fit, nude man that offered served as votive offerings or grave markers; became increasingly more naturalistic over time, likely reflecting the "growing role of the individual in Greek political life" (Sayre, 2020, p. 56)

korai: genre of sculpture of clothed female figures likely used as votives to Athena; increasing naturalism reflected in details of dress

lyric poems: focus on themes of love and personal relationships

democracy: "the rule (kratia) of the people (demos)" (Sayre, 2020, p. 59); a system of self-government emerging after Pisistratos' and his son Hippias' tyrannical reign over Athens

politics: "dedication to the well-being of the polis through discussion, consensus, and united action" (Sayre, 2020, p. 59)

contrapposto: term from Italian Renaissance that describes the shifting of weight conveyed by the human form of a sculpture; indiciative of Greek interest in naturalism

kanon: "measure" or "rule" (Sayre, 2020, p. 66); refers to Greek sculpture Polykleitos' sense of proportion for the ideal human form; achieving symmetry in sculpture reflects "higher mathematical order and embodies the ideal harmony between the natural world and the intellectual or spiritual realm" (Sayre, 2020, p. 66)

Sophists: committed to humanism (focused on the actions, especially in politics, of people); believed in "two sides to every argument" (Sayre, 2020, p. 68), and emphasized rhetoric (techniques of logical persuasion) as example of arete; Sophists might take up any side in an argument and often interrogated myths, traditions, and conventions, resulting in their characterization as cynics and in our understanding of sophistry as descriptive of deceitful reasoning; truth and goodness are relative, dependent upon point of view or situation

dialectic method: also called the Socratic method after Socrates who taught his students through a dialogue of question and answer to reveal unexamined premises; truth and goodness reside in the psyche and can be understood through inductive reasoning

catharsis: "cleansing, purification, or purgation of the soul" (Sayre, 2020, p. 77)