Deck 5: The Hellenistic Era and the Rise of Rome

Question 1

The First Punic War began as a dispute over control of

A)Sicily.
B)Sardinia.
C)Spain.
D)Etruria.
E)Crete.

Answer 1

Sicily.

Question 2

Who invented a strategy that inspired a new division in Roman politics-populares and optimates?

A)Tiberus Gracchus
B)Gaius Gracchus
C)Gaius Marius
D)Polybius
E)Crassus

Answer 2

Tiberus Gracchus

Question 3

Alexander's conquests marked the end of the Hellenic age and the beginning of the

A)Hellenistic era.
B)Roman Empire.
C)Macedonian Empire.
D)Aegean age.
E)Imperial era.

Answer 3

Hellenistic era.

Question 4

A large plantation that produced commercial crops for the international market was called an)

A)latifundia.
B)pomerium.
C)imperium.
D)optimate.
E)honorum.

Question 5

Who introduced radical land reforms in an attempt to solve the problems of the young Roman Republic?

A)Tiberius Gracchus
B)Gaius Marius
C)Sulla
D)Gaius Gracchus
E)Crassus

Question 6

The law code establishing a common standard of justice for all citizens in 451 b.c.e.was called the

A)Twelve Tables.
B)Hortensian Code.
C)Plebiscite.
D)cursus honorum.
E)Latin Rights.

Question 7

Before 509 b.c.e. ,Rome was most strongly influenced by what group?

A)Etruscans
B)Samnites
C)Greeks
D)Gauls
E)Carthaginians

Question 8

Who seized the Macedonian throne after Philip II was murdered?

A)Alexander
B)Philip III
C)Perdiccas
D)Darius
E)Antigonus

Question 9

From which Trojan prince were the kings of Rome said to be descended?

A)Aeneas
B)Romulus
C)Hector
D)Paris
E)Superbus

Question 10

The Roman Republic would best be described as a

A)federation of extended families.
B)democracy.
C)monarchy.
D)commercial association.
E)egalitarian society.

Question 11

The Greek who admired the Romans even though they had invaded his homeland was

A)Polybius.
B)Xenophon.
C)Scipio.
D)Epicurus.
E)Zeno.

Question 12

Which philosopher was the leader of the Cynics?

A)Diogenes
B)Zeno
C)Epicurus
D)Aristotle
E)Calisthenes

Question 13

The life of Cornelia,the mother of the Gracchi,shows that Roman woman

A)had much more freedom than Greek women.
B)had no influence in politics.
C)were honorable only if they were invisible and unknown.
D)have left few traces in history.
E)often served as senators and consuls.

Question 14

Who marched on Rome and forced the Senate to legitimate his command in 88 b.c.e.?

A)Sulla
B)Gracchus
C)Marius
D)Gaius
E)Caesar

Question 15

Which people founded Rome?

A)the Latins
B)the Etruscans
C)the Gauls
D)the Celts
E)the Phoenicians

Question 16

Which philosopher was the founder of a philosophical movement that believed life's only purpose was the enjoyment of pleasure?

A)Epicurus
B)Zeno
C)Aristotle
D)Diogenes
E)Calisthenes

Question 17

Which philosopher built enthusiasm for Alexander's campaign against the Persians by providing his homeland with reports of the war's progress and descriptions of exotic locales?

A)Calisthenes
B)Zeno
C)Epicurus
D)Aristotle
E)Diogenes

Question 18

Gaius Marius won a consulship by promising to bring which war to an end?

A)the Jugurthine War
B)the Second Punic War
C)the Third Punic War
D)the Gallic War
E)the Parthian War

Question 19

Which Roman commander finally defeated Hannibal in the Second Punic War?

A)Scipio "Africanus"
B)Publius Cornelius Scipio
C)Gaius Marius
D)Hamilcar Barca
E)Antiochus

Question 20

Which philosopher was the founder of the Stoics?

A)Zeno
B)Epicurus
C)Aristotle
D)Diogenes
E)Plato

Question 21

How did the years Philip II spent as a hostage in Thebes help him transform Macedonia into a major power?

A)He was trained in Greek military techniques.
B)He learned how a monarchy worked.
C)He gained knowledge of Greek philosophy.
D)He learned how a democratic society worked.
E)He saw that tribal factions weakened a state.

Question 22

Which member of the Second Triumvirate struck up a relationship with Egypt's Cleopatra?

A)Mark Antony
B)Octavian
C)Lepidus
D)Brutus
E)Cassius

Question 23

The strategy Tiberius Gracchus devised to pass his land-reform program inspired what dangerous development?

A)a new division in Roman politics between the populares and the optimates
B)radical proposals to forcibly reform the economic ills of Roman society
C)violent rhetoric that made it impossible for Senators and tribunes to compromise
D)greater aristocratic control over the political and economic system
E)bands of unruly mobs roaming the streets to intimidate elected officials

Question 24

The lasting impact of Hellenistic culture is best illustrated by

A)widespread and long-lasting use of koine Greek.
B)the persistence of the polis as the center of cultural life.
C)the growth of political democracy.
D)widespread adoption of Persian culture.
E)near universal worship of Alexander as a god.

Question 25

Why did Cornelia,the mother of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus,tell her sons she was ashamed to be known as Scipio's daughter rather than their mother?

A)She wanted to inspire their political ambitions.
B)She feared they would become too ambitious.
C)Her father,Scipio,was a poor nobody.
D)She hoped they would pursue literary careers.
E)Few people in Rome knew who she was.

Question 26

The most important influence on the individual under the Roman republic was

A)the family.
B)the Senate.
C)the emperor.
D)personal wealth.
E)the cult of the Olympian gods.

Question 27

The empire Rome found itself controlling after the Punic Wars

A)brought great wealth,economic inequality and corruption to Rome.
B)strengthened the Republican government.
C)bankrupted Rome from the costs of empire.
D)created a labor crisis with too few workers to meet demand.
E)improved the lives of rich and poor alike.

Question 28

The need to bring his restive Greek allies more securely under his control led Alexander to

A)begin a campaign against the Persian Empire.
B)promise to restore democracy in Greece.
C)crush a rebellion in Thebes and destroy the city.
D)eliminate potential rivals in Macedonia.
E)integrate Greek troops into his army.

Question 29

The First Triumvirate included

A)Caesar,Crassus,and Pompey.
B)Sulla,Pompey,and Crassus.
C)Crassus,Caesar,and Sulla.
D)Caesar,Sulla,and Pompey.
E)Crassus,Pompey,and Marius.

Question 30

Why did Rome's founders locate the city 20 miles inland on the Tiber River?

A)It was where the river was narrow enough to be bridged.
B)It was far enough from the coast to be safe from attacks by sea.
C)It was close to fertile land suitable for farming on the plain of Latium.
D)It was sheltered by a bend in the river from the hostile nearby Volscians.
E)It had a temperate climate in the foothills of the Apennine Mountains.

Question 31

As a result of the three Punic Wars,

A)Rome had become an imperial power without a system of imperial government.
B)Carthage remained Rome's rival for Mediterranean power.
C)Rome was victorious but too exhausted to take advantage.
D)Rome and Carthage made a lasting peace.
E)Rome was forced to turn inward as an Italian power.

Question 32

Who emerged from the First Triumvirate and controlled Rome by 45 b.c.e.?

A)Caesar
B)Pompey
C)Crassus
D)Brutus
E)Octavian

Question 33

After Caesar marched on Rome,Pompey sought refuge in the only Mediterranean state still outside the control of Rome.Which of the following was it?

A)Egypt
B)Africa
C)Greece
D)Spain
E)Macedonia

Question 34

What was the purpose of the Republican cursus honorum?

A)to ensure that men would gain experience as they won more prestigious offices
B)to ensure the dominance of plebeians in government
C)to abolish the patron-client system
D)to allow any citizen an equal chance of serving as consul
E)to establish a code of laws for all citizens

Question 35

Technicians in the Egyptian city of Alexandria produced ingenious gadgets ranging from pumps to astronomical instruments.What is the most likely reason that they rarely applied their inventions to practical situations?

A)A large numbers of slaves made labor-saving devices unnecessary.
B)Egyptian society was too poor to finance manufacturing projects.
C)The aristocracy wanted to keep these gadgets for its exclusive use.
D)Practical technology was believed likely to incite worker revolts.
E)Pure knowledge was considered the highest form of achievement.

Question 36

After the collapse of the Second Triumvirate,the ensuing civil war was won by

A)Octavian.
B)Brutus.
C)Cassius.
D)Mark Antony.
E)Lepidus.

Question 37

What geographical feature encouraged the first urban communities to appear on the Italian peninsula's western plain?

A)the Apennine Mountains
B)the Po River
C)the Arno River
D)the Tyrrhenian Sea
E)the plain of Campania

Question 38

How did the results of the Peloponnesian War pave the way for Macedonia's domination of Greece?

A)Greek city-states began fighting among themselves.
B)War became a major Greek industry.
C)The myth of Spartan invincibility was dispelled.
D)Some Greeks concluded they were incapable of self-government.
E)Thebes eclipsed Athens as the preeminent city-state.

Question 39

Hellenistic theater would best be described as

A)silly popular entertainment.
B)a continuation of the classical tragic tradition.
C)innovative and imaginative.
D)mostly appealing to the educated elite.
E)thought-provoking and highly political.

Question 40

When Alexander died in Babylon in 323 b.c.e. ,

A)his generals began a bloody civil war,dividing his empire.
B)he left no male heir.
C)his wife,Roxanne,was accepted by Alexander's generals as his successor.
D)the Greeks quickly lost control of the lands he had conquered.
E)he faded from history and his conquests left no legacy.

Question 41

The founders of Rome and the Greek city-states settled their respective homelands around the same time c.1900 b.c.e. ).Why was Rome so much slower to develop?

A)Greece was closer to the established cultures of the Middle East.
B)Rome was divided by mountains and other geographical features.
C)The Greek people united more quickly into political groupings.
D)The Romans were hampered by an oppressive monarchy.
E)Rome was plagued by foreign invaders who left Greece alone.

Question 42

The key combatants in each of the Punic Wars were

Question 43

The reforms Tiberius Gracchus attempted were in

Question 44

Which statement best describes the early Roman Republic?

A)It limited government to male members of the city's patrician families.
B)It was a façade behind which powerful kings exercised full control.
C)It was a true democracy governed by officials elected by all citizens.
D)It divided government equally between patricians and plebeians.
E)It gave all citizens the same political rights,regardless of family status.

Question 45

Which of the following is the best explanation for Octavian's victory over Anthony?

A)While Anthony was talented and experienced,Octavian more successfully embodied Republican ideals.
B)While Anthony concentrated on controlling Italy,Octavian won an empire.
C)Anthony was too cautious,while Octavian was headstrong and bold.
D)While Anthony was a superb politician,Octavian excelled on the battlefield.
E)While Anthony sought the support and approval of the Senate,Octavian appealed to the common people.

Question 46

What was the result of the implementation of Tiberius Gracchus's land-redistribution proposal?

A)It set up small farmers to fail again.
B)It helped small farmers regain prosperity.
C)It played into the hands of the optimates.
D)It continued to favor large landowners.
E)It decreased the numbers of slave workers.

Question 47

Caesar was assassinated because some Senators suspected he wanted to establish

Question 48

Why did Sulla emasculate the assembly and restore the dominance of the Senate?

A)He believed popularis demagogues had caused Rome's problems.
B)He was rewarding the Senate for supporting his plans for reform.
C)He wanted to prevent the army from taking over the government.
D)He thought the system of checks and balances was not working.
E)He thought the assembly intended to take away his military command.

Question 49

The people who dominated the Italian peninsula until the mid-fifth century b.c.e.were the

Question 50

When Octavian finally defeated his opponents,he faced a challenge that had cost Caesar his life.What was it?

A)creating a stable government for Rome's empire
B)creating a stable army to defend Rome's empire
C)absorbing Egypt into Rome's empire
D)absorbing Parthia into Rome's empire
E)securing a stable food supply for Rome's empire

Question 51

Whereas Hellenic means "Greek," Hellenistic means

Question 52

Like Caesar before him,Antony formed an alliance with Egypt that was

A)both personal and political.
B)a costly mistake.
C)the key to his ultimate success.
D)intended to appeal to Roman public opinion.
E)necessary to maintain the power of the triumvirate.

Question 53

Considering Alexander's military campaigns and his reputation for heroic ferocity,one might conclude that

A)Alexander was more calculating and careful than his reputation suggests.
B)Alexander's reckless behavior justified his reputation.
C)Alexander won his empire by luck rather than skill.
D)his reputation was the result of propaganda rather than facts.
E)he died too young to leave a lasting legacy.

Question 54

Brutus and Cassius thought that assassinating Caesar would restore the Republic.Instead,it created

A)a power vacuum.
B)a popular uprising.
C)an opening for demagogues.
D)an aristocratic reaction.
E)unrest in the countryside.

Question 55

The careers of Roman leaders from Marius to Sulla to Pompey to Caesar demonstrate that success in later Republican politics depended on

A)military power.
B)support from the Senate.
C)family background.
D)personal honor and integrity.
E)popularity.

Question 56

Which of the following states the most fundamental problem that faced the Roman Republic in the century following the Punic Wars?

A)Its form of government was not adequate to govern a large empire.
B)Its plebeians resented the patricians and wanted more political power.
C)Its army veterans were restless and wanted more land.
D)Its conquests destabilized Rome by bringing in too many slaves.
E)Its economic system was skewed in favor of wealthy landowners.

Question 57

What claim did the Second Triumvirate make to distinguish itself from the First Triumvirate?

A)It was a legal institution.
B)It was a temporary measure.
C)It was a partnership of equals.
D)It was a military necessity.
E)It was an emergency measure.

Question 58

What caused the formation of the First Triumvirate?

A)They united to oppose the Senate.
B)They united to gain military power.
C)They united to demand more honors.
D)They united to crush popular rule.
E)They united to contain the aristocracy.