Deck 6: The Aegean

Question 1

Which archaeologist's conviction that Greek myths were based on historical events led to the excavations of Troy and Mycenae?

A) Evans
B) Schliemann
C) Marinatos
D) Aeschylos

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Cyclopaean masonry is characterized by

A) plaster walls affixed to wooden frames.
B) the use of large stone blocks.
C) a single large, central window.
D) smoothly cut bricks of regular size.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

As indicated by the Boxing Children, what characteristic did Theran art share with Egyptian art?

A) figures with curved contours
B) the use of naturalistic space
C) shifting planes of movement
D) frontal eyes on profile faces

Answer 3

frontal eyes on profile faces

Question 4

Although the identity of the man it commemorates cannot be known for sure, the famous goldwork mask found in a Mycenaean grave is generally referred to as the Mask of _______.

A) Orestes
B) Atreus
C) Priam
D) Agamemnon

Question 5

The best-preserved Mycenaean fresco, known as the Mycenaean Goddess, exhibits all of the following features EXCEPT

A) rigid stylization.
B) a profile face.
C) a frontal eye.
D) curvilinear contours.

Question 6

What was a megaron?

A) a form of sculpture that depicted Mycenaean kings as godlike giants
B) a type of gate that made Mycenaean palaces nearly impenetrable
C) a massive tomb designed as a burial place for Mycenaean kings
D) the central structure of a palace in which Mycenaean kings presided

Question 7

The reliefs on the two gold cups found in a royal grave at Vapheio were both made using which technique, in which an artist hammers out the scene from inside the cup?

A) frieze
B) repoussé
C) corbelling
D) tholoi

Question 8

A long, horizontal strip of painting along a wall is known as

A) a repoussé.
B) a frieze.
C) megaron.
D) a corbel.

Question 9

Statues of what type of animal crowned the entrance to the Mycenaean citadel?

A) serpents
B) dolphins
C) lions
D) bulls

Question 10

Which legendary Greek king ruled Mycenae during the time of the Trojan War?

A) Menelaus
B) Paris
C) Priam
D) Agamemnon

Question 11

The Treasury of Atreus is a famous Mycenaean

A) defensive fortification.
B) storehouse.
C) royal tomb.
D) royal palace.

Question 12

The island of Santorini was once known as

A) Crete.
B) Thera.
C) the Cyclades.
D) Mycenae.

Question 13

The roadway that led up to a royal Mycenaean tomb was called a

A) dromos.
B) tholos.
C) megaron.
D) propylon.

Question 14

The typical characteristics of Kamares ware include

A) rigid patterns of straight lines suggesting divine order.
B) colorless designs that imply an emphasis on practicality rather than decoration.
C) the substitution of abstract designs for representations of natural forms, which seem to have been taboo.
D) curvilinear designs that follow the form of the vessel.

Question 15

The Ship Fresco is an important example of which culture's artwork?

A) Mycenaean
B) Minoan
C) Cycladic
D) Theran

Question 16

Corbelling is used to make what type of architectural feature?

A) a hallway
B) a frieze
C) an arch
D) a dome

Question 17

The monumental tomb used in Mycenaean culture is known as a

A) dromos
B) tholos.
C) megaron.
D) propylon.

Question 18

What cataclysmic event seems to have forced Therans to abandon their civilization sometime between 1700 and 1500

A) an epidemic plague
B) an earthquake
B)C.?
C) a foreign invasion
D) a volcanic eruption

Question 19

What feature sets the Theran Crocus Gatherer apart from Egyptian artworks?

A) the light skin of the female figure
B) the frontal position of the figure
C) the use of spacious landscape to frame the figure
D) the figure's rigid posture

Question 20

In both Mycenaean and Minoan cultures, temples seem to have been located only

A) on hillsides.
B) in caves.
C) in palaces.
D) a set distance from the main palace.

Question 21

The Cyclades are named after their original inhabitants.

Question 22

Minoan civilization made use of jars made from which material, the literal name of which is "cooked earth"?

A) faïence
B) ceramic
C) terra-cotta
D) fresco

Question 23

Minoan paintings differed from Egyptian ones most notably in that

A) Minoan figures were more rigid and static than Egyptian ones.
B) Minoan figures were more curvilinear than Egyptian ones.
C) Minoan artists did not use the profile head and frontal eye trope like Egyptian artists did.
D) Minoan artists depicted female figures with darker skin than male ones, whereas Egyptian artists did the opposite.

Question 24

The palace at Knossos was heavily fortified because it was subject to frequent invasions.

Question 25

In Minoan culture, snakes most likely represented

A) wisdom.
B) kingship.
C) evil.
D) fertility.

Question 26

The palace at Knossos exhibits all the following features EXCEPT

A) post-and-lintel construction.
B) high, vaulting ceilings.
C) stone masonry walls.
D) short, wooden columns.

Question 27

Faïence is a type of semiprecious stone.

Question 28

Early Bronze Age Cycladic idols are believed to have been used in religious processions because

A) they generally depict animals that Cycladic culture considered to be sacred.
B) they cannot stand upright on their own.
C) contemporary written documents allude to the use of similar objects in such processions.
D) they have been found almost exclusively inside religious temples.

Question 29

The Toreador Fresco is also known as

A) the Snake Goddess Fresco.
B) the Boxing Children.
C) the Crocus Gatherer.
D) the Leaping Bull Fresco.

Question 30

Minoan civilization is primarily associated with which island?

A) Minos
B) Kritias
C) Thera
D) Crete

Question 31

How has Greek myth and legend shaped our understanding of the Aegean?

Question 32

Theran civilization had a system of indoor plumbing for baths and toilets.

Question 33

Many aspects of Minoan culture remain mysterious because of scholars' inability to decipher Linear A script.

Question 34

Archaeological remains suggest that war was a more common occurrence for Mycenaean society than for Minoan society.

Question 35

Bulls were viewed as sacred animals in Minoan civilization.

Question 36

Mycenaean royal tombs were pyramidal in shape.

Question 37

Early Bronze Age Cycladic marble figures generally represented

A) women.
B) bulls.
C) soldiers.
D) fish.

Question 38

According to archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans, the word "labyrinth" originally meant "house of _______ "

A) the double axe
B) the maze
C) the bull
D) gods

Question 39

In Greek myth, the king of Mycenae allied with Troy against the other Greek kingdoms in the Trojan War.

Question 40

Some scholars believe that Thera is the lost Atlantis described by Plato in Timaeus and Kritias.

Question 41

What objects have been found at Mycenaean gravesites? What do they suggest about Mycenaean social and religious beliefs?

Question 42

What evidence do scholars use to interpret Cycladic and Minoan artworks in the absence of comprehendible written records? How reliable is such evidence?

Question 43

Discuss the bull imagery on Minoan Crete. Cite the iconography as well as the mythology.

Question 44

What seems to have been the primary purpose and function of ancient Aegean art?

Question 45

What qualities and traits did ancient Aegean art share with its predecessors and contemporaries in the Near East and Egypt? How did it differ from those other styles?

Question 46

Compare and contrast Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean cultures. What did they share and how did they differ?