Important Definitions

• agora- a place where an assembly would gather and talk
• arete- excellence, means "being the best you can be"
• polis- a city-state located in ancient Greece
• the year 508 BC- In 508 BC, Cleisthenes reformed the constitution of ancient Athens and started a democracy  He is known as "the father of Athenian democracy". Male citizens were now allowed to vote on how the city-states should be run.
• Socrates- Socrates was a Greek Athenian philosopher who was one of the founders of Western philosophy. 
• the death of Socrates- When Socrates was in his seventies, he was given the death penalty for being a traitor against the establishments and recognition of the Greek gods. As he was waiting for his execution, he drank poison and then was instructed to walk around until his legs felt numb. Once he could no longer feel his legs, the numbness slowly made its way up his body and reached his heart killing him instantly.
• the Socratic method- The Socratic method is where you ask question after question in order to find contradictions in the person's thoughts and to help them come up with a solid conclusion. It helps understand critical thinking, reasoning, logic, find holes in their own theories and to fix them immediately.
• what the ancient Greeks meant if they called you an idiot: If you were called an idiot back in the ancient Greek times it meant you were a private person who wasn't involved in politics or public life.