Deck 3: The Greek City-State: Democratic Politics

Question 1

Homer's profound impact on the Greek outlook and character is evident in

A)the importance he placed on honor and excellence even in the face of suffering and death.
B)his poetic appreciation for the orderliness of the universe.
C)the complexity of his characters' motive and the intensity of their emotion.
D)his recognition of war's tragic character.
E)All of these

Answer 1

All of these

Question 2

All of the following statements about the ancient Greek concept and humankind are true except

A)human beings have a capacity for rational thought and a need for freedom.
B)nature follows consistent rules that could, and should, be grasped by human reason.
C)unlike Hebrews, the Greeks found little intrinsic worth either in the individual or in humankind as a whole.
D)the Greeks stressed human dignity but grounded it in the ability of each individual to think for himself and bear responsibility for his actions.
E)the Greeks broke with the mythopoeic worldview of older civilizations.

Answer 2

unlike Hebrews, the Greeks found little intrinsic worth either in the individual or in humankind as a whole.

Question 3

The practice of religion in ancient Greece

A)involved attempts to appease the gods through prayers, offerings, and ritual purification.
B)included consultation of oracles.
C)pervaded everyday life and was more social than spiritual.
D)included ceremonies led by citizens chosen to act as priests.
E)All of these

Answer 3

All of these

Question 4

During its Dark Age, Greece experienced

A)extensive migrations of Greek tribes from the mountain to the plains, the Aegean Islands, and Asia Minor.
B)a complete collapse of the palace systems of the Minoans and the Mycenaeans.
C)insecurity, warfare, poverty, and isolation.
D)the disappearance of a literate culture
E)All of these

Question 5

The greatest achievement of the Greeks was

A)the creation of a lasting world empire.
B)the rational outlook that became a distinctive feature of the West.
C)the principle of women's rights.
D)the fusion of religion and politics.
E)their military.

Question 6

In the revival that came after the Dark Age, all the following occurred except

A)a dramatic rise in population that led to extensive Greek colonization as far away as Italy and the Black Sea.
B)a spectacular rise in overseas trade and the use of metals.
C)rapid urbanization.
D)the rise of rationalism gradually eliminated the gods from Greek culture.
E)growing social complexity and new social tensions.

Question 7

The activities of Heinrich Schliemann and Arthur Evans resulted in

A)the confirmation of references by Homer to civilizations in Greece prior to the 8th Century B.C.
B)the earliest translations of Homeric works.
C)an understanding of the route of Dorian invasions.
D)a more critical understanding of Athenian democracy.
E)a better understanding of the tragedy of the Peloponnesian War.

Question 8

All of the following are true of the polis except

A)originally, the polis was based on tribal allegiances and served as a religious institution.
B)the polis flourished in Greece from 750 B.C.to 323 B.C.
C)Greeks came to regard the polis as "the only framework within which man could realize his spiritual, moral and intellectual capacities."
D)the intimate involvement of citizens in the political and cultural life of the polis meant that even women and resident aliens participated in the governance of the city-state.
E)the polis was usually small, with fewer than 5,000 male citizens.

Question 9

The central theme of the Iliad is

A)the dangers of uncontrolled women: Helen of Troy caused ten years of war.
B)the fatal wrath which brings epic suffering: Achilles' anger with Agamemnon and his fateful wrath upon the death of Patroclus.
C)the opportunities created by war can make even ordinary men into heroes.
D)the advantage of cunning over brute force: only the trick of the Trojan Horse ended a war that has lasted ten years.
E)the folly of angering the gods: Odysseus' offense against Poseidon prevented a swift homecoming.

Question 10

All of the following are true of the Minoans except

A)they created the earliest Greek-speaking civilization.
B)though centered on the island of Crete, the influence of the Minoan civilization on mainland Greece was enduring.
C)their civilization was centered on palace complexes such as the one at Knossos.
D)they were a peaceful society whose art showed a sensitivity to beauty.
E)they engaged in extensive overseas trade.

Question 11

Which period in Greek history of referred to as the Dark Ages?

A)2600-1700 B.C.
B)1700-1450 B.C.
C)1400-1230 B.C.
D)1100-800 B.C.
E)800-500 B.C.

Question 12

The height of Minoan civilization came in the years

A)2600-1700 B.C.
B)1700-1450 B.C.
C)1400-1230 B.C.
D)1100-800 B.C.
E)800-500 B.C.

Question 13

All of the following are true of the Mycenaeans except

A)they were a Greek-speaking people strongly influenced by the Minoans.
B)like the Minoans, they engaged in extensive trade but unlike the Minoans, they were a war-like people.
C)their greatest strength was unity among the various Mycenaean centers of civilization.
D)their kings, who controlled the armed forces, trade, and the judiciary, were assisted by an aristocracy.
E)the bottom of Mycenaean society consisted of slaves, most of whom had been captured in war.

Question 14

During the Dark Age, Greek religion

A)developed a canon of writings that systemized religious belief.
B)largely disappeared as the difficulties of daily life left no time for devotion to the gods.
C)consisted of a mixture of beliefs and cults inherited from the Mycenaeans and older Indo-European traditions imported from Asia Minor.
D)was directed by prophets who would become a powerful priestly class in classical Greece.
E)was already challenged by a growing rational and secular spirit.

Question 15

In the Iliad, and the early Greek society it describes, areté

A)meant excellence.
B)referred to bravery and skill in battle.
C)anticipated a wider concept of human excellence: the fulfillment of "the whole of human potentialities".
D)indicated a beginning of Greek humanism.
E)All of these

Question 16

After about 800 B.C., the Greeks borrowed all of the following from the Near East except

A)the Phoenician writing system.
B)the political system of the democratic polis or city-state.
C)artistic imagery and craft skills.
D)religious practices.
E)mythological tales.

Question 17

Mount Olympus was famous as

A)the home of the Greek gods.
B)the area where the gods fought for supremacy.
C)a shrine for those who fell in the Peloponnesian War.
D)Agamemnon's home.
E)the site of the ancient Olympics.

Question 18

Homer's major epic poems were

A)the Iliad and the Odyssey.
B)Lysistrata and the Frogs.
C)Antigone and the Bacchae.
D)the Symposium and the Republic.
E)the Iliad and the Peloponnesian War

Question 19

The Mycenaean civilization thrived during the years

A)2600-1700 B.C.
B)1700-1450 B.C.
C)1400-1230 B.C.
D)1100-800 B.C.
E)800-500 B.C.

Question 20

As Greek society emerged from the Dark Age, Greek religion included all the following except

A)Olympian gods, already present in Homeric epics, led by Zeus.
B)the cult of Dionysus which featured ecstatic dancing and frenzied prayer to the god of wine and agricultural fertility.
C)the Eleusinian cult with its denial of life after death and focus on an earthly life of moderation.
D)the Orphic cult and its doctrine that the soul is imprisoned in the body as punishment for an unknown fault.
E)belief in local gods and rituals special to each city.

Question 21

Athens' direct democracy included

A)the right of all citizens to participate in person in the Assembly whose decisions became law.
B)a Council of Five Hundred, chosen by lot to manage state properties, such as the ports and military installations, as well as to set the Assembly's agenda.
C)the introduction of pay for government officials.
D)about 350 magistrates who performed various administrative duties and were chosen by lot.
E)All of these

Question 22

Which of the following cannot be stated about the Persian Wars?

A)They consisted of two massive invasions of Greece by the Persians after Athens aided a revolt within the Persian Empire.
B)As the wars progressed, leadership of the Greek forces fell to Greece's most formidable military power: Sparta.
C)The wars included the burning of an abandoned Athens by the Persians.
D)The Greek victory brought new unprecedented confidence and pride that accelerated cultural and political developments in Greece.
E)The Persian Wars ushered in an era of Athenian imperialism.

Question 23

The reputation of Cleisthenes rests upon his work as

A)a demagogue who rallied Athens against the Spartans.
B)the father of Athenian democracy.
C)the oracle at Delphi.
D)compiler of medical texts.
E)the founder of Greek drama.

Question 24

Which of the following is an accurate statement about Athens in the 8th and 7th centuries B.C.?

A)Hereditary kings continued to dominate political life.
B)Power was wrestled from hereditary kings by aristocrats.
C)Merchants, enjoying profits, were satisfied with the system of law.
D)The Draconian system introduced moderation into the legal system.
E)Enslavement for non-payment of debt ceased to be a problem for the peasants.

Question 25

Which of the following was not one of the distinctive features of Spartan society?

A)The helots
B)Political instability
C)The absence of numerous colonies
D)The crafts and trade was limited to resident aliens called perioikoi
E)Cultural isolationism

Question 26

Though barred from the Assembly, Athenian women could, as a rule

A)hold some public offices and represent themselves in court.
B)retain children after a divorce.
C)dine with their husbands and join them at the theatre.
D)attend to household chores including doing the shopping.
E)None of these

Question 27

Athenian democratic theory did not produce which of the following?

A)The principle that law is made by the community
B)Confidence that average citizens could effectively administer their state
C)The belief that excellence meant good citizenship -a concern for the good of the community that outweighed personal interests
D)The notion of natural or inalienable human rights for all people
E)Democracy includes tolerance of various lifestyles and behaviors even those that some may find objectionable

Question 28

Ancient and modern criticisms of Athenian democracy include the observation that

A)government by the common people equaled mob rule.
B)a system that gives power to people of little talent is bound to fail.
C)the wealthy, whether aristocrats or merchants, dominated political life.
D)a system excluding women and grounded in slavery cannot be a true democracy.
E)All of these

Question 29

The Athenian statesman Solon aimed to

A)restore aristocracy.
B)concentrate wealth in the hands of a few to facilitate tax collection.
C)balance the interests of the wealthy aristocrats and ordinary Athenians.
D)establish order in Athens with a law code mandating very harsh punishments.
E)lay the groundwork for democracy.

Question 30

Considered a garrison state, Sparta could take credit for all the following except

A)admiration from other Greeks for the courage, discipline, respect for law, physical training, and military prowess of its citizens.
B)the successful long-term enslavement of the Messenians though the latter out-numbered Sparta ten to one.
C)the use of the Peloponnesian League, which it led, for defense rather than aggression.
D)the heroic victory of three hundred Spartans at Thermopylae against the vast invading Persian army.
E)its victory over Athens in the Peloponnesian War and its refusal to massacre the vanquished Athenians.

Question 31

On the basis of the discussions offered in Chapters Two and Three, it is possible to conclude that both the Greeks and the Hebrews

A)demythicized mature.
B)came to value the worth of the individual.
C)subordinated women to men.
D)subjected their governments to the rule of law.
E)All of these

Question 32

Regarded as a model of democracy and an inspiration for the West, Athens

A)often pursued an aggressive policy of expansion against other Greek city-states including a disastrous campaign in far-off Sicily.
B)valued political freedom and sought the full development and enrichment of the human person.
C)extended no freedoms to its slaves, who constituted a quarter of its population.
D)treated its women according to the following principle; "the male is by nature superior, the female inferior; and...the one rules and the other is ruled."
E)All of these

Question 33

The Peloponnesian War was

A)the Persian invasion of Greece just after 500 B.C.
B)a war between the Delian League and the Peloponnesian League.
C)the war between Thebes and Sparta.
D)the Macedonian invasion of southern Greece.
E)the ongoing hostilities between the helots and the Spartans.

Question 34

The history of the Delian League demonstrated all of the following except

A)it was impossible to clear the Aegean Sea of pirates and the Persians.
B)Athens was willing to transform the League into an instrument of Athenian domination.
C)Athens saw no conflict between democracy and imperialism.
D)resentment against Athenian domination would grow despite Athenian claims that the other city-states benefitted from Athenian leadership.
E)the Athenians believed that strong states have a natural right to dominate weaker ones.

Question 35

Which of the following states emerged as a first-rate military power in the fourth century B.C.?

A)Sparta
B)Syracuse
C)Macedonia
D)Thebes
E)Argos

Question 36

Compared to the states and empires of the Near East, the Greek polis

A)showed the same respect for the gods who directly or indirectly ruled the state.
B)moved away from theocracy in which law came from god to a secular rational state in which law was an expression of human intelligence.
C)generally avoided war due to the fact that its government was usually in the hands of its citizens.
D)possessed a similar type of hereditary rulership even when assemblies of citizens appeared.
E)tended to be territorially much smaller.

Question 37

Which of the following statements did Pericles not make in his famous oration?

A)"We do not get into a state with our next-door neighbor if he enjoys himself in his own way, nor do we give him the kind of black looks which, though they do no real harm, still do hurt people's feelings."
B)"When it is a question of settling private disputes, everyone is equal before the law...."
C)"Let me say that our system of government does not copy the institutions of our neighbors.It is more the case that God has made us a model to others, a light to the nations...."
D)"We regard wealth as something to be properly used, rather than as something to boast about."
E)"When our work is over, we are in a position to enjoy all kinds of recreation for our spirits."

Question 38

Which of the following statements about slavery in ancient Greece is false?

A)The Greeks believed that in order for some people to act as free individuals others must be slaves.
B)Slavery was determined solely by race.
C)Slaves usually performed the same economic tasks as free citizens, some even held privileged positions such as clerks and policemen.
D)Some slaves, such as those who worked the mines, could be mercilessly exploited.
E)Children sold by their parents or abandoned could become slaves.

Question 39

The effects of the Peloponnesian War included

A)the shattering of the spiritual foundation of Hellenic society.
B)the triumph of selfish individualism over civic duty.
C)the replacement of moderation with extremism.
D)civil wars between oligarchs and democrats.
E)All of these

Question 40

The author believes that the tyrant Pisistratus' greatest achievement was

A)promoting culture, making it accessible to common people and helping to make Athens the eventual cultural capital of Greece.
B)increasing the Athenian water supply.
C)the overthrow of the oligarchy.
D)his help for the poor as evidence in the redistribution of aristocratic land to the peasants.
E)his long, almost twenty-year rule.

Question 41

Instructions: Please define the following key terms.Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
Mycenaeans

Question 42

Instructions: Please define the following key terms.Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
Dark Age

Question 43

Instructions: Please define the following key terms.Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
rationalism

Question 44

The surviving biographical information about Demosthenes, the greatest of Greek orators, reveals that

A)he began his career as a very awkward and ineffective orator.
B)for ten years, he exhorted his fellow Greeks to unite before the growing Macedonian threat.
C)he witnessed the Greek defeat at Chaeronea in 338 B.C.but was not forced to commit suicide until after the death of Alexander in 323 B.C.
D)his speeches have inspired orators into modern times.
E)All of these

Question 45

Greeks warmed against the danger of excessive pride, which they called

A)areté.
B)Diké.
C)hubris.
D)ostracon.
E)kyrios.

Question 46

The historian Thucydides

A)reconstructed Pericles' funeral oration.
B)lamented that freedom could degenerate into factionalism and civil war.
C)reported that the Athenian followed the principle of "might makes right" in their foreign policy.
D)observed how fanaticism helped destroy the sense of civic duty.
E)All of these

Question 47

Philip II is credited with all of the following except

A)helping to end the age of the polis.
B)uniting the Greeks during the Persian Wars.
C)making Macedonia into a first-rate military power.
D)being patient, deceitful, clever and unscrupulous.
E)pushing Greek civilization on a new trajectory.

Question 48

Instructions: Please define the following key terms.Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
polis

Question 49

Instructions: Please define the following key terms.Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
areté

Question 50

Instructions: Please define the following key terms.Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
cult of Dionysus

Question 51

Instructions: Please define the following key terms.Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
Homeric epics

Question 52

Before their conquest by the Philip II, the most Greeks regarded the Macedonians as

A)fellow Greeks.
B)a formidable and imminent threat.
C)little different from other non-Greeks whom they called barbarians.
D)Greeks but enemies of Athens.
E)potential unifiers of Greece.

Question 53

Instructions: Please define the following key terms.Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
tyranny

Question 54

Instructions: Please define the following key terms.Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
Minoans

Question 55

Instructions: Please define the following key terms.Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
isonomy

Question 56

Which of the following was not a factor in the decline of the Greek city-state?

A)Commerce naturally led to economic cooperation on which political unity among the city-states was built.
B)The city states were prone to frequent wars.
C)Civic responsibility among citizens declined.
D)Free citizens were susceptible to demagogues.
E)Pride and overconfidence led to disaster.

Question 57

Instructions: Please define the following key terms.Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
Achilles

Question 58

Instructions: Please define the following key terms.Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
ostracism

Question 59

The author concludes that the political history of the Greeks during the period of the polis reveals that

A)rationalism weakened the fear of the gods but it strengthened respect for the law.
B)the creation and maintenance of a rational society was extremely difficult and success was not guaranteed.
C)the development of rational thought produced an appreciation of universal human rights but it did not guarantee democracy as we understand it today.
D)rationalism inevitably produces the most effective social and political systems, ones that still inspire the West.
E)rationalism never aided the development of the polis.

Question 60

Instructions: Please define the following key terms.Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
humanism

Question 61

Instructions: Please use this outline map of the Hellenistic World to answer the question(s).
Locate, clearly mark, and name major cities of Ionia in Asia Minor, the cities Athens and Sparta, Macedonia and Persia.

Question 62

Instructions: Please write a thorough, well-organized essay to answer each question.
How were Athenian views of democracy, human rights, and freedom different from those prevalent in contemporary America?

Question 63

Instructions: Please use this outline map of Europe to answer the question(s).
Locate and clearly mark Greece.Shade in areas colonized by the Greeks.

Question 64

Instructions: Please use this outline map of Europe to answer the question(s).
Locate and clearly mark the locations of the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations.

Question 65

Instructions: Please define the following key terms.Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
Peloponnesian War

Question 66

Instructions: Please write a thorough, well-organized essay to answer each question.
Write a short history of the Peloponnesian War and explain the war's impact on Greek history.

Question 67

Instructions: Please write a thorough, well-organized essay to answer each question.
Present a brief history of the polis and explain its importance to the history of the West.

Question 68

Instructions: Please write a thorough, well-organized essay to answer each question.
Explain ancient Greek religion.How does it compare with Hebrew religion?

Question 69

Instructions: Please write a thorough, well-organized essay to answer each question.
Compare and contrast the rhetoric and practice of democracy in Athens with modern notions and practices of democracy.

Question 70

Instructions: Please use this outline map of Europe to answer the question(s).
Locate and clearly label Sparta and Athens.

Question 71

Instructions: Please write a thorough, well-organized essay to answer each question.
Explain how civilization in Greece preceded Hellenic Greece.

Question 72

Instructions: Please define the following key terms.Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
Pericles

Question 73

Instructions: Please write a thorough, well-organized essay to answer each question.
Trace and explain the political history of Athens, paying special attention to Athenian democracy.

Question 74

Instructions: Please write a thorough, well-organized essay to answer each question.
The Greeks developed an understanding of what it means to be human that had a lasting impact on the Western tradition.Explain that vision of humanity.(Please note that Chapter 3 only begins to discuss this topic.)

Question 75

Instructions: Please use this outline map of Europe to answer the question(s).
Locate and clearly mark Greece, "the Promised Land", Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Question 76

Instructions: Please write a thorough, well-organized essay to answer each question.
Explain the importance of Homer and the Homeric epics to Greek civilization.

Question 77

Instructions: Please write a thorough, well-organized essay to answer each question.
The authors stress the importance of the Greeks and the Hebrews as two sources of Western civilization.Based on the information present to this point, compare and contrast the contribution of each.(Please note that Chapter 3 only begins to discuss this topic.)

Question 78

Instructions: Please define the following key terms.Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
hubris