Deck 4: Greece

Question 1

The early Greek city-states were forced to unite against the rising threat of

A)the Persians.
B)the Macedonians.
C)the Turks.
D)the Mongols.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

What were the unique characteristics of Athenian democracy?

Answer 2

Athens,the most cosmopolitan of the city-states,was unique among the Greek communities,for the democratic government that came to prevail there was the exception rather than the rule in ancient Greece.In its early history,Athens-like most of the other Greek city-states-was an oligarchy,that is,a government controlled by an elite minority.But after a series of enlightened rulers,the Popular Assembly,in 508 B.C.E. ,acquired the right to make laws and Athens became the first direct democracy in world history.
In the democracy of ancient Athens,Athenian citizens exercised political power directly (unlike the United States,which is a republic).Fundamental to Athenian democracy was a commitment to the legal equality of its participants:one citizen's vote weighed as heavily as the next.Athenian democracy was,however,highly exclusive.Its citizenry included only landowning males over the age of eighteen.Of an estimated population of 250,000,this probably constituted some 40,000 people.Women,children,resident aliens,and slaves did not qualify as citizens.The small size of Athens probably contributed to the success of its unique form of government.Although probably no more than 5,000 Athenians attended the Assembly that met four times a month to make laws in the open-air marketplace (the Agora)located at the foot of the Acropolis,these men were the proponents of a brave new enterprise in governing.

Question 3

Explain the conflict between the individual and the community in Sophocles' Antigone.

Answer 3

Antigone deals with many issues:it explores the conflict between the rights of the individual and the laws of the state;between dedication to family and loyalty to community;between personal and political obligations;between female willpower and male authority;and,finally,between human and divine law.It reflects Sophocles' effort to reconcile human passions,the will of the gods,and the sovereignty of the polis.
The tragic action in Antigone springs from the irreconcilability of Antigone's personal idealism and Creon's hard-headed political realism.Creon means well by the state;he is committed to the exercise of justice under the law.But,he ignores the ancient imperatives of divine law and familial duty.His blind devotion to the state and his unwillingness to compromise trap him into making a decision whose consequences are disastrous.
But Antigone is also a victim of self-righteous inflexibility.In an age that confined women to the domestic household and expected them to conform to male opinion,Antigone threatened the status quo.Her heroism derives from her unswerving dedication to the ideals of divine justice and to the duty of the individual to honor family,even if it challenges the laws of the state.
Sophocles perceived the difficulties involved in reconciling public good and private conscience.In Antigone,he offers a moving plea for sound judgment and rational action,for harmony between the individual and the community.

Question 4

What were the principal contributions of the naturalistic and humanistic philosophers?

Question 5

Greek city-states first emerged

A)on islands and peninsulas in the Aegean SeA.
B)along the coast of Asia Minor.
C)in southern Italy and Sicily.
D)All these answers are correct.

Question 6

Which of the following is the name given to the undeciphered Minoan writing that has survived?

A)linear B
B)linear A
C)hieroglyphics
D)sanskrit

Question 7

Although Greek popular religion produced no sacred scriptures or doctrines,the oracle at ________ became very famous throughout the region.

A)Macedonia
B)Delphi
C)Marathon
D)Athens

Question 8

________ was a leading statesman and proponent of Athenian democracy who dominated the city-states politics for over thirty years.

A)Marcus Aurelius
B)Agamemnon
C)Herodotus
D)Pericles

Question 9

The most powerful deity of the Greek pantheon was

A)AthenA.
B)Jupiter.
C)Zeus.
D)Poseidon.

Question 10

The so-called "father of history" who introduced a travelogue of his trips to Egypt and Asia was

A)Marcus Aurelius.
B)Agamemnon.
C)Herodotus.
D)Pericles.

Question 11

The Greek physician remembered as the father of medicine was

A)Plato.
B)Socrates.
C)Hippocrates.
D)Aristotle.

Question 12

In his Ethics,________ argued that the good life was identical to the life of reason,and would be guided by the Golden Mean.

A)Plato
B)Socrates
C)Hippocrates
D)Aristotle

Question 13

The Ancient Greeks marked time using a four-year measurement called the

A)Panhellenic.
B)Olympiad.
C)Amphora.
D)None of these answers is correct.

Question 14

Which of the following defines the term "hubris"?

A)bad intent
B)excessive pride
C)humbleness
D)shame

Question 15

Explain the general characteristics of pre-Greek or pre-Hellenistic culture.

Question 16

The number of surviving plays from the ancient age of Greek theater is approximately

A)45.
B)150.
C)800.
D)1,500.

Question 17

Citizens of Athens included which of the following?

A)only males over the age of eighteen
B)only landed males over the age of eighteen
C)only landed males and females over the age of eighteen
D)only males and females over the age of eighteen who were not slaves

Question 18

Athens' premier philosopher and proponent of cross examination and inductive reasoning was

A)Plato.
B)Socrates.
C)Hippocrates.
D)Aristotle.

Question 19

Discuss the ways in which each of the following reflect the values of Greek humanism and individualism: the Iliad;Pericles' Funeral Speech;Plato's Crito.

Question 20

Which of the following describes the Mycenaean civilization?

A)burial of rulers in giant beehives
B)construction of gigantic fortifications on the Greek mainland
C)war with Troy that forms the setting for both the Iliad and the Odyssey
D)All these answers are correct.