1202 Glossarydrachm Ancient Greek silver coin equal to the weight of a
drachma, or approximately one-eighth ounce.
drachma A weight of metal in ancient Greece; a drachma
of silver represented a reasonable day’s wage in fi ft h-cen-
tury Athens.
draconian Unusually harsh or severe
draft animal An animal used to pull plows, wagons, or
other heavy loads.
draft Th e depth of a vessel’s keel below the surface of the
water.
dressing stone Carving stone into a desired shape and
smoothness.
Druid An ancient Celtic priest or religious leader.
drystone Stones fi tted together, as in a wall, without mor-
tar.
Duat Th e netherworld in ancient Egyptian religion.
dux bellorum A military governor of the Roman Empire.
dynasty A succession of rulers from the same family.
earspool Circular ear ornaments that are hollow at their
centers and worn by being placed within a hole in the
earlobe.
eaves Roof edges that project beyond the walls of a build-
ing.
eccentric Rotation around a point that is not the center of
the cosmos.
ecliptic Th e circle representing the apparent annual path of
the sun.
edge species A species of plant or animal that lives at the
edge of an environment, where it can take advantage of
two diff erent environments.
effi gy An image or representation especially of a person.
effl orescence Th e process of developing and unfolding.
egalitarian Off ering equal social and political rights, with
no special privileges or status conferred by birth.
einkorn A kind of wheat (Triticum monococcum).
ekklesia Th e Assembly in Athens, responsible for all major
state decisions and made up of all citizens who wished
to attend.
ekphora Th e funeral procession from the deceased’s house
to the gravesite.
El Niño A recurrent warming of waters in the Pacifi c
Ocean.
electrum an alloy made by combining gold and silver.
elegiac couplet A line of dactylic hexameter followed by one
of dactylic pentameter and forming a complete thought.
elegy A short poem generally concerned with the passion
of a lover and employing the elegiac couplet.
elite A group with higher status in a society that is diff eren-
tiated by status, power, or wealth.
embedded economy An economic system in ancient Celtic
Europe in which the aristocracy laid claim to a portion
of a farmer’s produce or a craft sman’s goods in exchange
for providing the worker with protection.
embroidery Th reads added to cloth aft er it is woven, oft en
in decorative patterns or colors.emmer A kind of wheat (Triticum dicoccum).
empire Sometimes limited to government by a ruler known
as an emperor but more generally rule over a wide area
by a single political entity, such as a single nation ruling
over many other nations.
empiricists Doctors in ancient Greece who relied upon ob-
servation and experience only, not on theory.
emporion Th e Greek word for a “market,” also used to de-
scribe overseas settlements devoted to trade but lacking
the status of formally established apoikiai.
en An offi cial who oversaw the administration of a Meso-
potamian city-state and who sometimes became a king.
enceinte Th e inner ring of fortifi cations enclosing a town.
endemic Belonging to a particular region or people.
endogamous Pertaining to the custom of marrying only
within a tribe or clan.
ensi A governor who took over from an en the secular du-
ties of running a Mesopotamian city-state; the offi ce may
have evolved into a kingship.
entablature Th e horizontal row of stone blocks under the
roof of a building between the tops of the columns that
support the building, oft en carved with friezes.
ephebeia A compulsory program of public education dur-
ing the years of adolescence, designed to train young
male citizens of the Greek democracy, especially in mili-
tary arts.
ephors Board of overseers, fi ve in number, who exercised
control over the kings and Assembly in Sparta.
epic A long narrative poem that tells the story of the deeds
of a single hero or a band of heroes and that can involve
intervention by and confl ict with the gods.
epicyclic Rotation around a point that is itself rotating
around a diff erent center.
epigram A short poem expressing a single thought or ob-
servation.
epistemology Th eory about knowledge.
epode Th e third part of a three-part lyric ode.
equinox One of the two days in the year when the sun
crosses the celestial equator. On these days, there are ap-
proximately equal amounts of sunlight and darkness.
equites Th e equestrian, or knightly class, of ancient Rome.
eschatology Th e usual modern scholarly designation for
such religious themes as the fate of the human being aft er
death, the end of the world, warfare between the powers
of good and evil, the resurrection and judgment of the
dead, the end of the world and related ideas.
escupil Spun cotton body armor used in ancient Meso-
america.
eskers Long, narrow ridges of sand and coarse gravel de-
posited by glacial meltwaters.
estuarine Relating to an estuary, the section of a river that
meets the sea and where freshwater mixes with saltwater.
Etesian winds Th e dry, relatively cool winds that regularly
blow from north to south in the Mediterranean during
the summer months.1195-1234_SocCultAnctWrld-v4_bm.1202 1202 10/10/07 3:30:36 PM