Deck 2: Mesopotamia: Power and Social Order in the Early Middle East

Question 1

The Mesopotamian ruler's role in religion was to

A)act as intermediary between the gods and humans.
B)preside at sacrifices that took place atop the ziggurats.
C)mate with a priestess in a yearly ceremony.
D)select a particular divinity to be chief in his city-state.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

In the Epic of Gilgamesh,Ishtar sends the Bull of Heaven to destroy Gilgamesh and Enkidu because Gilgamesh

A)killed her friend,Humbaba.
B)declared war on her patron city.
C)refused her marriage proposal.
D)oppressed the people of Uruk.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The story of Gilgamesh is considered an epic because it

A)has both a narrative and a narrator.
B)describes a people's common heritage.
C)recounts an adventure in the underworld.
D)Includes both a protagonist and an antagonist.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

What classic struggle do Gilgamesh and Enkidu represent?

A)nature versus civilization
B)good versus evil
C)individual versus society
D)ruling class versus slave

Question 5

The arts developed in Sumerian city-states largely as

A)celebrations of the priest-kings' powers.
B)embodiments of the concept of pairidaeza,or paradise.
C)decorations for the ziggurats' interiors.
D)votive offerings to Gilgamesh.

Question 6

The Mesopotamian ziggurat,with its crowning temple,might have symbolized

A)an entrance to the earth's womb.
B)the triumph of good over evil.
C)a bridge between heaven and earth.
D)the sanctity of water.

Question 7

The gods granted Utnapishtim immortality because he

A)baked bread for them.
B)survived the Great Flood.
C)was considered a virtuous man.
D)begged them fiercely.

Question 8

The Hebrews believed their status as "chosen people" meant that they were to

A)deliver the message of monotheism to all Mesopotamian peoples.
B)become Mesopotamia's ruling class.
C)become exempt from temptation.
D)set an example of a higher moral standard.

Question 9

What is Shamash,the Mesopotamian sun god,doing in his portrayal atop the Stele of Hammurabi?

A)inscribing the 282 laws on the stele
B)giving his blessing to Hammurabi,Babylon's ruler
C)executing a Babylonian who has violated a law
D)crowning Hammurabi as king of the Babylonians

Question 10

Why were the Hebrews supposed to neither speak nor write their god's name?

A)Abraham forbade it for unknown reasons.
B)It was considered too sacred.
C)It was considered politically dangerous.
D)Isaac indicated that the name would only be revealed later.

Question 11

The convention of hieratic scale can be seen in

A)the Royal Standard of Ur.
B)Head of an Akkadian Man.
C)Human-Headed Winged Bull.
D)the Achaemenid rhyton.

Question 12

The Epic of Gilgamesh is the first known literary work to

A)confront the idea of death.
B)show humans challenging gods.
C)celebrate human friendship.
D)anthropomorphize gods.

Question 13

Visitors to the ziggurat often left statues representing themselves to

A)gain admittance to the temple on the top.
B)serve as prayer offerings to the gods.
C)wish the priest-king a good afterlife.
D)ward off the evils of their enemies.

Question 14

According to tradition,Abraham led his people out of their Mesopotamian homeland to Canaan in order to

A)escape the warlike Akkadians and increasingly powerful Babylonians.
B)to locate more fertile farmland and escape the desert.
C)to escape Hammurabi's harsh laws.
D)to found a new religion.

Question 15

How do the Ten Commandments differ from Hammurabi's Code?

A)Hammurabi's Code has no class distinctions.
B)The Ten Commandments were not written down.
C)Hammurabi's Code focuses more on religious matters.
D)The Ten Commandments provide an ethical code.

Question 16

Which god helps Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill Humbaba the Terrible,guardian of the Cedar Forest?

A)Anu,the sky god
B)Enlil,the storm god
C)Ea,the water god
D)Shamash,the sun god

Question 17

The Hebrews differ from other Near Eastern cultures in their

A)high regard for literature.
B)belief in a flood story.
C)worship of a single god.
D)patriarchal leadership structure.

Question 18

The rule of the Hebrew kings was modeled on the

A)covenant between God and the Hebrews.
B)articles listed in the Sumerian King List.
C)code of Hammurabi.
D)commandments dictated by Cyrus II.

Question 19

What is the term for endowing the gods and the forces of nature that they represent with humanlike traits,a characteristic of Mesopotamian religion?

A)monotheism
B)hieratic scale
C)social perspective
D)anthropomorphism

Question 20

Mesopotamians viewed human society as

A)the highest conceivable realm.
B)the realm of both good and evil gods.
C)part of a larger society governed by the gods.
D)a hell that was to be endured.

Question 21

Investigate the views of the relationships between the gods and the Mesopotamians that the ziggurat at Ur,the dedicatory statues from the Abu Temple,and the Royal Tombs of Ur provide.

Question 22

Compare the concept of free will in the Mesopotamian,Hebrew,and Zoroastrian religions.

Question 23

List and discuss the valued qualities that Gilgamesh reveals about the Mesopotamian culture.

Question 24

Compare the three supreme deities (Marduk,YWHW,Ahura Mazda)in the Mesopotamian,Hebrew,and Zoroastrian religions.

Question 25

Discuss Neo-Babylonian and Persian art and architecture as propaganda,supporting your response with at least two specific works covered in the text.

Question 26

The reliefs on the stairway leading to Darius's Hall of One Hundred Columns represent

A)Darius conquering the Greeks and the Egyptians.
B)visitors from 23 nations bringing tribute to Darius.
C)huge winged bulls standing guard.
D)Darius passing the crown to his son,Xerxes.

Question 27

Examine the role that writing played in the Sumerian and Hebrew cultures.

Question 28

Zoroaster's greatest contribution to religious thought is the

A)concept of a heaven and a hell.
B)notion of a dualistic universe.
C)emphasis on free will.
D)belief in an enduring soul.

Question 29

Explore the revelations about the Mesopotamian sense of order that the Standard of Ur and King Ashurbanipal's library at Nineveh convey.

Question 30

King Darius incorporated multiple architecture styles in his great palace to

A)reflect the diversity of his peoples.
B)utilize his many spoils of war.
C)attract Greek and Egyptian wives.
D)appease the many gods he served.

Question 31

Which structure in Neo-Babylonia do many believe was the legendary Tower of Babel described in Genesis?

A)the Hanging Gardens
B)the Ishtar Gate
C)the ziggurat of Marduk
D)the library of Ashurbanipal

Question 32

Compare the Hebrew law set forth in the Torah to the Law Code of Hammurabi.

Question 33

Which city served as capital of the Persian Empire?

A)Babylon
B)Ionia
C)Uruk
D)Persepolis