Deck 3: The Civilization of the Greeks

Question 1

Which of the following occurred during the Age of Pericles?

A)Government expenditures were reduced, canceling all public building projects.
B)The power of the aristocrats was enhanced.
C)Athenians became deeply attached to their democratic system.

Answer 1

Athenians became deeply attached to their democratic system.

Question 2

Which of the following best represents Greek culture in the Archaic Age?

A)The tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides
B)Lyric poetry as found in the works of Sappho
C)The poetry of Hesiod emphasizing the superiority of the aristocratic class

Answer 2

Lyric poetry as found in the works of Sappho

Question 3

Which of the following was one of the chief causes of the Peloponnesian War?

A)Athens' entry into an alliance with the Persians
B)The fear of another Persian invasion
C)Sparta's fear of the power of Athens and its maritime empire

Answer 3

Sparta's fear of the power of Athens and its maritime empire

Question 4

For whom was the Battle of Marathon a victory?

A)The Athenian navy
B)The Athenian hoplites
C)The Corinthian archers

Question 5

Why did the Spartans make the army the center of their society?

A)They feared a naval attack by Athens.
B)They feared an uprising by their helots.
C)Spartans did not possess any fertile land for farming.

Question 6

Which of the following descriptions of Athenian leaders is incorrect?

A)Solon-sole archon and political reformer
B)Pisistratus-remodeled the entire Athenian constitution while utterly neglecting his merchant supporters
C)Cleisthenes-created the ten tribes and the Council of 500

Question 7

Which of the following was the immediate cause of the Persian Wars?

A)A revolt of the Ionian Greek colonies in Asia Minor
B)The capture of the Persian queen by Themistocles
C)The Ionian invasion of Persia

Question 8

Which of the following statements BEST describes the Mycenaeans?

A)They were a warrior people who achieved their apex between 1400 and 1200 B.C.E.
B)They produced exotic articles of trade in the fifth century B.C.E.
C)They were merchants who dominated Mediterranean trade in the fourth century B.C.E.

Question 9

The Lycurgan reforms resulted in which of the following?

A)The Peloponnesian War
B)The establishment of a permanent military state in Sparta
C)Revolt among Spartan slaves

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT true of Greek colonization?

A)Those enriched through colonization desired new political privileges, which fueled political crises in many Greek states.
B)Greek colonies were trading posts rather than permanent settlements.
C)Colonization promoted increased trade and industry.

Question 11

The Peloponnesian War resulted in which of the following?

A)The defeat of Athens and the collapse of its empire
B)The defeat of Sparta, leading to its permanent decline
C)The unification of the Greek city-states under Thebes

Question 12

The Greek polis put primary emphasis on which of the following?

A)Untrammeled private enterprise
B)Cooperation between its citizens for the common welfare
C)Military conquest of neighboring city-states

Question 13

In general, how are separate early Greek communities best described?

A)They exchanged diplomatic representatives only.
B)They established formal federations early in Greece's history.
C)They became fierce rivals, fighting so often that Greek unity was rare.

Question 14

Unlike the women of most other Greek cities, what were the Spartan women expected to do?

A)Stay physically fit to bear healthy children
B)Become proficient in poetry and philosophy
C)Fight in the army alongside the men

Question 15

Which of the following best describes the Delian League?

A)It was dominated from the beginning by the Spartans.
B)It became an instrument of Athenian imperialism.
C)It had a fluctuating membership, as states were free to join and leave the alliance as they wished.

Question 16

Which of the following best describes Spartan helots?

A)They were conscripted to fight in the city's phalanx.
B)They were captives of war.
C)They declared war on the perioikoi every year.

Question 17

Tyranny in the Greek polis arose as which of the following?

A)A reaction to aristocratic power and a widening gulf between the rich and the poor
B)The result of foreign invasion, mainly the Persians under Darius
C)The response to the cry for strong leadership from the established aristocratic oligarchies

Question 18

Cleisthenes' reforms established which form of government in Athens?

A)An oligarchy
B)A tyranny
C)A democracy

Question 19

Which Greek philosopher said, with regard to the polis, "We must rather regard every citizen as belonging to the state"?

A)Plato
B)Aristotle
C)Socrates

Question 20

For the Greeks, what did the term arete describe?

A)Moral failure of cowards
B)Striving for excellence
C)Avoidance of destructive competition

Question 21

Which of the following did Aristotle favor as the best government for most people in his Politics?

A)Anarchic
B)Constitutional
C)Tyrannical

Question 22

Which of the following was NOT true of Greek religion?

A)Myths served no particular social function.
B)Each city had a chief god or goddess.
C)It involved ritual and sacrifice.

Question 23

How are the Sophists best described?

A)They had as their chief spokesman Socrates.
B)They questioned traditional Greek religion and, instead, worshiped the Egyptian goddess Isis.
C)They were professional teachers who seemingly questioned the traditional values of their societies.

Question 24

Describe the spread of different ancient Greek groups across the region.

Question 25

What did early Greek philosophy attempt to do?

A)Explain the universe on the basis of unifying principles.
B)Replace the gods and religion in the lives of the Greeks with pure reason.
C)Eliminate diversity from the world.

Question 26

Which best describes an aspect of ancient Minoan Crete?

A)It declined after the Sea Peoples conquered Crete.
B)It was known as a great military power.
C)It developed elaborate skills in art and architecture, visible in their great palaces.

Question 27

Describe the political geography of early ancient Greece.

Question 28

How is the Greek Parthenon best described?

A)It is considered the greatest example of classical Greek temple architecture.
B)It was destroyed during the Peloponnesian War.
C)It was the venue for the greatest Greek athletic competition, the Olympics.

Question 29

During the migrations of the Greek Dark Age, what did many Ionians do?

A)They abandoned Attica in favor of the Peloponnesus.
B)They crossed the Aegean Sea to settle in Asia Minor.
C)They took control of the Peloponnesus.

Question 30

Socrates was condemned to death for which of the following?

A)Leading a political coup attempt
B)Corrupting the youth of Athens
C)Opposing the Peloponnesian War

Question 31

What new discipline of human knowledge did Greeks cultivate to understand human actions and affairs of state?

A)Sociology
B)History
C)Fortune telling

Question 32

How is Greek comedy best described?

A)Insignificant and not very popular
B)Used to express political views as evidenced by Aristophanes
C)Always under government control and thus no political views were allowed

Question 33

"The unexamined life is not worth living" is a cornerstone of the philosophy of which person?

A)Zeno
B)Socrates
C)Aristotle

Question 34

Plato, in The Republic, imagines a perfect society ruled by whom?

A)Women
B)Philosopher-kings
C)Workers

Question 35

In what way did the Greek historian Thucydides differ from Herodotus?

A)He was unconcerned with divine forces as a factor in history.
B)He devoted much of his writing to economic history.
C)He never wrote about warfare but only about political and cultural matters.

Question 36

Describe the main story of the Iliad.

Question 37

What impact did the Mycenaeans have on the region?

Question 38

Which of the following phrases best describes the social situation of most Greek women?

A)Women were kept under strict control, cut off from formal education, and were always assigned a male guardian.
B)Women were afforded equal rights with men in city politics.
C)Women were often allowed to participate in public life, especially through jury service.

Question 39

What impact did the Minoans have on the region?

Question 40

What effect did Greeks' transition to iron instead of bronze have?

Question 41

What was the significance of Solon's reforms?

Question 42

What relationship did Greek colonies have to their home cities?

Question 43

What was the significance of Cleisthenes' reforms?

Question 44

What central themes emerge from ancient Greek drama?

Question 45

Describe the Spartan government.

Question 46

Which of the following was a major theme of Homer's Iliad?

A)The exalted position of women in Greek society
B)Honor
C)Absolute abhorrence of violence by the Greeks

Question 47

Describe typical relations between city-states in the Greek world.

Question 48

Describe the differences between men's and women's political status in Greek poleis.

Question 49

What role did slaves play in the Greek city-state?

Question 50

Why did Sparta organize a coalition to oppose Athens?

Question 51

What were hoplites, and why were they significant?

Question 52

What were the chief characteristics of the Greek Dark Age?

A)It was an era in which the mainland of Greece was controlled by Crete.
B)It was a period of political anarchy and many foreign invasions.
C)It was a period of migrations and declining food production.

Question 53

What was Pericles's role in shaping Athenian policy?

Question 54

What was the significance of the Lycurgan reforms?

Question 55

Why had Athens and Sparta come to dominate the Greek world?

Question 56

Describe the main story of Odyssey.

Question 57

Why did Athens assume a leadership role in the fight against Persia?

Question 58

What was the Delian League and why was it important?

Question 59

Describe the Athenian government.

Question 60

Describe different approaches to history writing among ancient Greeks.

Question 61

What moral lessons do the Iliad and the Odyssey provide? To what extent do they make use of the concept of arete?

Question 62

Given the large numbers of slaves in Greek society, to what extent were ancient Greek city-states true democracies?

Question 63

Describe the centrality of slavery to the political, economic, and social life of Sparta.

Question 64

Why did early ancient Greeks tend to live in smaller, independent city-states?

Question 65

To what extent were the lives of slaves and the lives of women similar or different in ancient Greece?

Question 66

Describe the practice of slavery in ancient Greece.

Question 67

How did the transition to iron affect Greek social, economic, and political development?

Question 68

How did the Sparta-led coalition defeat Athens during the Peloponnesian Wars? What result did victory have?

Question 69

Describe the role of trade in shaping the ancient Greek world.

Question 70

Describe the key ideas of Aristotle's thought.

Question 71

Which of the following is true of Greece from ca. 750 to 500 B.C.E.?

A)The polis evolved into the central institution in Greek life.
B)The Greeks' colonization efforts in the Aegean and Black Seas came to an end.
C)It was a period of social cohesion and great Greek empires.

Question 72

Describe the key ideas of Plato's thought.

Question 73

Which statesman had the most significant impact on the Athenian constitution: Solon, Pericles, or Cleisthenes? Why?

Question 74

Do ancient Greek approaches to history writing and ancient Greek drama contain similar ideas and themes? If so, what are they? If not, how are their themes different?

Question 75

How did the Athenian-led coalition achieve victory against the Persians?

Question 76

Describe Greek beliefs about their gods.

Question 77

Describe the key ideas of Socrates's thought.

Question 78

The polis was the Greek name for which of the following?

A)Police
B)People
C)City-state

Question 79

Describe the role of conflict and war in shaping the ancient Greek world.

Question 80

To what extent did Minoan and Mycenaean histories differ and to what extent are they similar? Which was more significant for regional development?