Deck 4: The Hellenistic World

Question 1

The greatest city of the Hellenistic world was

A) Pergamum.
B) Alexandria.
C) Antioch.
D) Athens.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

This age is called Hellenistic because it

A) is neither Greek nor Roman.
B) covered a time period during which the Greeks dominated the Mediterranean world.
C) was more Persian than Greek.
D) was heavily influenced by Hellenic culture.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The primary form of government in the Hellenistic world was

A) oligarchic rule by aristocratic families.
B) democratic rule by the people.
C) military dictatorship.
D) theocratic kingship.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The Hellenistic time period begins with

A) the end of the Peloponnesian War.
B) the death of Alexander the Great.
C) the start of the Persian War.
D) Alexander the Great's birth.

Question 5

Hellenistic classicism shared with Hellenic classicism an

A) emphasis on moral themes.
B) ideal that art should be expressed in simple terms.
C) ideal that art should be characterized by restraint.
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 6

Unlike Hellenic classicism, Hellenistic classicism was often characterized by

A) balance and harmony.
B) tranquility and restfulness.
C) simplicity and restraint.
D) eroticism and realism.

Question 7

Greek culture and society played which of the following roles in the Hellenistic world?

A) They furnished the Hellenistic world with a common language.
B) Greece's city-states exerted political dominion over the Hellenistic world.
C) They set the religious standards of Hellenistic society.
D) Greece's city-state form of government became the Hellenistic ideal.

Question 8

New Comedy, the style of comic drama during the Hellenistic period, was characterized by

A) gently satirical scenes from middle-class life.
B) casual obscenity.
C) political criticism.
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 9

The leading author of New Comedy was

A) Aristophanes.
B) Menander.
C) Plautus.
D) Theocritus.

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT true of urban life in the Hellenistic cities?

A) The expansion of trade benefitted Greeks and non-Greeks.
B) Many of the major cities were founded by Alexander himself.
C) The mixing of cultures reduced class divisions during the period.
D) Most Greek migrants to the new cities pursued business and professional careers.

Question 11

What was Alexander's enduring legacy to the Hellenistic world?

A) his dream of a unified, single world-state
B) his new image of the city
C) his ideal of a Greco-Oriental civilization
D) his goal to found a peaceful world community

Question 12

The Hellenistic Age dates from

A) 500 BCE to 100 CE.
B) 200 BCE to 31 BCE.
C) 323 BCE to 31 BCE.
D) 450 BCE to 200 BCE.

Question 13

The last Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt prior to Egypt's entanglement with Rome was

A) Cleopatra.
B) Ptolemy Soter.
C) Seleucus.
D) Antigonus.

Question 14

Which of the following describes Antigonid rule of Macedon and Greece?

A) absolute rule over the two regions
B) power sharing with the Achaean League in southern Greece
C) chaotic inability to subdue the constant military insurrections in the regions
D) establishment of democratic governments throughout the peninsula

Question 15

Which of the following was characteristic of Hellenistic civilization?

A) New philosophies and religions abounded.
B) Grandiose architecture was the norm.
C) Comedic theater appealed much more than tragic drama.
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 16

The favorite subject of New Comedy was

A) political satire.
B) comic romances.
C) slapstick comedies.
D) burlesques of Greek tragedies.

Question 17

The city of Pergamum can be described as

A) the center of the Seleucid kingdom.
B) a backwater of culture and learning.
C) the most important city in the Attalid kingdom.
D) the capital of Egypt.

Question 18

Hellenistic women found new freedom in their ability to

A) conduct their own legal and economic affairs.
B) work in the liberal arts and professions.
C) make charitable bequests and erect impressive gravestones.
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 19

Government and military posts in the Hellenistic kingdoms were typically held by

A) Greeks and Macedonians.
B) Greeks.
C) the local leaders that had held power prior to conquest.
D) Macedonians of Alexander's line.

Question 20

New Comedy influenced

A) Racine's plays.
B) medieval morality plays.
C) Shakespeare's comedies.
D) Goethe's Faust.

Question 21

Hellenistic temples were characterized by their

A) small sizes.
B) plain decorations.
C) tall, slender columns with decorated capitals.
D) raised platforms and many-stepped entrances.

Question 22

One of the goals of Hellenistic philosophy was ataraxia, which can be defined as a

A) sense of being above the cares of the world.
B) belief that salvation will be given in an afterlife.
C) feeling of belonging to a select group of saved souls.
D) conviction of being in the hands of Fate.

Question 23

The word logos as used by the Stoics can be defined as

A) the sum total of a believer's experiences.
B) the path to redemption.
C) reason, or the rational.
D) the small particles found in all matter.

Question 24

Altars can be described as

A) having existed even before temples.
B) being simple slabs, in the beginning.
C) becoming larger and more widespread during the Hellenistic period.
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 25

Genre art is usually art that

A) includes famous persons, such as a ruler.
B) is associated with religious themes and images.
C) portrays scenes from everyday life.
D) features an idealized style.

Question 26

How did Epicurus differ from the theory of the earlier atomists?

A) He believed that the movement of atoms had little effect on the behavior of the universe.
B) He believed humans could manipulate atoms to change themselves.
C) He believed that atoms were not the smallest units of matter.
D) He inserted the concept of free will.

Question 27

________ taught that the order of things cannot be changed, and hence wisdom lies in doing one's duty, without complaining, in a spirit of dedication.

A) Cynicism
B) Skepticism
C) Epicureanism
D) Stoicism

Question 28

________ denounced all religions and governments; shunned physical comfort; and taught that if one wanted nothing, then one could not lack anything.

A) Cynicism
B) Skepticism
C) Epicureanism
D) Stoicism

Question 29

The altar of Pergamum was

A) constructed in a large courtyard.
B) part of an effort to transform Pergamum into another Athens.
C) decorated with a sculptured frieze.
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 30

Which of the following Hellenistic sculptures depicts a genre subject?

A) Aphrodite of Melos
B) Dying Gaul
C) Eros Sleeping
D) The Laocöon Group

Question 31

The Hellenistic economic order rested on all but which of the following?

A) international trade and banking
B) large scale, localized farming
C) specialized luxury crafts
D) a cheap supply of slaves

Question 32

During the Hellenistic period, temples were altered so that

A) there was space inside to seat the congregation of worshipers.
B) their grandeur enhanced the majesty of the ruler who built them.
C) no statues of gods or goddesses could be placed inside.
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 33

Theocritus developed the new literary genre called the

A) epic.
B) pastoral.
C) sonnet.
D) novel.

Question 34

________ argued that nothing could be known for certain.

A) Cynicism
B) Skepticism
C) Epicureanism
D) Stoicism

Question 35

Hellenistic women were attracted to Epicureanism because this philosophy

A) called for a strict separation between the sexes.
B) advocated sexual equality within society.
C) promoted friendship, and thus made the sexes equal.
D) urged that women pursue careers the same as men.

Question 36

________ taught that the best life is lived withdrawn from the world, cultivating simple pleasures and avoiding fame, power, and wealth.

A) Cynicism
B) Skepticism
C) Epicureanism
D) Stoicism

Question 37

A key principle of Stoicism was the

A) identification of God with nature and reason.
B) belief in twin gods, a god of evil and a god of goodness.
C) belief in reincarnation.
D) assumption that the best way to live is separate from society.

Question 38

New Comedy reflected and appealed most directly to the

A) middle class.
B) poorer classes.
C) aristocracy.
D) non-Greek and non-Macedonian masses.

Question 39

Hellenistic philosophies often encouraged a type of self-sufficiency called

A) moral relativism.
B) arete.
C) autarky.
D) hubris.

Question 40

Theocritus's "idylls" most commonly offered

A) criticisms of Hellenic governments.
B) small portraits of Hellenistic life.
C) moral admonishments on lives led in pursuit of pleasure.
D) a questioning of established religious beliefs.

Question 41

What aspect of Euclid's discoveries became the basis of mathematical studies until the nineteenth century?

A) linear equations
B) trigonometry
C) calculus
D) geometry

Question 42

What was the cultural legacy of the Hellenistic Age to the West?

Question 43

Compare and contrast Hellenic and Hellenistic comedy, noting playwrights, treatment of characters, and plots and themes.

Question 44

Choosing two examples of Hellenistic sculpture, show how these works reflect the values of Hellenistic civilization.

Question 45

What did the Hellenistic Age contribute to science and technology? Identify the individual achievements of at least three major figures.

Question 46

Hellenistic sculpture usually depicted

A) serenity.
B) order and symmetry.
C) idealized emotion.
D) realism.

Question 47

What was genre subject art? Use a work from the Hellenistic period that represents this style to support your arguments.

Question 48

All of the following are legacies of Hellenistic civilization EXCEPT

A) the shift in emphasis from cities to the rural countryside.
B) a new sense of multicultural tolerance.
C) divine-right kingship.
D) Roman art and literature.
Essay Questions

Question 49

Neoclassicism swept the Hellenistic world

A) at the height of the military power of the three major kingdoms.
B) as the Hellenistic kingdoms began to crumble during Rome's rise.
C) in response to the development of Alexander's new cities.
D) as international trade improved and spread the works of classical Greece.

Question 50

Compare and contrast the role of women in Hellenic and Hellenistic society. Explain the reasons for their similarities and differences.

Question 51

Identify the Hellenistic states that arose as a result of the partition of Alexander the Great's far-flung empire. What forces unified these states during the Hellenistic period?

Question 52

How did Hellenistic scientists differ from their Hellenic predecessors like Plato and Aristotle?

A) They were more practical.
B) They were more speculative.
C) They were less interested in methodologies.
D) They produced less concrete advancements.

Question 53

Discuss Hellenistic religions, with special focus on the belief in Fate and the mystery cults. Why were these religions so popular with the masses?

Question 54

Describe a Corinthian-style temple, using the Olympieum in Athens as the model. How did the Olympieum reflect the propaganda goals of the rulers who commissioned it?

Question 55

What were the contributions of Theocritus to Western literature?