Nations and Peoples  (v.4/22/06) (click here for printable PDF)

The Greeks (Northern Greek Kingdoms, The Southern City-states, the Islands, and others)

The Northern Greek Kingdoms (Macedonia’s Neighbors)

    Chalkidike – sacred to Poseidon, this trident-shaped peninsula exports fish and wine
    Epiros – the home kingdom of Alexander's mother, Olympias, Epiros looks to the west
    Thessalians – well-known horsemen, nearly as good at the charge as Macedonians; their wisewomen are famed for their insight, and feared for their curses

The Southern City-states

    Argos – this “city of shipbuilders” lies near the ruins of ancient Mycenae
    Athens – by far the largest city in Greece, a place of radical politics and great learning
    Boeotia – the only southern Greeks who produce any cavalry of note
    Corinth – a mercantile city, placed at crossroads by land and sea
    Olympia – City sacred to Zeus, the site of the Olympic games in his honor
    Sparta – their totalitarian life produces tough, well-disciplined heavy infantry
    Thebes – military innovators who dominated Greece until Philippos

The Islands

    Chios – wine- and olive-growing island, birthplace of Homer and Hippocrates
    Crete – famous for its archers, sailors, con-men, and the occasional minotaur
    Delos – sacred to Apollo
    Kypros – far in the eastern Med., this birthplace of Aphrodite is rich in copper
    Lesvos – wine-growing island, birthplace of Sappho “The Tenth Muse”
    Rhodes – mercantile center, has school of rhetoric, also well-known for slingers
    Samos – sacred to Hera, home of the Pythagorean school of sorcery
    Samothrace – sacred to all the gods
    Thasos – controlled by Macedon, extensive mines, makes the best wine in the world
    Thera – the crescent-shaped “Island of Fear”, known for its restless dead

Other Greeks

    Byzantium – a colony of Athens, this town leads to the breadbaskets of the Black Sea
    Magna Graekia - Greek city-states of southern Italy (Locri, Neapolis, Tarentum)
    Ionians – the Greeks of Asia Minor, under Persian rule
    Massilia – a mercantile city in the distant west
    Syracuse – the largest city of Sicily

The Northern Barbarians

    Agrianes – a mountain people noted for their bravery and ferocity in combat
    Illyrians – raiders and thieves, untrustworthy
    Paeonians – horsemen and herders, they rely on mounted javelineers for defense
    Sarmatians – horse nomads whose women fight alongside the men, enemies of the Scythians
    Scythians – horse nomads, noted for their skill with herbs as well as the bow
    Thracians – a numerous and warlike people, usually busy fighting among themselves