Deck 5: Eurasian Cultural Traditions, 500 Bce-500 Ce

Question 1

Like the First Civilizations, societies of the second-wave era

A) lacked sharp class divisions.
B) were patriarchal in organization.
C) had a small slave population.
D) were based on written constitutions.

Answer 1

were patriarchal in organization.

Question 2

The wall painting on the building known as the Villa of Mysteries in Source 5.5 shows women participating in a process of religious initiation associated with the cult of

A) Dionysus.
B) Isis.
C) the emperor.
D) lares.

Answer 2

Dionysus.

Question 3

India and China during the classical era were similar in which of the following respects?

A) Birth had no place in determining the social status of most people.
B) Social prestige was attained primarily through service to the state.
C) It was easy for people to improve their social status through hard work.
D) Sharp distinctions and great inequalities characterized the social order.

Answer 3

Sharp distinctions and great inequalities characterized the social order.

Question 4

China was unique in the ancient world in the extent to which

A) the state practice of slaveholding defined the society.
B) its social organization was shaped by the actions of the state.
C) the caste system defined its social structure.
D) women were allowed a role in public life.

Question 5

Which of the following was part of the reform program launched by Wang Mang following his seizure of the Chinese throne in 8 C·E·.?

A) The creation of large private estates
B) State protection of the practice of slavery
C) Oversight of officials by landlords
D) Government loans to peasant families

Question 6

What does the domestic shrine called the lararia depicted in Source 5.4 suggest about Roman religious life in the first century C·E·.?

A) The daily lives of Romans revolved around the cult of the emperor.
B) Romans believed that guardian spirits provided protection within the home.
C) The use of the snake as a symbol of evil reflected the influence of Christianity.
D) The worship of household gods entailed ritual initiation into sacred mysteries.

Question 7

Historically, what circumstances have contributed to a weakening of patriarchal controls on women's lives?

Question 8

The frescoes from a Pompeii tavern in Source 5.3 reveal that a popular pastime of the lower classes was

A) bathing.
B) reading.
C) gambling.
D) singing.

Question 9

Compare and contrast the status of women in Sparta and Athens.

Question 10

Which of the following has been put forward by scholars as a possible factor in the emergence of slavery within the First Civilizations?

A) Long periods of peace
B) The decline of patriarchy
C) The domestication of animals
D) Discrimination based on race

Question 11

How was India's social structure different from that of China?

A) India had fewer distinct social groups.
B) Indian social groups were defined more rigidly.
C) Status in India was associated with literary learning.
D) Social distinctions in India were more fluid.

Question 12

Compare and contrast the different forms of slavery in the classical world.

Question 13

Compare and contrast the social hierarchies of China and India.

Question 14

The details in the portrait of Terentius Neo and his wife in Source 5.1 suggest that

A) the husband was an impoverished freedman.
B) the wife held the position of magistrate.
C) both the husband and wife were foreigners.
D) both the husband and wife were literate.

Question 15

How did the practice of slavery differ among the classical civilizations?

Question 16

Provide specific examples of how women, peasants, and slaves challenged the social structures that subordinated them.

Question 17

In what ways was China's civil service system similar to India's caste system?

Question 18

The painting of the Pompeii banquet in Source 5.2 highlights what aspect of Roman society?

A) The practice of slavery among the elite
B) The freedom enjoyed by elite women
C) The role of women as barmaids
D) The centrality of the imperial cult

Question 19

How was elite status gendered masculine and feminine in the classical civilizations?

Question 20

Which of the following describes a feature of the jati system in India?

A) Individual jatis were locked into an unchanging hierarchy in relation to other jatis.
B) An individual within a jati could switch to another jati by paying a fee.
C) A jati could raise its standing in relation to other jatis by acquiring land or wealth.
D) The jati system divided Indian society into the aristocracy and the commoners.

Question 21

How did the centuries of political fragmentation and conflict following the fall of the Han Empire affect the lives of Chinese women?

A) Women found themselves more restricted than ever before.
B) Women were removed from positions as priests, nuns, and reclusive mediators.
C) The strict patriarchy supported by Confucianism was loosened.
D) Women were encouraged to be more assertive in their relationships with men.

Question 22

In contrast to women in Athens, women in Sparta

A) were more strictly confined to the home.
B) married men close to their age.
C) participated in government.
D) were praised as having superior intelligence.

Question 23

Which of the following was a major source of slaves in the Roman Empire?

A) Untouchables
B) Peasants
C) Soldiers
D) Prisoners of war

Question 24

In India, the jati to which one belonged determined

A) the language one spoke.
B) the sect of Hinduism one practiced.
C) whom one could marry.
D) how much land one could own.

Question 25

Which group was at the top of the caste system in India?

A) Scholar-gentry
B) Merchants
C) Brahmin
D) Peasants

Question 26

Which of the following is an example of the "weapons of the weak" used by slaves to resist their enslavement?

A) Varna
B) Manumission
C) Sabotage
D) Obedience

Question 27

The growth of democracy in classical Athens was accompanied by

A) the simultaneous growth of slavery on a massive scale.
B) the abolition of slavery.
C) harsh criticism from Greek intellectuals like Aristotle.
D) the association of slave status with race.

Question 28

Membership in a jati was based on a person's

A) race.
B) age.
C) birthplace.
D) occupation.

Question 29

In general, patriarchal systems that restricted women's lives were weakest

A) during long periods of peace and stability.
B) in the early years of a civilization's development.
C) in societies with sharp class distinctions.
D) in urban-based civilizations at the height of their power.

Question 30

Which of the following describes women's status in the classical civilizations?

A) Upper-class women had a tendency to live less restricted lives than lower-class women.
B) Women in general experienced fewer restrictions compared to those living in pastoral societies.
C) Public life in general was a male domain, while women's roles took place mostly in domestic settings.
D) Women in general experienced fewer restrictions compared to those who lived in Neolithic agricultural village societies.

Question 31

In which of the following ancient societies did women enjoy the fewest restrictions?

A) Han China
B) Athens
C) Sparta
D) Classical India

Question 32

The world's first and longest lasting professional civil service emerged in

A) Persia.
B) Athens.
C) India.
D) China.

Question 33

Peasants were honored and merchants were looked down upon in the official ideology of

A) China.
B) India.
C) Sparta.
D) the Roman Empire.

Question 34

Which of the following philosophical or religious traditions provided a unifying ideology for peasant rebellions in China?

A) Hinduism
B) Confucianism
C) Daoism
D) Legalism

Question 35

Although slaves in the Roman Empire performed all work, from the most prestigious to the most degrading, they were prohibited from

A) serving in the military.
B) practicing medicine.
C) working in government.
D) conducting business.

Question 36

The combination of natural disasters, high taxes and rents, and state demands for labor and military service often sparked peasant rebellions in

A) India.
B) China.
C) Sparta.
D) Athens.

Question 37

In India, the caste system encouraged loyalty to

A) the imperial state.
B) local communities.
C) female ancestors.
D) political officials.

Question 38

Slaveholding was least widespread and least central to the economy of

A) Athens.
B) China.
C) Sparta.
D) imperial Rome.

Question 39

The inequalities of the caste system received support from

A) Hindu notions of karma, dharma, and rebirth.
B) Buddhist notions of nirvana and enlightenment.
C) Confucian notions of propriety and ritual.
D) Daoist notions of the supernatural and immortality.

Question 40

During the classical era, slaves comprised more than one-third of the total population in

A) India.
B) China.
C) the Persian Empire.
D) the Greco-Roman world.

Question 41

Use the following to answer questions:
Select the word or phrase from the Terms section that best matches the definition or example provided in the Definitions section.
Terms
A Han court official who usurped the throne and ruled from 8 C·E·. to 23 C·E·.; noted for his reform movement that included the breakup of large estates.

A)Wang Mang
B)China's scholar-gentry class
C)Ge Hong
D)Yellow Turban Rebellion
E)caste as varna
F)caste as jati
G)"ritual purity" in Indian social practice
H)Greek slavery
I)Roman slavery
J)Spartacus
K)patriarchy
L)the "three obediences"
M)Empress Wu
N)Aspasia
O)Pericles
P)helots

Question 42

Use the following to answer questions:
Select the word or phrase from the Terms section that best matches the definition or example provided in the Definitions section.
Terms
A foreign woman resident in Athens (ca. 470-400 B·C·E·.) who was famed for her learning and wit, and was Pericles' partner.

A)Wang Mang
B)China's scholar-gentry class
C)Ge Hong
D)Yellow Turban Rebellion
E)caste as varna
F)caste as jati
G)"ritual purity" in Indian social practice
H)Greek slavery
I)Roman slavery
J)Spartacus
K)patriarchy
L)the "three obediences"
M)Empress Wu
N)Aspasia
O)Pericles
P)helots

Question 43

Although the practice of patriarchy varied in the classical civilizations, they all

A) prohibited women of all classes from entering public spaces.
B) challenged the assumption that female inferiority was natural.
C) conceptualized women's essential nature in terms of ritual purity.
D) defined women's roles in reproductive and kinship terms.

Question 44

Use the following to answer questions:
Select the word or phrase from the Terms section that best matches the definition or example provided in the Definitions section.
Terms
Born into an upper-class family in China during troubled times (283-343 C·E·.), his efforts to balance Confucian service to society and his own desire to pursue a more solitary and interior life in the Daoist tradition reflected the situation of many in his class.

A)Wang Mang
B)China's scholar-gentry class
C)Ge Hong
D)Yellow Turban Rebellion
E)caste as varna
F)caste as jati
G)"ritual purity" in Indian social practice
H)Greek slavery
I)Roman slavery
J)Spartacus
K)patriarchy
L)the "three obediences"
M)Empress Wu
N)Aspasia
O)Pericles
P)helots

Question 45

Use the following to answer questions:
Select the word or phrase from the Terms section that best matches the definition or example provided in the Definitions section.
Terms
The idea that members of higher castes must adhere to strict regulations limiting or forbidding their contact with objects and members of lower castes to preserve their own caste standing and their relationship with the gods.

A)Wang Mang
B)China's scholar-gentry class
C)Ge Hong
D)Yellow Turban Rebellion
E)caste as varna
F)caste as jati
G)"ritual purity" in Indian social practice
H)Greek slavery
I)Roman slavery
J)Spartacus
K)patriarchy
L)the "three obediences"
M)Empress Wu
N)Aspasia
O)Pericles
P)helots

Question 46

Use the following to answer questions:
Select the word or phrase from the Terms section that best matches the definition or example provided in the Definitions section.
Terms
The addition of thousands of social distinctions to the caste system based on occupation, which became the main cell of social life in India.

A)Wang Mang
B)China's scholar-gentry class
C)Ge Hong
D)Yellow Turban Rebellion
E)caste as varna
F)caste as jati
G)"ritual purity" in Indian social practice
H)Greek slavery
I)Roman slavery
J)Spartacus
K)patriarchy
L)the "three obediences"
M)Empress Wu
N)Aspasia
O)Pericles
P)helots

Question 47

Use the following to answer questions:
Select the word or phrase from the Terms section that best matches the definition or example provided in the Definitions section.
Terms
A term used to describe members of China's landowning families, reflecting their wealth from the land and the privilege that they derived as government officials.

A)Wang Mang
B)China's scholar-gentry class
C)Ge Hong
D)Yellow Turban Rebellion
E)caste as varna
F)caste as jati
G)"ritual purity" in Indian social practice
H)Greek slavery
I)Roman slavery
J)Spartacus
K)patriarchy
L)the "three obediences"
M)Empress Wu
N)Aspasia
O)Pericles
P)helots

Question 48

The Appian Way between Capua and Rome was the path along which

A) runaway slaves traveled on their road to freedom.
B) helots traveled on their way to Sparta.
C) slaves defeated in the Spartacus's revolt were nailed to crosses.
D) prisoners of war were forced to march.

Question 49

Use the following to answer questions:
Select the word or phrase from the Terms section that best matches the definition or example provided in the Definitions section.
Terms
The only female emperor in Chinese history (r. 690-705 C·E·.), she patronized scholarship, worked to elevate the position of women, and provoked a backlash of Confucian misogynist invective.

A)Wang Mang
B)China's scholar-gentry class
C)Ge Hong
D)Yellow Turban Rebellion
E)caste as varna
F)caste as jati
G)"ritual purity" in Indian social practice
H)Greek slavery
I)Roman slavery
J)Spartacus
K)patriarchy
L)the "three obediences"
M)Empress Wu
N)Aspasia
O)Pericles
P)helots

Question 50

Use the following to answer questions:
Select the word or phrase from the Terms section that best matches the definition or example provided in the Definitions section.
Terms
In the Greek and Roman world, slaves were captives from war and piracy (and their descendants), abandoned children, and the victims of long-distance trade; manumission was common. In parts of one of these states, thousands of slaves were employed under brutal conditions in the mines and on great plantations.

A)Wang Mang
B)China's scholar-gentry class
C)Ge Hong
D)Yellow Turban Rebellion
E)caste as varna
F)caste as jati
G)"ritual purity" in Indian social practice
H)Greek slavery
I)Roman slavery
J)Spartacus
K)patriarchy
L)the "three obediences"
M)Empress Wu
N)Aspasia
O)Pericles
P)helots

Question 51

Use the following to answer questions:
Select the word or phrase from the Terms section that best matches the definition or example provided in the Definitions section.
Terms
A Roman gladiator who led the most serious slave revolt in Roman history from 73 to 71 B·C·E·.

A)Wang Mang
B)China's scholar-gentry class
C)Ge Hong
D)Yellow Turban Rebellion
E)caste as varna
F)caste as jati
G)"ritual purity" in Indian social practice
H)Greek slavery
I)Roman slavery
J)Spartacus
K)patriarchy
L)the "three obediences"
M)Empress Wu
N)Aspasia
O)Pericles
P)helots

Question 52

Use the following to answer questions:
Select the word or phrase from the Terms section that best matches the definition or example provided in the Definitions section.
Terms
A prominent and influential statesman of ancient Athens (ca. 495-429 B·C·E·.), he presided over Athens's Golden Age; Aspasia's partner.

A)Wang Mang
B)China's scholar-gentry class
C)Ge Hong
D)Yellow Turban Rebellion
E)caste as varna
F)caste as jati
G)"ritual purity" in Indian social practice
H)Greek slavery
I)Roman slavery
J)Spartacus
K)patriarchy
L)the "three obediences"
M)Empress Wu
N)Aspasia
O)Pericles
P)helots

Question 53

Use the following to answer questions:
Select the word or phrase from the Terms section that best matches the definition or example provided in the Definitions section.
Terms
In the Greek and Roman world, slaves were captives from war and piracy (and their descendants), abandoned children, and the victims of long-distance trade; manumission was common. In one of these cultures, household service was the most common form of slavery.

A)Wang Mang
B)China's scholar-gentry class
C)Ge Hong
D)Yellow Turban Rebellion
E)caste as varna
F)caste as jati
G)"ritual purity" in Indian social practice
H)Greek slavery
I)Roman slavery
J)Spartacus
K)patriarchy
L)the "three obediences"
M)Empress Wu
N)Aspasia
O)Pericles
P)helots

Question 54

Use the following to answer questions:
Select the word or phrase from the Terms section that best matches the definition or example provided in the Definitions section.
Terms
The dependent, semi-enslaved class of ancient Sparta whose social discontent prompted the militarization of Spartan society.

A)Wang Mang
B)China's scholar-gentry class
C)Ge Hong
D)Yellow Turban Rebellion
E)caste as varna
F)caste as jati
G)"ritual purity" in Indian social practice
H)Greek slavery
I)Roman slavery
J)Spartacus
K)patriarchy
L)the "three obediences"
M)Empress Wu
N)Aspasia
O)Pericles
P)helots

Question 55

Comparative Analysis: In what ways did the religions and philosophies of the classical period support the social structures of classical societies? In what ways did the religions and philosophies undermine those social structures?

Question 56

Use the following to answer questions:
Select the word or phrase from the Terms section that best matches the definition or example provided in the Definitions section.
Terms
A massive Chinese peasant uprising inspired by Daoist teachings that began in 184 C·E·. with the goal of establishing a new golden age of equality and harmony.

A)Wang Mang
B)China's scholar-gentry class
C)Ge Hong
D)Yellow Turban Rebellion
E)caste as varna
F)caste as jati
G)"ritual purity" in Indian social practice
H)Greek slavery
I)Roman slavery
J)Spartacus
K)patriarchy
L)the "three obediences"
M)Empress Wu
N)Aspasia
O)Pericles
P)helots

Question 57

In what way were the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Han China and Spartacus's revolt in the Roman Empire similar?

A) Both were large-scale, violent reactions to oppressive conditions.
B) Both featured supernatural healings and collective trances.
C) Both succeeded in persuading the government to implement reforms.
D) Both saw women assuming leadership roles.

Question 58

Use the following to answer questions:
Select the word or phrase from the Terms section that best matches the definition or example provided in the Definitions section.
Terms
Literally "rule of the father"; a social system of male dominance.

A)Wang Mang
B)China's scholar-gentry class
C)Ge Hong
D)Yellow Turban Rebellion
E)caste as varna
F)caste as jati
G)"ritual purity" in Indian social practice
H)Greek slavery
I)Roman slavery
J)Spartacus
K)patriarchy
L)the "three obediences"
M)Empress Wu
N)Aspasia
O)Pericles
P)helots

Question 59

Use the following to answer questions:
Select the word or phrase from the Terms section that best matches the definition or example provided in the Definitions section.
Terms
In Chinese Confucian thought, the notion that a woman is permanently subordinate to male control: first to her father, then to her husband, and finally to her son.

A)Wang Mang
B)China's scholar-gentry class
C)Ge Hong
D)Yellow Turban Rebellion
E)caste as varna
F)caste as jati
G)"ritual purity" in Indian social practice
H)Greek slavery
I)Roman slavery
J)Spartacus
K)patriarchy
L)the "three obediences"
M)Empress Wu
N)Aspasia
O)Pericles
P)helots

Question 60

Use the following to answer questions:
Select the word or phrase from the Terms section that best matches the definition or example provided in the Definitions section.
Terms
The system of social organization in India that has evolved over millennia; it is based on an original division of the populace into four inherited classes.

A)Wang Mang
B)China's scholar-gentry class
C)Ge Hong
D)Yellow Turban Rebellion
E)caste as varna
F)caste as jati
G)"ritual purity" in Indian social practice
H)Greek slavery
I)Roman slavery
J)Spartacus
K)patriarchy
L)the "three obediences"
M)Empress Wu
N)Aspasia
O)Pericles
P)helots

Question 61

Comparative Analysis: In what ways did the social structures of classical civilizations change from those of the First Civilizations?

Question 62

Personal Reflection: Which classical empire's social hierarchy do you think would be the most stable? Why?

Question 63

Comparative Analysis: In what ways were the contrasting political cultures of China and India reflected in their social hierarchies?